Browns vs. Giants: Early lead not enough for Cleveland

Chris Pokorny of SB Nation’s Cleveland Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature, writes that the blown lead, the mistakes and the 0-5 start are inexcusable.

The New York Giants didn’t come out strong, with the Cleveland Browns taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but they stormed back to keep Cleveland out of the win column with a 41-27 victory.

For Valentine, the key sequence of the game came when New York forced a pair of turnovers as part of a 20-point second quarter. He elaborated on the stretch in his game recap:

The Giants defense held strong in the second half as Cleveland had 35 total yards in the third quarter.

Fantasy stud: Ahmad Bradshaw

But it was not a touchdown. It was a five-yard illegal forward pass penalty. Repeat third down.

The resulting play ended the only way it possibly could for Cleveland: Weeden had his pass intercepted. The Giants are driving with a 34-20 lead.

Does it count as a hat trick if you do it against the Browns?

New York has outscored Cleveland 34-3 since the Browns had surprisingly gone up by two touchdowns after taking advantage of some Giants mistakes. Then New York has taken back the lead and then some after taking advantage of the Browns being the Browns. It’s the first hat trick of Cruz’s career. That’s a lot of salsa.

The only real question left for Cruz and the Giants is whether or not he’ll ever learn a different dance move.

You look at Cleveland’s nine-game road losing streak and wonder why anyone would bet on them Sunday as 10-point underdogs against the New York Giants.

But that record does not show they are 5-0-1 ATS in their past six road games - losing on the scoreboard, but winning at the sportsbook window.

This was a potential letdown game for New York, with the Browns being competitive throughout the first month of the season. But after the loss to the Eagles, it’s likely Tom Coughlin has his team’s complete and full attention heading into Sunday as the heavy favorites.