NFL

Giants defense a ‘grave concern’ for Coughlin

LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU: Jason Pierre-Paul (right) stalks Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo before sacking him in the end zone for a safety during the Giants’ 37-34 victory in Dallas Sunday night. (Getty Images)

Not long after the Giants achieved what had slipped through their fingers for more than a month, the feeling of what comes next trumped what they had just attained.

“Great game for us,’’ guard Chris Snee said after the Giants, led by Eli Manning, came back to beat the Cowboys 37-34 to slide ahead of the Cowboys and into first place in the NFC East. “It would be a shame if we wasted this and didn’t build on this. I’m very confident that we’ll do that, but Washington’s a tough team. You saw what they did with New England. We’ll have our hands full again.’’

Especially with a defense that has been struggling weekly. Coach Tom Coughlin said he has “tremendous, grave concern’’ about the defensive lapses, listing “technical errors’’ and “physical breakdowns’’ that continue to provide the opposition with gift-wrapped scoring plays.

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It’s the way this season has gone. Rarely have they won in overly impressive fashion. Take away the rout by the Saints and the other five losses were all undecided until the frantic final minutes. They needed Manning to bail them out of a 34-22 fourth-quarter deficit at Cowboys Stadium and, with overtime beckoning, were able to exhale only after Jason Pierre-Paul, capping a brilliant individual performance, blocked rookie Dan Bailey’s 47-yard field-goal attempt.

“It’s not about style points, it’s about having an opportunity to accomplish what we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season, which is win the division,’’ defensive tackle Chris Canty said. “Right now we’re in pretty good position, but we’ve got three tough ballgames ahead for us. Coach [Tom] Coughlin started this year with the mantra of ‘Finish,’ so that’s our mentality for these next three weeks.’’

The road to the playoffs is not as bumpy as it was, but it is not quite smoothly paved over, either. Such is the existence of a division leader owning a modest record of 7-6. If the Giants beat the Redskins (4-9) Sunday at MetLife Stadium, all they need to do to clinch the NFC East title is to beat the Cowboys in the regular-season finale on New Year’s Day. That means the turf war against the Jets on Christmas Eve might not be critical for the Giants, though they always have an intensely strong desire to beat their stadium-sharing business partner.

“Basically we’re in the playoffs now,’’ center Kevin Boothe said. “We’re in a playoff-type atmosphere from here on out.’’

The testimonials for Manning continue to roll in as he steered the Giants clear of a 34-22 fourth-quarter deficit with two touchdown drives in the final 5:41. It was a franchise-record sixth time the Giants won this season after trailing or being tied in the fourth quarter. Manning has directed 20 such rallies in his career. His 8-yard scoring pass to tight end Jake Ballard to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 34-29 was Manning’s 14th fourth-quarter touchdown pass this season, tying the NFL record set by Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas (1959) and matched by Eli’s older brother, Peyton Manning (2006). A quarterback is always in good company when he shares anything with Unitas and Peyton.

Even Eli needs help, though, and he has been pressured into sticky situations by a Giants defense that continues to bend and break. It is a rare game when the opposing quarterback, Tony Romo, throws for 321 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and compiles a sterling rating of 141.3, yet loses.

The Giants did coax Romo into a key three-and-out down the stretch to get the ball back into Manning’s hands, though there was an element of good fortune involved when on third down Romo misfired to a blatantly wide-open Miles Austin, who somehow broke free of Aaron Ross and the entire defensive backfield.

Earlier, Dez Bryant took advantage of rampant confusion between two veterans in the secondary, Antrel Rolle and Corey Webster to haul in an uncontested 50-yard touchdown pass. Despite those failings, the Giants, at least for one week, have righted themselves.

“We’re No. 1 in the NFC East right now, we’ve still got a lot of stuff to correct if we expect to keep this going,’’ Justin Tuck said.

“That’s what we play for, to have meaningful games in December and here we are, with everything in front of us,’’ said Boothe. “We just have to take advantage of it.’’