ARLINGTON, Texas — Usually, it is Victor Cruz administering the big plays. But in yesterday’s 29-24 victory over the Cowboys, Cruz was on the receiving end of more hits than he is used to.
Late in the third quarter, with the Cowboys already having turned a 23-0 deficit into a 24-23 lead, Cruz was pummeled and gave up the ball. On a third down pass, Cruz appeared to make the reception for a first down but the ball came loose when he was leveled by Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh. That allowed the other safety, Danny McCray, to scoop the ball up off Sensabaugh’s backside for an interception.
Cruz stayed down for a moment then unsteadily got to his feet and walked off the field. He was able to stay in the game.
“I got hit pretty hard,’’ Cruz said. “It’s been a while, I’ve taken some shots though, but it was a good hit. I should have came down with the ball, but he kind of hit me right on the forearm as I was catching it.”
Cruz said he got the wind knocked out of him and also got kicked in the calf.
“A little bruised up,’’ he said. He finished with only two catches for 23 yards.
* The Giants were scrambling in the secondary down the stretch, as S Antrel Rolle was forced out of the game after hitting his head on the turf, and was to be evaluated for a possible concussion. That meant Tyler Sash had to move in at safety in the frantic fourth quarter. LB Keith Rivers was forced out with a calf injury, and MLB Chase Blackburn was lost to a hamstring injury in the third quarter. He was replaced by Mark Herzlich, although on certain packages Michael Boley played in the middle. … Lawrence Tynes is 24-for-26 on field goals after going 5-for-5 yesterday. “Those points were obviously big,’’ Tynes said. “If it’s field goals, it’s field goals, we really don’t care how we win.’’
* The Giants hurried through their postgame interviews and were wheels up on their charter flight by 10:30 p.m. (Eastern time) to get back home before Hurricane Sandy took full effect. They arrived in Newark shortly at 1 a.m. … RB Ahmad Bradshaw, playing on a sore foot, had 22 rushing attempts and 78 yards.
… The Cowboys, already playing without their leading tackler, LB Sean Lee, lost his replacement, Dan Connor, to a strained neck. … RB Andre Brown took over the team lead with his fifth rushing touchdown when he scored from a yard out in the first quarter. …
The 56-yard reception by rookie Rueben Randle on the first series was the longest pass play the Cowboys have allowed all season. … TE Bear Pascoe needed X-rays taken for a sprained ankle. The X-rays were negative but Pascoe did not play in the second half. The Giants activated only two tight ends, Pascoe and Martellus Bennett, although they use offensive lineman David Diehl as a jumbo tight end to help augment the running game.