Eli Manning, Ahmad Bradshaw lead Giants past Browns

East Rutherford, NJ, United States (4E Sports) – Eli Manning tossed three touchdown passes – all to wide receiver Victor Cruz – and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for a career-high 200 yards and a score as the New York Giants kept the Cleveland Browns winless with a 41-27 victory Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Manning completed 25 of 37 passes for 259 yards and connected with Cruz for touchdowns from three, seven and 28 yards to carry the Giants to their third win in five outings and hand the Browns a fifth straight loss.

Manning also calmly led the Giants’ comeback from a 14-point deficit in the first quarter with a 20-point second quarter, sparked by a scoring run by Bradshaw and capped by a touchdown pass to Cruz, that gave New York a 27-17 lead at the half.

“It’s obviously not the way you want to start, but we never get down or frustrated or start to panic. We were able to put some good drives together offensively. We didn’t force things and took what the defense had given us,” Manning said.

“The defense got us some turnovers and special teams got us a turnover. We were able to take advantage of that and get touchdowns, and guys made some big plays for us,” he added.

With rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden leading the charge, the Browns looked sharp at the outset. Trent Richardson ran for a 15-yard touchdown and Weeden found Josh Gordon at the end zone for a 62-yard scoring pass to give the Browns a 14-0 lead.

Manning then went to work, connecting with Cruz for a three-yard score to end the first period down by just a touchdown.

Phil Dawson restored a double-digit lead for the Browns with a 32-yard field goal but the Giants scored 20 unanswered points from Lawrence Tynes’ two field goals, Manning’s touchdown pass to Cruz and Bradshaw’s four-yard scoring run to take a 27-17 lead at the half and never looked back.

The Giants continued their assault in the third quarter with Manning finding Cruz for a 28-yard touchdown pass for a 34-17 lead, capping a nine-play, 95-yard drive highlighted by Bradshaw’s season-long 37-yard run.

“My hat goes off to my lineman; they did a great job. They couldn’t have done any better. There were holes everywhere. All I did was just run and it was a great day, great game and we came out successful,” Bradshaw said.

Weeden finished 22-for-35 for 291 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted by Stevie Brown and Chase Blackburn.

Richardson, who earlier sparked a word war with Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, ran for 81 yards on 17 carries with one score.

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