Where have the Browns been hiding it?

As we all know, the Browns went into their game two weeks ago against New Orleans with a 1-5 record. They were competitive in those games, even leading in the fourth quarter of all but one, but there was little reason to believe they could hang with the likes of the world champion Saints. And if you peeked ahead on their schedule, you'd see New England on Nov. 7 and the Jets on Nov. 14. You'd have been forgiven for assuming the Browns would go into their Nov. 21 game against Jacksonville with a 1-8 record.

But a funny thing happened on the way there. The Browns have now, in their last two games, upset two of the NFL's elite teams. And in convincing fashion, too -- yesterday's game against the Patriots was never in doubt. The Patriots came in with the league's best record, having lost just once. And the Browns beat them by 20.

How did they do it? Creativity and mistake-free football on both sides of the ball. And when I say creativity, I'm not just talking about the trick play that led to the Browns' second touchdown -- genius though it was. I've always loved gadget plays, and this one was a classic. I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it. Quarterback Colt McCoy walked away from the line of scrimmage while the linemen stood straight up, acting like the play was not going to start any time soon. Josh Cribbs sneaked up to the line of scrimmage and took the snap, then stuck the ball in Chansi Stuckey's ribs nonchalantly as he appeared to wander as aimlessly as McCoy. Stuckey went off-tackle to the left as the linemen suddenly snapped to life and started blocking, and ran it in for an 11-yard touchdown. It was a thing of beauty.

But the Browns did a lot of good things on offense, starting with Peyton Hillis, who rushed for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. Hillis was an animal out there. My dad told me he reminds him of Ron Dayne when he was at Wisconsin -- not an overly fast runner, but a guy who has good moves and can run over a defender every now and then. I think that's a pretty apt comparison.

McCoy didn't produce any eye-popping numbers in his third NFL start, but he didn't have to. Considering he only had to throw the ball 19 times, thanks to Hillis and the running game, he acquitted himself quite well. He completed 14 of those passes for 174 yards, and most importantly, he didn't throw any interceptions. He didn't pass for any touchdowns, but he did run for one, after dropping back to pass and not finding anyone open. Young quarterbacks are sometimes too quick to scramble, but that was certainly not the case here. McCoy saw an opening and took it. And perhaps the strongest compliment to McCoy is to simply look at the Browns' record with each quarterback starting: Delhomme, 0-1; Wallace, 1-4; McCoy, 2-1.

On the defensive side, the Browns kept Tom Brady and the Patriots offense off-balance all game long. To hold a Tom Brady-led offense to 14 points is a real accomplishment. He threw for 224 yards, but because they were behind all day, had to throw the ball 39 times to get there. The Pats only gained 283 total yards on the day, compared to the Browns' 404. This wasn't the usual type of game in which a 2-5 team upsets a 6-1 squad, in which the winning team gets a few breaks but really didn't outplay the losing team. The Browns genuinely outplayed these Patriots.

Are the Browns suddenly one of the league's best teams? Do we have a real shot at the playoffs this season? I don't know the answer to either question, but I can hardly wait to see how we do next week against the Jets.

Manning family returns to Disney World

That was one heck of an effort by the New York Giants. Holy smokes, what a game!

Super Bowl XLII was probably one of the five best Super Bowls I've ever seen. It doesn't top XXXIV, which ended with Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackling Titans receiver Kevin Dyson one yard shy of the end zone as time expired. But it's not far off.

The play of the game: The Giants have gotten to their own 43, with 1:15 to go. They're down 14-10. It's third-and-five. The Giants have already converted on one fourth-down play on this drive, and would certainly go for it again if it came to fourth down, but they'd obviously rather it didn't come to that. Eli Manning takes the shotgun snap. The Patriots rush four guys. The blocking breaks down quickly. Adalius Thomas, coming from the left side, gets a hand on Manning, but he evades him by stepping up in the pocket. But there are two Patriots waiting for him there. Richard Seymour is on his right, trying to shed a block. Jarvis Green manages to get through his blocker, and has Manning by the collar with one hand, and has grabbed onto the back of Manning's jersey with the other. Manning looks like he's got no chance to get a throw off. But somehow, Manning fights his way out of Green's tackle attempt, meanwhile slipping past Seymour, then runs backward, takes a quick peek down field and flings it from the 33. Wide receiver David Tyree is in single-coverage at the Patriots' 24, and the throw is a little bit high. Tyree leaps into the air and gets the fingertips of both hands on the ball, with Patriots cornerback Rodney Harrison all over him, thinking he's got a shot at a game-saving interception. Tyree has two hands on it, and Harrison has one. Tyree still doesn't quite have control of the ball, but he keeps both hands on it, holding it against his helmet while Harrison tries to wrestle it away from him. As the two of them fall to the turf together, Tyree somehow gets the ball down to his chest area. Harrison is still trying to get the ball away from him after they're both prone on the ground, but Tyree has established possession, and the play is over. Giants' ball, first down, 24 yards to go for a go-ahead touchdown.

