Giants Take First Place in NFC East, But Lose LaVar for Season: The Giants soundly beat the Dallas Cowboys last night 36-22 in Irving, TX. With a 4-2 record, the victory puts the Giants in first place in the NFC East, a half game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) and a full game ahead of the Cowboys (3-3). The Giants are currently 3-0 in the NFC East and the only team without a division loss.
“We came into another hostile environment, stuck together, played well together and fed off each other,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the game.
“They outplayed us, they out-coached us, they out-did everything,” Dallas Head Coach Bill Parcells said of the Giants.
“This is a huge win for us, coming to Dallas on a Monday night,” said QB Eli Manning, who finished the game 12-of-26 for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. “We knew it was going to be a tough environment, a tough team, a physical team. To come in here and get a win, that’s huge.”
“I’ve got to say what they say ‘how ’bout them Giants?'” shouted MLB Antonio Pierce, who had five tackles and one interception. “Considering how we started 1-2 to bounce back and win three straight and be in first place early in the season is a big accomplishment. Any time you come to Dallas and get a win, it’s big.”
However, the win was costly for the Giants as they lost LB LaVar Arrington for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Arrington is expected to undergo surgery this week.
“I still want to play. I’ll get what needs to be done,” said Arrington. “If it was a knee injury I’d have to seriously consider where I’m at. But (the Giants’ team physician) said it’s an injury you can come back from and be the same. I’ll just get what needs to be done, be a support system to my teammates and when I have an opportunity to get back on the field, I’ll get back out there.”
DE Osi Umenyiora also suffered a hip flexor injury and CB Frank Walker suffered a hamstring injury. “Hopefully, he’ll be okay,” Coughlin said of Umenyiora. CB Sam Madison and FS Will Demps missed time in the second half of the game with cramps.
The Giants jumped on top of the Cowboys early. New York received the football first. On their opening drive, after picking up two first downs, QB Eli Manning threw deep and hit WR Plaxico Burress for a 50-yard touchdown to give the Giants a quick 7-0 lead.
A sack by DE Michael Strahan on Dallas’ first possession helped to stall that drive. The Giants were able to move the ball from their own 11-yard line to their own 45-yard line on their second possession, but were then forced to punt. P Jeff Feagles’ punt was down at the 1-yard line and on 2nd-and-10 from the one, Arrington shot through a gap and sacked Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe in the end zone for a safety. The Giants were now up 9-0.
The Giants immediately received the ball back on the punt after the safety. But the Giants went three-and-out as Manning was sacked on 3rd-and-9. Arrington then likely saved a touchdown as he deflected a pass from Bledsoe off a flea-flicker, causing an incompletion. Strahan next sacked Bledsoe for the second time in the game and Dallas punted two plays later. On the Giants’ ensuing possession, Manning hit Burress for a 44-yard gain down to the Dallas 28-yard line. The Giants managed to get to the 13-yard line, but were forced to settle for a field goal that gave them a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Dallas went three-and-out on their next possession with Umenyiora sacking Bledsoe for an 8-yard loss. KR/PR Chad Morton returned the punt to the Dallas 38-yard line, but New York turned the ball over as Manning was intercepted on a 3rd-and-1 pass intended for Burress in the end zone. The Cowboys then promptly marched 80 yards in 10 plays to cut the score to 12-7.
The Giants avoided disaster on the next series. HB Tiki Barber fumbled the ball away to Dallas. The Cowboys recovered at the Giants’ 14-yard line. After picking up a first down, Dallas faced a 1st-and-goal from the Giants’ 4-yard line. A run was stuffed by Umenyiora for no gain (this was the play that Umenyiora was hurt). Then on 2nd down, Bledsoe’s pass intended for WR Terry Glenn was intercepted by CB Sam Madison at the 1-yard line. The Giants were able to run out the remainder of the clock before intermission, barely holding onto their 12-7 lead. “That was huge,” said Coughlin of Madison’s interception. “The Cowboys were down inside the 10-yard line with an opportunity to take the lead in the game. At that point in time we were not playing all that well. Sam made the play and kept them from even getting a field goal. So that was huge.”
The Cowboys decided to bench Bledsoe at halftime in favor of QB Tony Romo. Dallas received the football first and Romo’s first pass was deflected by Strahan and intercepted by LB Antonio Pierce. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Manning hit TE Jeremy Shockey for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give the Giants a 19-7 advantage.
Dallas was able to move the football on their next possession, driving from their own 22-yard line to the Giants’ 32-yard line. However, on 4th-and-2, Cowboys’ WR Terrell Owens dropped what would have been a sure first down and the Giants took over on downs. New York then proceeded to drive 68 yards in 14 plays to take a commanding 26-7 lead. The score came on a gutsy 4th-and-1 play from the Dallas 3-yard line as HB Brandon Jacobs was hit at the line but bulled his way forward for three yards and the score.
The Cowboys quickly got back into the game, however. Dallas drove 75 yards in seven plays with Romo hitting Owens for an 8-yard touchdown reception. With a successful 2-point conversion, the Giants were ahead 26-15. The Giants went three-and-out as Manning was sacked on 3rd-and-8. Dallas began to drive again and moved the ball down to the Giants’ 34-yard line. But on 2nd-and-14, Romo’s screen pass was intercepted by DT Fred Robbins and returned to the Dallas 48-yard line. The Giants were able to drive into scoring position, but were forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal that gave New York a 29-15 advantage with just under four minutes left in the game.
Again, the Cowboys quickly drove the ball, moving from their own 29-yard line to the Giants 11-yard line in just five plays. The Giants then sealed the deal when rookie CB Kevin Dockery intercepted Romo’s pass at the 4-yard line and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. The Giants were now up 36-15. “We had a couple of guys go down and they trusted me to put me in,” said Dockery. “I had to make a play. I got the read on the quarterback’s look and broke on the ball. I caught the ball and I just saw green and blue (the latter being the color of the Cowboys’ end zones). I had to get to the end zone. It feels good, not just to score a touchdown, but to do it at such a critical time, when we needed to step up and make a play.”
The Giants gave up a cheap score late, but the Giants recovered the onsides kick and then ran out the clock to finish the game.
“Two weeks ago we were still a bad team,” Strahan said. “Nobody gave us a shot. We were done. We were hapless We’ve got to keep this going, though. There’s still a long way to go.”
Post-Game Notes and Quotes: The Giants scored three offensive touchdowns against a Dallas defense that had not allowed an opponent’s offensive touchdown at home this season.
The Giants rushed for 155 yards against a Cowboys defense that entered the game ranked number one in the NFL against the run, allowing only 67.0 yards per game. “I expected to play well against the number one rush defense and we did,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
HB Tiki Barber gained 114 yards on 27 carries against Dallas. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Barber has led the Giants in rushing yards for 70 consecutive games, a streak that began with the 2002 season opener. That is the longest streak of its kind in NFL history. The old record was held by Barry Sanders, who led the Detroit Lions in rushing in each of 68 straight games from 1994 to 1998.
The Giants committed only three penalties.
Officially, DE Michael Strahan tied Lawrence Taylor for the most sacks in franchise history with 132½. However, unofficially, Taylor accrued 142 sacks with the Giants (sacks were not an official statistic during Taylor’s rookie year).
Inactive for the Giants were S Jason Bell (concussion), LB Carlos Emmons (pectoral muscle), HB Derrick Ward (foot), WR Sinorice Moss (quad), OT Guy Whimper, OT Na’Shan Goddard, DT Jonas Seawright, and QB Tim Hasselbeck (third quarterback).
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