Cleveland explodes for 18 second half points to break open tight game, handing the defending champion Giants their first loss of the season

SCOTT JACOBS

And then there was one.

The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Giants at their own game on Monday night stunning a nation now soul searching for an elite NFL team, and bringing new life to a season that had thus far been a major disappointment.

Browns 35 Giants 14. This one was not close. The Browns took a ton of penalties, hovering around double digits in yellow flags, yet they controlled the game, controlled the clock, and handed the so called far superior G-Men loss number one. And with it, the Titans, the Tennessee Titans, are the NFL’s lone unbeaten (Just go buy a lotto ticket now if you had that one on your betting scorecard).

The Giants drove to Cleveland’s six yard line with eight minutes and seven seconds left in the game, and appeared to be on the verge of closing the gap, when Eric Wright stepped in front of Eli Manning’s pass and took it to the house for six, securing a win no one saw coming. It was the third of three picks for Manning, who had just one pick going into the game. But not tonight!

With the Browns clinging to a 20-14 lead, it looked as if everything was ready to unravel. Penalty after penalty stalled the possession, and it just seemed like a matter of time before Cleveland made a back breaking mistake. But it never happened. Not tonight! Fourteen plays later, Braylon Edwards was slam dunking the ball over the goalpost and the Browns were up 27-14.

A 17-14 game at half, the Browns finally brought their A game. The game that people have expected of them all year and had yet to get. Until tonight! Derek Anderson exploded for 310 yards and two touchdowns, and Edwards finally had his breakout game– five receptions, 158 yards, 1 touchdown and the Cleveland Browns (the Cleveland Browns) beat the G-Men.

A stunning win. Not only because the Giants were perfect on the road, and hadn’t lost a road game since week one of last year, but also because people were ready to crown them as the top team in the league. So much for that. It’s a good thing the NFL doesn’t hold weekly polls that decide who goes to the Super Bowl, because like college football, their polls would be blown to pieces. And the unbelievable NFC East, all of a sudden looks very beatable. With the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys all losing, this weekend, last place Philadelphia was the only one to secure a win this weekend. And with the play of the NFC South– you may see where I’m going with this– dare we ask if the NFC South is the best division in football? The Bucs and Panthers and Falcons are all 4-2. And the Saints are 3-3, and unlike the Cowboys who are falling apart right now (losing Tony Romo for four weeks and Felix Jones too), the South is healthy and rocking.

But that discussion is for later down the road.

Because if sports teaches us anything on a weekly basis, its that nothing is impossible. Improbable yes. Impossible, no.

And so Tennessee is the last unbeaten in the NFL.

Kerry Collins’ Titans. This is why we love sports. This is reason number one! C’mon, Kerry Collins? We couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried.

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