A few plays later, Manning found Plaxico Burress, his favorite big-play target, in the end zone, with just 35 seconds to go. It was just Plaxico's second catch of the evening. Tom Brady has led some great comebacks in his time, but the way the Giants' defense was going, he didn't really have a shot. He took a sack on second down, then missed on two desperation heaves, both intended for Randy Moss, both into double-coverage. And the Patriots' perfect season was suddenly quite imperfect indeed.

And Don Shula, Bob Griese, Mercury Morris and the rest of the 1972 Miami Dolphins drank some champagne. They remain the only team to run the table for an entire NFL season, counting the post-season.

Archie Manning's quarterback sons are now both Super Bowl MVPs, something he never got within a mile of. And I'm sure he couldn't be prouder.

I don't believe I heard a single word about Spygate during the Super Bowl broadcast, though I did hear it mentioned in some of the talk earlier in the day on ESPN. I don't always know why I'm rooting for a particular team to win a particular game, but I can tell you that was the primary reason I was rooting for the Patriots to lose this game. I generally root for the underdog, so there was also that. But when I see Bill Belichick's face now, I no longer think "Failed former Browns coach." I think "Cheater."

I haven't felt this good about a sporting result not directly involving one of my teams since the Diamondbacks came from behind to beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

It's the big day

This matchup reminds me, ironically, of the matchup six years ago, when the Patriots and Rams met in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Patriots were in the opposite position then. The Rams were clear favorites, having won it all two years before in one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever, and they were 15-3 going into the game, to the Patriots' 13-5. But the Pats were playing awfully well going in, and won a game that was about as exciting as the one two years earlier. Of course, there's now some question about whether they pulled the same scam in that game that they pulled this year. If they did film the Rams, that calls into question every game Bill Belichick has ever won in his career, including his years with the Browns. If they didn't, Belichick has no one but himself to blame for the doubt cast upon him, as he has shown himself willing to cheat for a victory.

Anyway, the gap between records is bigger with these Patriots (18-0) and the Giants (13-6), but the parallels are there nonetheless. The Pats are 12-point favorites, and to hear the talking heads on ESPN, you'd think they'd won the game already. But don't underestimate these Giants. They're playing great, and the last game they lost was by just three points — to these Patriots. Any idiot can see that the Patriots are the better team, but in an individual game, I wouldn't be that surprised if the New Yorkers pull the upset.

Speaking of the betting line, you wouldn't believe what crazy crap you can bet on in this game. You can put money on not just whether the Patriots will win today, but whether they'll win the next THREE Super Bowls. They're giving 25-1 odds on that one. You can bet on whether the coin toss will be heads or tails — and you're a complete moron if you do that, because you have to bet $105 to win $100. You can even put down some action on what will be the higher number: the Patriots' and Giants' combined punts for the game, or the number of points Eric Dampier scores for the Mavericks against the Pistons this afternoon. I swear to God, I'm not making that up. Those bookies are pretty creative.

Apparently, you can't bet on how many marriage proposals Tom Brady will field from foreign reporters during the game. Oh, well.

Belichick's trial by fire in Cleveland

Here's an interesting look at what Bill Belichick learned from his failures in Cleveland (thanks to my good friend Jeff Brown for sending it to me). Of particular interest is the comparison between cutting our beloved Bernie Kosar and giving Tom Brady the QB job over Drew Bledsoe.

Of course, any Browns fan who's tempted to think "what if" has to remember that the franchise that gave Belichick his first coaching job is not in Cleveland now, but Baltimore. But when the new Browns came into existence in 1999, he was available. He took the New England job in 2000. I can't say I've ever come around to liking, or even really respecting, Belichick, but if he were on the cusp of winning his fourth Super Bowl for Cleveland, how would we feel about him? Let's be honest, we'd be ready to build a solid-gold statue of him and put it in Moses Cleaveland's place on Public Square.

Brady, Brady, Brady almighty

I can't help but be amused by the attention given to the walking boot seen on Tom Brady's foot while he was delivering flowers to his girlfriend. I guess, with a week and a half still to go before the big game, and nothing else going on in sports besides regular-season basketball and hockey, and the Australian Open, they've got to find SOMETHING to make a story out of.

But as much as I might like Tom Brady to miss Super Bowl XLII (and not just because he plays for the Cheatriots; he's also a Michigan man), I'm pretty sure that a walking boot 11 days before the game isn't going to keep him out. The Giants will just have to beat them at full strength.

Also, is it me, or has ESPN been replaying this Tom Brady Bunch segment on every single SportsCenter for days? It was funny once (especially when Drew Bledsoe shows up), but come on.