Giants eager to make Cowboys’ owner eat his words

Jerry Jones (UPI)

It’s butt-beating time, according to Jerry Jones.

After winning three straight and surviving the onslaught of Robert Griffin III, the Giants this week already have some motivational fodder for Sunday’s showdown with the Cowboys without anyone uttering a word. That’s because Jones long ago opened his mouth.

It was back in the summer when the Cowboys owner, speaking to a group of boosters in California on the eve of training camp, exclaimed: “Y’all should come to Cowboys Stadium and watch us beat the Giants’ asses!’’

The time for the Cowboys to make good on their owner’s promise comes this weekend and you can be sure Jones’ preemptive strike will resonate long and hard with the Giants in the days leading up to the game.

“We take pride in the billboard postings and different things, which motivates our team,’’ Ahmad Bradshaw said, “and we just use it all for motivation for the game. We have fun in Dallas stadium.’’

Jones’ 3-year-old football palace might as well be called Mara Mall or Tisch Tower, as the Giants are 3-0 there. It was the Cowboys who spoiled what was supposed to be a grand opening for the Super Bowl champs, beating the Giants 24-17 at MetLife Stadium to send an early message what the NFC East would be all about. Since then, the Giants have endured two more rough battles inside the division, losing in Philadelphia 19-17 and on Sunday needing an Eli Manning-to-Victor Cruz 77-yard scoring strike with 1:13 remaining to outlast Griffin and the Redskins, 27-23.

As high as the Giants are riding at 5-2 and atop the NFC East, they are only 1-2 among their divisional brethren.

“It’s tough, man. The division’s tough,’’ Antrel Rolle said. “That team we beat [Sunday], despite their record, they’re a great team, definitely one of the better teams we played. It’s only going to get harder.’’

The Giants haven’t made much look easy, but there are no glaring issues as they move forward. Bradshaw’s out-of-frustration exchange with coach Tom Coughlin and his helmet-slap of Cruz during Sunday’s game with the Redskins were emotional outbursts borne out of frustration and intensity and not a big deal.

“If Ahmad gets heated, he gets heated, so what?’’ Rolle said. “This is an emotional game, this is a physical game. They live to see each other in the locker room, hug, kiss, make up, do whatever they got to do, pat each other on the back. When Victor made that long touchdown catch, I’m pretty sure Ahmad was one of the first ones up to him congratulating him. That’s what it’s about.’’

What the Giants are also about is Manning’s rare ability to overcome a bad play (a dreadful interception thrown mid-way through the fourth quarter) with a sensational play (his game-winner to Cruz) without any pick-me-up or calming down.

“That’s a very, very strong suit of his,’’ Coughlin said. “He came right out, I walked up to him and said, ‘OK, the next play is the most important play, forget that one.’ I think he’s already done that. He’s already digested all of that and on to the next play and looks forward to it, actually looks forward to being in that kind of situation, which is a strong point.’’

Cruz said the Giants, offensively, are “at a better place’’ than they were in the season opener, when the entire operation was out of synch.

“We’re playing some good football now,’’ Cruz said. “Since then, I think we’ve been playing our best brands of football going forward. We’ve got a ton of confidence coming into this one, and we just want to continue our great play.’’

There’s a reason why Coughlin begins his weekly press conference prior to a game within the NFC East with the declaration, “In the division.’’ The Giants are top dogs at the moment but they can fall as quickly as they can ascend.

“It doesn’t get easy, it’s tough,’’ Coughlin said. “Each game is a battle. These divisional games are very exciting. You pinpoint each one of those. They do take a physical drain on you, but nevertheless, you have to come right back again.’’