MetLife Stadium got to witness an extra special rendition of the salsa from Victor Cruz yesterday — the game-winning variety.
The Giants’ dynamic wide receiver hauled in the go-ahead 77-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning with 1:13 left to lift the Giants to a come-from-behind, 27-23 victory over the Redskins.
“Thank God for Victor Cruz,” defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said.
More than 80,000 Giants fans felt the same way after Cruz’s long catch and run gave the Giants their third straight win and command of the NFC East.
Cruz has made a habit of such plays, though this was by far his biggest one — in terms of yards and importance — of the season.
“All our receivers pride ourselves on that, but me personally I love being in that position,” he said. “I feel like whenever I get the ball in my hands, I want to do some good things and great things with it. Any time we get in that position, I want to be the one to make the big catch or the winning touchdown.”
It came just 19 seconds after Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III had quieted the stadium, putting Washington ahead with a 30-yard touchdown pass to former Jets receiver Santana Moss.
But there wasn’t any panic on the Giants sideline.
“With our offense and Eli at the helm, we’re never really too worried,” Cruz said. “We just have a lot of confidence in each other and Eli, and it shows on the field.”
For most of the afternoon, Cruz and Manning were out of sync. Manning missed Cruz on a slant in the end zone earlier, and the two had connected for a quiet six catches for 54 yards prior to the final drive.
One play erased his non-descript day, as Cruz beat Redskins defensive backs Josh Wilson and Madieu Williams over the middle. Manning perfectly dropped the ball over his shoulder and Cruz did the rest, sprinting toward pay dirt before breaking into the salsa.
“We clicked at the right time, we read the coverage the same way,” Cruz said. “As I was going vertical, I just saw the safeties were wide and they were outside of the numbers and I saw the middle of the field. I just took it, I kept going vertical and Eli saw it the same way.”
Wilson didn’t go into depth on what the Redskins plan was on the fateful play, other than he wished Cruz dropped the Manning pass. It clearly wasn’t the right scheme.
“He didn’t do anything all game,” Wilson said. “The guy was not a part of the game, until the last play.”
zbraziller@nypost.com