Giants-Browns: New York Takes a Giant Step Back

The NFC East suffered another big upset Monday night as the New York Giants lost their first game of season, 35-14, to the then 1-3 Cleveland Browns. At the start of the game, the Cleveland fans seemed apprehensive—like they were waiting for something bad to happen to their team. While the disaster never came, the first quarter was a disappointment for the Browns: They amassed over 120 yards of total offense, controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes, forced one turnover, but committed three penalties and had only three points to show for their efforts. Giants scored the game’s first touchdown early in the second quarter on a Brandon Jacobs seven-yard run. Jacobs finished the game with 67 yards on 14 rushes. His backfield mate, Derrick Ward, had 101 yards and 10 carries. It looked like the champs were about to assert their dominance. However, on the next possession, beleaguered Browns’ quarterback Derek Anderson found Braylon Edwards for a 70-yard reception. Two plays ... (link)