Giants beat Cowboys to keep playoff hopes alive
EAST RUTHERFORD – They still have a pulse.
After a no-show on Thanksgiving night, it was safe to assume the Giants no longer resembled the team expected to contend for a Super Bowl, reduced instead to a team of underperformers.
With their season on the line and needing to make a stand and their hated rivals in the building for the final time, they kept hopes for a postseason berth alive with a 31-24 victory over the Cowboys at Giants Stadium.
It was a game filled with big plays and high on emotion, which is something that had been missing from this Giants team for nearly eight weeks. Only time will tell if this win has staying power.
The victory moved their record to 7-5 and one game behind the Cowboys with four games remaining and the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series. They can move into first place next Sunday night if they beat the Eagles and the Cowboys lose at home to San Diego.
For much of the first half, there was the appearance they despite all of their talk leading up to the game, they resembled a team still unable to get out of its own way as they punted twice and Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled while attempting to regain the line of the scrimmage on a play.
Dallas initially took the lead on 34-yard field goal by Nick Folk. On the Giants possession, Bradshaw took the toss play and was losing yardage, yet fought to make something out of the play and fumbled at his own 26 and Jay Ratliff recovered.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips successfully challenged a fumble by Tashard Choice that the Giants recovered at the 1 and had the call reversed as his knee hit the ground before the ball come loose. From the Giants 4, quarterback Tony Romo’s found Roy Williams on a fade route in the back corner of the end zone to give Dallas a 10-0 advantage.
The Giants quickly answered with a 74-yard drive to get on the board. After quarterback Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 16-yard pass, the Cowboys defense appeared to have him corralled for a sack, but with presence of mind, he found Kevin Boss on a dump off for 16 more. Bradshaw gained 16 more yards on a cutback run where Manning was blocking downfield.
With 1:54 left, Nicks hauled in a pass and poor tackling allowed him to go 21 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to three.
Good fortune came on defense when Mathias Kiwanuka stripped Cowboys running back Marion Barber of the ball and Osi Umenyiora (who had been benched for Kiwanuka) recovered, returning the ball to the Dallas 28.
It took only four plays for the Giants to take the lead as Jacobs barreled to the goal line for a touchdown 14-10 lead at the half. The two quick scores negated the Cowboys 21:10 of possession.
The Giants looked to make it an 11-point advantage in the third quarter when from the Cowboys 25, Manning looked for Mario Manningham, but the pass was underthrown and intercepted in the end zone by Mike Jenkins for a touchback.
Dallas regained the lead later in the quarter when Romo faked out the Giants defense with a double fake and found Williams for his second touchdown of the game. The Giants needed only one play to strike back when Manning (11-for-25, 241 yards, 2 TD’s) found Jacobs out in the flat and with a great downfield block by Darcy Johnson and using nifty feet to stay inbounds and streak down the left sidelines for a score that energized the building.
Scoring came easy for the Giants offense on Sunday as their three scoring drives lasted the following – 1:28, 0:45 and 0:19
Folk would miss a 42-yard field goal to the left that would have made the game 21-20. Manning and the offense drove down the field and if not for a dropped pass by Steve Smith (six catches-110 yards) in the end zone, the Giants would have gone up 11. Instead, they settled for a 23-yard field goal by Tynes to make it 24-17.
The Giants forced the Cowboys into a three-and-out and punter Matt McBriar boomed a punt that sent Domenik Hixon back to his own 21. Getting out of two tackles and utilizing great blocking, he reversed his field and streaked down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown, giving the Giants a 31-17 lead.
Dallas scores a late touchdown on a 22-yard catch by Miles Austin. Romo, known for his struggles in December flourished on a day where the defense and special teams failed him. Throwing a season high 55 times, he completed 41 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
The Giants gained possession on the onside kick when Sam Hurd illegally touched the ball before it traveled the requisite 10 yards.
EAST RUTHERFORD – They still have a pulse.
After a no-show on Thanksgiving night, it was safe to assume the Giants no longer resembled the team expected to contend for a Super Bowl, reduced instead to a team of underperformers.
With their season on the line and needing to make a stand and their hated rivals in the building for the final time, they kept hopes for a postseason berth alive with a 31-24 victory over the Cowboys at Giants Stadium.
It was a game filled with big plays and high on emotion, which is something that had been missing from this Giants team for nearly eight weeks. Only time will tell if this win has staying power.
The victory moved their record to 7-5 and one game behind the Cowboys with four games remaining and the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series. They can move into first place next Sunday night if they beat the Eagles and the Cowboys lose at home to San Diego.
For much of the first half, there was the appearance they despite all of their talk leading up to the game, they resembled a team still unable to get out of its own way as they punted twice and Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled while attempting to regain the line of the scrimmage on a play.
Dallas initially took the lead on 34-yard field goal by Nick Folk. On the Giants possession, Bradshaw took the toss play and was losing yardage, yet fought to make something out of the play and fumbled at his own 26 and Jay Ratliff recovered.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips successfully challenged a fumble by Tashard Choice that the Giants recovered at the 1 and had the call reversed as his knee hit the ground before the ball come loose. From the Giants 4, quarterback Tony Romo’s found Roy Williams on a fade route in the back corner of the end zone to give Dallas a 10-0 advantage.
The Giants quickly answered with a 74-yard drive to get on the board. After quarterback Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 16-yard pass, the Cowboys defense appeared to have him corralled for a sack, but with presence of mind, he found Kevin Boss on a dump off for 16 more. Bradshaw gained 16 more yards on a cutback run where Manning was blocking downfield.
With 1:54 left, Nicks hauled in a pass and poor tackling allowed him to go 21 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to three.
Good fortune came on defense when Mathias Kiwanuka stripped Cowboys running back Marion Barber of the ball and Osi Umenyiora (who had been benched for Kiwanuka) recovered, returning the ball to the Dallas 28.
It took only four plays for the Giants to take the lead as Jacobs barreled to the goal line for a touchdown 14-10 lead at the half. The two quick scores negated the Cowboys 21:10 of possession.
The Giants looked to make it an 11-point advantage in the third quarter when from the Cowboys 25, Manning looked for Mario Manningham, but the pass was underthrown and intercepted in the end zone by Mike Jenkins for a touchback.
Dallas regained the lead later in the quarter when Romo faked out the Giants defense with a double fake and found Williams for his second touchdown of the game. The Giants needed only one play to strike back when Manning (11-for-25, 241 yards, 2 TD’s) found Jacobs out in the flat and with a great downfield block by Darcy Johnson and using nifty feet to stay inbounds and streak down the left sidelines for a score that energized the building.
Scoring came easy for the Giants offense on Sunday as their three scoring drives lasted the following – 1:28, 0:45 and 0:19
Folk would miss a 42-yard field goal to the left that would have made the game 21-20. Manning and the offense drove down the field and if not for a dropped pass by Steve Smith (six catches-110 yards) in the end zone, the Giants would have gone up 11. Instead, they settled for a 23-yard field goal by Tynes to make it 24-17.
The Giants forced the Cowboys into a three-and-out and punter Matt McBriar boomed a punt that sent Domenik Hixon back to his own 21. Getting out of two tackles and utilizing great blocking, he reversed his field and streaked down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown, giving the Giants a 31-17 lead.
Dallas scores a late touchdown on a 22-yard catch by Miles Austin. Romo, known for his struggles in December flourished on a day where the defense and special teams failed him. Throwing a season high 55 times, he completed 41 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
The Giants gained possession on the onside kick when Sam Hurd illegally touched the ball before it traveled the requisite 10 yards.
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