New York Giants corner back Corey Webster and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul celebrate Pierre-Paul’s interception return for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half. (REUTERS)
ARLINGTON, Texas – You got to give the Giants a hand.
The tip of Dez Bryant’s right hand.
That was the difference between a colossal blown lead and what turned into a rousing and exceedingly difficult and yet, for the Giants, satisfying 29-24 victory over the Cowboys in a game that had to be seen to be believed.
It looked as if the Giants had blown this one when, with six seconds remaining, Tony Romo uncorked a 37-yard pass to Dez Bryant, who beat Corey Webster and Michael Coe and made a leaping catch in the end zone. Touchdown. As the 94,067 at Cowboys Stadium erupted, replays showed that Bryant on the way tumbling down grazed the white turf out of the end zone with the tip of his right hand. A booth replay review reversed the call as the crowd howled.
Ten seconds were put back on the clock and Romo got the Cowboys to the Giants 28-yard line when his final pass sailed out of the end zone.
Just wild.
It was easy, then it was exceedingly difficult and then it was a typical Giants-Cowboys game, which is to say wild, wacky, tight, taut and – eventually – a game for the Giants to savor.
It is rare when a team can win despite blowing a 23-point lead but that’s what the Giants did. They led 23-0 early in the second quarter, trailed 24-23 late in the third quarter and never really regained control. But they did regain the lead, thanks largely to Lawrence Tynes making his fourth and fifth consecutive field goals and then hanging on for dear life.
The game was in doubt until the last 1:03, when Tony Romo, under extreme pressure on fourth-and-1, looked for Jason Witten and instead found safety Stevie Brown, who tip-toed the left sideline while making the grab. Witten had killed the Giants all day – a Cowboys record 18 receptions — and Brown had killed Romo, grabbing two of the four interceptions Romo threw.
The Cowboys did get the ball back, on their 30 with 44 seconds left. Romo reached the Giants 28 before time ran out.
The Giants are now 4-0 all-time in this $1 billion football palace.
Although it became a bit harrowing, it shaped up to be a glorious day for the Giants (6-2), as before they even took the field their two rivals in the NFC East had already both lost, the Eagles (3-4) to the unbeaten Falcons and the Redskins (3-5) to the Steelers.
Even though the Giants seemed to be toying with the Cowboys in surging to a 23-0 lead it was fool’s gold in that Eli Manning’s usually high-octane offense was on near-empty despite the bloated margin. The Giants got 20 of those 23 points off Cowboys turnovers.
Once the tide turned the Giants found it difficult to get back upstream. The Cowboys scored 24 straight points, 10 in the second quarter and 14 more in the third quarter, pulling ahead 24-23 when Romo flipped the ball to tight end John Phillips with 3:43 left in the third quarter. After that, the Cowboys kept up the punishment, as a third-down pass to Victor Cruz went awry when safety Gerald Sensabaugh leveled Cruz, causing the ball to pop loose, allowing the other safety, Danny McCray to scoop it up off Sensabaugh’s backside for an interception.
That turnover did not lead to points and Manning finally looked a bit more comfortable as he connected on five passes on a 60-yard drive that ended with Lawrence Tynes nailing a 43-yard field goal to put the Giants ahead 26-23. Before that drive, Manning was struggling – 9 of 24 for 124 yards and an interception.
It was up to the defense to make the slim lead stick and Romo was tough to get off the field, as he passed for three first downs before Felix Jones ran into center Ryan Cook, causing a fumble that safety Stevie Brown recovered on the Dallas 45-yard line. The Giants couldn’t insert the dagger but Ahmad Bradshaw runs of nine and 10 yards did get them in position for Lawrence Tynes’ 37-yard field goal to extend the lead to 29-24 with 3:31 remaining.
The Giants have not been a fast-starting team this season but they were ready from the opening bell in this one. They scored 17 points off interceptions of Romo and three points on a Bryant fumble on punt return that was recovered by Coe. It was 23-0 barely two minutes into the second quarter when Jason Pierre-Paul baited Romo and hooked him good. Romo looked to hit Jones with a swing pass but Pierre-Paul cut off his pass rush to drop in coverage, completely fooling Romo. His pass was easily picked off and JPP scooted the remaining 28 yards to stun the crowd.
The most athletic part of the play may have been the sight of JPP easily outrunning offensive tackle Tyron Smith into the end zone and then leaping for a one-handed slam dunk over the crossbar. It was Pierre-Paul’s first career touchdown, it was Romo’s third interception in the first 17 minutes of the game and Romo was booed lustily as he came off the field.