By PAUL SCHWARTZ
One play in, Ahmad Bradshaw was trotting off the field, having lost the ball on a fumble. Two plays later, the turnover was turned into points and the Giants trailed 7-0.
“Everybody was telling me on the sideline that they have my back,’’ Bradshaw said.
A moment later, newly starting safety Stevie Brown was “taking the bait’’ as he described a blown coverage, leaving linebacker Chase Blackburn exposed and helpless to prevent a 62-yard Brandon Weeden to Josh Gordon touchdown pass. The Giants were down 14-0 to the winless Browns and five minutes had not yet run off the clock.
“My pregame talk was all about starting fast and that obviously got thrown out the window pretty early,’’ Eli Manning said. “They didn’t listen to me on that.’’
As a motivational speaker, Manning might need some work, but yesterday at damp MetLife Stadium he was part of an uncharacteristically diversified attack that responded by scoring 41 of the game’s next 47 points to restore order and steer the Giants to a 41-27 victory, keeping the Browns winless and somehow thrusting the still-inconsistent Giants (3-2) into the same record as the Eagles atop the NFC East.
