Now that is what you call a homecoming.
Forget his brief NFL career — Queens native Kevin Ogletree had the night of his entire life Wednesday night in the Cowboys’ shocker of a 24-17 victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
The fourth-year pro and Holy Cross High School product came out of nowhere to dominate the world champs’ beat-up secondary, wearing out a succession of Big Blue defenders with eight catches for 114 yards and his first two touchdowns as a pro.
Ogletree capped his evening to remember by clinching the game, too, hauling in a 13-yard catch on third-and-10 from the Dallas 26 to give the Cowboys a first down at the two-minute warning and with the Giants out of timeouts.
It was an emotional night for Ogletree, too, considering he visited with his critically ill brother earlier in the day. Calvin Ogletree is clinging to life after being shot in the head in a late-night street dispute in Queens last January, and Kevin dedicated his performance to him.
“I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be able to come up here where I’m from and be able to do this,” Ogletree said while surrounded by more reporters than he had seen after his first 31 games combined.
This was a player, mind you, who began the night with just 25 catches for 294 yards in those 31 games. By the time it was over, the Giants had to be wondering what was the name of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound bus that just ran over them.
Minus their two starting cornerbacks (Terrell Thomas and Prince Amukamara) due to injuries, the Giants already knew they were going to have their hands full with top Cowboys pass-catchers Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten.
So it was no surprise Tony Romo would go after the Giants’ backups. The shock was he kept feeding Ogletree to do it, and Ogletree kept catching pretty much everything Romo threw his way.
Ogletree, who had 15 receptions all of last season, had five catches and a touchdown by halftime. Giants cornerbacks Michael Coe and Justin Tryon (after Coe left with a second-half hamstring injury) looked hapless trying to keep up.
Coe had to be especially embarrassed after being made to look foolish on a double move by Ogletree on the Cowboys’ first possession of the third quarter. The result was a too-easy, 40 yard touchdown that put Dallas up 14-3 and left the Giants reeling.
Victor Cruz made his bones as a No. 3 slot receiver at MetLife Stadium last season, but Ogletree was by far the best No. 3 wideout on the field last night.
“What can you say about Kevin Ogletree other than ‘wow!’ ’’ said Witten, who was impressive himself simply by playing just 22 days after lacerating his spleen. “He showed the talent everybody in this locker room knows he has. It was fun to watch.”
Ogletree was sporting a Brooklyn Nets hat afterward, but said he considers himself a former New Yorker as long as he’s wearing the Cowboys star.
“My home’s in Dallas now,” Ogletree said.