In case you weren’t watching it, the Cleveland Browns just completely dismantled the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants on MNF. It was a full 60-minute beating, and the Browns never let up on them. Final score, Cleveland 35, New York 14. No, I’m not kidding.
From the moment the pre-game show began, ESPN announcers discussed the Giants and put it in terms of them already being 5-0 before the game started. They kept up the trash-talking and tried to mock Cleveland on numerous occasions….but there was a point in the third quarter when their tone began to change and they started recognizing that the Browns were not worthy of the 1-3 record they had previously accumulated.
Among the stats in the game are some VERY bizarre numbers. Try this one on for size….
- In the third quarter, Cleveland had the ball for 11:08 to 3:52 for New York. The Browns outscored the Giants 3-0 in the period.
- In the fourth quarter, New York had the ball for 10:56 to 4:04 for Cleveland. The Browns outscored the Giants 15-0 in the period.
And this one???
- In the third quarter, the Browns had a TD drive in which we had 112 yards of offense. Yes, in ONE drive we had 112 yards offense. 25 penalty yards created extra room for the Browns to rack up the yards.
Other interesting, but not quite “bizarre” stats;
- Punter Dave Zastudil never set foot on the field. We had nine total possessions, 6 went for scores, one missed field goal, and two possessions finished off at the end of the half and game.
- Braylon Edwards averaged over 30 yards per catch. 153 yards on 5 catches and a TD for #17.
- Eli Manning had 196 yards passing to his own team, and 139 yards passing to the Browns. he threw a TD for each side of the scoreboard.
Also, I’d like to point out that Romeo Crennel woke up and showed he can coach. The guy I lambasted for kicking a FG against Dallas gave us some gamesmanship by going for a 2-point conversion when up by 19 points. Damn, that was calculated.
Romeo also called a VERY clever reverse. He used Josh Cribbs in the backfield to lure New York into heavy pursuit, then gave him the ball on a sweep. Cribbs pitched the ball to Jerome Harrison coming the other way, and the Giants had nobody back to cover him. The over-pursuit led to a 33-yard gain for Harrison.
We have GOT to work on our discipline. 10 penalties, mostly on false starts, are not acceptable. Just imagine what this team is capable of if they are more focused.
Finally, many will point to the 94-yard INT return for a TD as the key play in the game. I disagree.
The play of the game came early in the 3rd quarter. After the Browns took a 17-7 lead, New York marched down the field and scored a TD to quiet the boisterous Browns crowd. The Giants would get the ball back to start the second half and all our momentum would be wiped away if the Giants moved the ball downfield. But Brandon McDonald read Manning’s pass on the first play and picked it off. That one play gave all the momentum back to Cleveland and it changed the gameplan. We took that INT and turned it into 3 points. It was huge for us.
It was a big factor in taking a team that was allowing 12 points per game and ramming 35 points down their throats.
The Browns now travel to Washington to take on the 4-2 Redskins. But they travel with new life and in front of a national TV audience, they showed they are for real.
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