--RB Derrick Ward emerged as the Giants' leading rusher, carrying 10 times for 101 yards. He was used on draw plays up the middle, leading to speculation that offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride had picked up something about the inside defensive tackle (Cleveland runs a 3-4 defense) and the two inside linebackers. "It was just working," said the careful Ward, "and the coaches have told us that if we find something that's working we'll use it until the defense stops it."

--Veteran WR Amani Toomer didn't catch a pass, but he was the intended receiver on the 94-yard interception returned for a TD by Browns CB Eric Wright that capped the game in the fourth quarter. "There have been games like that in my career," he said. "So there are other things I can do, like block and take a defender with me."

--WR Steve Smith led the Giants with nine receptions and 94 yards, but WR Plaxico Burress, coming off a one-game suspension for missing a team meeting on Sept. 22, caught Eli Manning's only TD pass, a 3-yarder in the second quarter. That pair took in 13 Manning passes, leaving just five to be distributed among four other receivers.

--Browns P Dave Zastudil didn't have to kick a single time Monday night, but he was still the holder for Phil Dawson's two field goals and three PATs. The final Cleveland TD, the 94-yard interception return by CB Eric Wright, was followed by a successful two-point conversion. The Giants' Jeff Feagles punted only twice, once in each half. "Easy night for both of us," Feagles said cynically.

--During the week prior to the game, Browns LDE Corey Williams provided bulletin-board fodder when he accused RB Brandon Jacobs of "not liking to get hit," of quitting when he took too many hits and of not being "a tough enough player." Jacobs gained 67 yards on 14 carries, and after the game he said: "I ran hard and they had trouble stopping me. That's not right. A man should never question another man's toughness."

REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS

PASSING OFFENSE: D -- QB Eli Manning had his worst game of the season, completing 18 of 28 attempts for 196 yards. He was sacked just once but threw three interceptions, one of which came back 94 yards for a TD. He finished with a passer rating of 47.1, a far cry from the 136.6 he achieved the week before vs. Seattle. The O-line protected him well, but the Browns defense took away his receivers and he had to drop down to the secondary and tertiary targets only to find they were covered as well. Reserve WR Steve Smith led the team with nine catches for 94 yards, running short- and medium-range passes over the middle, but none of them were potential game-breakers. The Giants' true game-breaker, WR Plaxico Burress, caught Manning's only TD pass, but with his four receptions and 58 yards was not a true factor. TE Kevin Boss had just one catch for 24 yards, as did sub TE Michael Matthews (one for 13) and the hero of the victory over Seattle a week earlier, WR Domenik Hixon (who had four for 102 vs. Seattle), was limited to one reception for 6 yards.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C -- The Giants outgained the Browns on the ground, 181-144, but it was Derrick Ward and not star Brandon Jacobs who was the pace-setter. He carried 10 times for 101 yards, often getting his blocking up the middle from C Shaun O'Hara and RG Chris Snee. The ongoing mystery is why coordinator Kevin Gilbride refuses to use RB Ahmad Bradshaw for more than a token appearance. He was a vital star last season and Monday night had neither a rushing opportunity nor a pass reception. Ward and Jacobs combined for 25 carries for 168 yards. LT David Diehl and LG Rich Seubert were instrumental in the sweeps and slants run by both Ward and Jacobs. There were 25 rushing attempts (actually 24, but Manning took off once on his own for 13 yards) and 28 passing attempts when it might have been propitious to run more frequently since it was working.

PASS DEFENSE: D -- The Giants are still waiting to find someone to cover Browns WR Braylon Edwards, who had five receptions for 154 yards and a TD, including gains of 70 and 49 yards. Both cornerbacks, Corey Webster and Aaron Ross, were burned repeatedly, forcing the defense to adjust by moving in one of the safeties and dropping an outside linebacker into slightly deeper coverage. It didn't work but merely opened other opportunities. Star TE Kellen Winslow Jr. was held out of the game (sickness) but his replacement, Steve Heiden, responded with five catches for 59 yards -- three of which were for first downs. In all, the Browns gained 11 passing first downs. There was no pressure put on QB Derek Anderson, who wasn't sacked at all. The Giants recorded just one hit on Anderson, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 310 yards and two TDs. He was not intercepted.

RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus -- Jamal Lewis gained 88 tough yards, most of them up the middle of the Giants defense, on 21 carries. He scored once and never gained more than 13 yards on any single carry. The Giants were repeatedly victimized by cross-blocking, the center taking out one of the defensive tackles while one of the guards crossed over to find either the other tackle or the middle linebacker and open the hole for Lewis directly up the middle or to either side of that "A gap." Oddly, six of the Browns' too-high 10 penalties were flagged on the O-line, including four false starts. Lewis had five of the Browns' nine first downs gained by rushing. With so much of the running going up the middle, Giants DTs Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield should have had more than the six tackles (three each) credited to them. The leading tackler was rookie WLB Bryan Kehl, who seems to have won the starting job from veteran Gerris Wilkinson. The two had been alternating series since the second game of the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus -- P Jeff Feagles had only two kicks, one in each half, averaging 42.5 (41.0 net). K John Carney did not attempt a field goal but made both PATs, giving him 15 in a row without a miss this season. Ahmad Bradshaw took back three kickoffs for 66 yards. There were no punt returns, as Cleveland's Dave Zastudil didn't have to try any. Kick coverage was exemplary for the Giants, holding the Browns to 3 yards on one punt return (the other punt was kicked out of bounds) and limiting two kickoff returns to 34 yards.

COACHING: D -- Clearly, the New York coaching staff was outperformed by Cleveland's. There was little imagination to the offense (a frequent complaint even when the team wins) and the defense was suddenly tissue-paper thin and porous, hardly what anyone has come to expect from coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The Browns were able to move the ball through the air almost at will, and once it became clear the starting corners were struggling, one might have expected to see more use of veteran reserves such as R.W. McQuarters and Kevin Dockery. Head coach Tom Coughlin offered no excuses, but he did say that "no one likes to sit around all day to play a Monday night game." He might be faulted in a general sense on the overall preparedness of the team.