CLEVELAND — Welcome back, Browns.
Welcome back to “Monday Night Football.”
Welcome back to NFL relevance.
The Browns (2-3), given up for dead by football fans near and far (especially near), upset the Super Bowl champion and previously undefeated New York Giants 35-14 Monday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
It was a performance worthy of the NFL’s most-storied stage — which the Browns hadn’t walked on in five seasons — and a display deserving of the playoff expectations that had long since been dismissed by experts everywhere.
It was about time.
“We set the bar high and we’re just starting to reach it,” center Hank Fraley said.
No one needed a shot in the arm more than quarterback Derek Anderson — and he got a syringe full of confidence. In a stadium packed with fans ready to call for backup Brady Quinn at a moment’s notice, Anderson never gave them the chance.
His first completion was a 49-yard slant to Braylon Edwards and he finished the first half with 225 yards. He was only getting started.
Anderson finished 18-for-29 for 310 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 121.3 rating — nearly 50 points higher than his previous best this season.
“I forgot to mention. The quarterback played halfway decent, too,” said a sarcastic coach Romeo Crennel, who’s been criticized for sticking with Anderson.
The face that had been marked by worry for weeks was finally liberated. Anderson smiled, he danced, he shared body-clanging celebrations in midair with Edwards. He looked like the Pro Bowler he was just months earlier.
When he had taken his last snap in the victory formation, he told the referee he was keeping the ball, then gave a big hug to quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer.
“I’m just proud of the way the guys came out and fought,” Anderson said. “I never doubted these guys.”
Anderson had plenty of help, despite the absence of Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow, the team’s leading receiver.
Edwards had five catches for a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown. Jamal Lewis ran for 88 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line didn’t allow a sack and gave Anderson room to operate.
The defense did its part, intercepting Eli Manning three times, including the game’s biggest play.
With the Giants threatening to raise the collective blood pressure of the crowd and cut into a 27-14 lead — they had second-and-4 from the 9-yard line — linebacker Willie McGinest obscured Manning’s vision as he rolled out. The pass was a little off, and cornerback Eric Wright stepped in front of Amani Toomer at the 6-yard line.
Wright headed up the Giants sideline, outran Manning and managed to stay inbounds. He started high-stepping inside the 15-yard line and did his best impersonation of Deion Sanders’ touchdown dance.
“This is something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time,” Wright said.
After a 2-point conversion pass to Edwards, the Browns led 35-14 with 8:07 remaining. The party was on.
The pick was vindication for Wright, who was burned twice in the Giants’ 30-point outburst in the preseason. The win was vindication for a team that had been reeling since that embarrassing night in August in the swamps of New Jersey.
Edwards watched the debacle from his couch with stitches in his foot. This time, he was center stage and loving it.
He did a cartwheel and a flip during pregame introductions, then ran past, through and over the Giants secondary — particularly cornerback Aaron Ross.
Edwards beat Ross on the slant, then again on a 70-yarder that was a quick and decisive response to New York taking a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. Ross bit on a play-fake, Anderson rolled right and Edwards ran clear on a double move. It would’ve been a score, but Edwards had to wait for the throw.
“If I throw it a couple yards farther, he probably walks in,” Anderson said. “But I wasn’t going to overthrow it. I was going to give him a chance to catch it.”
That Edwards didn’t score didn’t matter. Lewis scored from the 4, as right guard Rex Hadnot, right tackle Ryan Tucker (playing in his first game of the year) and tight end Steve Heiden sealed the right end.
Edwards got Ross again for an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, as Ross crumpled to the ground with a cramp. That drive may have saved the Browns’ season.
They overcame three false starts, a delay of game and a holding — five penalties for 30 yards — in the 14-play, 87-yard drive that consumed 8:16 and ended five seconds into the fourth quarter with a 27-14 lead.
“The Giants defense is a proud unit,” Crennel said. “To have the team drive the ball like that, it hurts them.”
The first home win helps heal a fragile team and restores hope to a fan base desperate for something to cheer.
“Our best football is obviously ahead of us,” Wright said. “We were able to set a standard tonight we knew we could play to.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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