They were excoriated by the Cleveland Browns, who entered the Monday night affair with a 1-3 record and as a subject of derision from the frustrated home fans.

The Browns then turned into champion beaters, administering a 35-14 defeat to the defending Super Bowl kings that exposed several weaknesses, burst a few bubbles and left the Giants to fly home with serious doubts about their offense, their defense and their status in the powerful NFC East.

The defense allowed 454 yards to the Browns offense, which until Monday night had been weak and floundering. "It was a physical game," coach Tom Coughlin said, "and the Browns played better than we did. We didn't force any turnovers, we didn't take advantage of opportunities presented to us and, give them credit, they deserved to win."

There are a few issues that must be addressed before Sunday's home game against San Francisco. One of them is the sudden and disturbing lapse into confusion by quarterback Eli Manning, who had his worst game since last November when he offered up four interceptions to the Minnesota Vikings and saw three of them get returned for touchdowns in a 41-13 defeat. He threw three Monday night, one of which turned into a 94-yard score by cornerback Eric Wright.

The defense, the prize of coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, totally imploded. Quarterback Derek Anderson was the player Manning had been through the first four games, standing tall behind flawless pass protection and picking apart the secondary while the linebackers scurried about senselessly.

"We don't know exactly what went wrong," said cornerback Corey Webster, who was as guilty as any of the defensive players, "but we'll watch the film and use this game as a lesson to be learned. I'm sure the coaches will tell us what we did wrong and how to fix it."

If losing a game is a chance to learn something, after Monday night's blowout the Giants are all on their way toward earning advanced degrees.