New York Giants 37 – Dallas Cowboys 34

Giants Win!: Trailing 34-22 with 3:14 left in the game, the New York Giants scored the game’s last 15 points to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 37-34 on Sunday night. The victory improved the Giants’ record to 7-6, tied with the Dallas Cowboys for first place in the NFC East with three games left to play in the regular season.

“It’d be nice to have an easy one,” said Giants President/CEO John Mara, “but I don’t think that’s in our DNA.”

The hero of the game was undoubtedly QB Eli Manning, who completed 27-of-47 passes for 400 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  While the Giants’ defense played poorly, DE Jason Pierre-Paul was also one of the stars of the game.  Pierre-Paul was credited with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, a safety, and he blocked the attempted last-second, game-tying field goal at the end of the contest.

As many expected, the game was an offensive shootout.  The Giants accrued 28 first downs, 510 total net yards, 400 net yards passing, 110 net yards rushing, and controlled the clock for 34:19.  Meanwhile, the Cowboys gained 23 first downs, 444 total net yards, 305 net yards passing, 139 net yards rushing, and controlled the clock for 25:41.

Neither team scored on their opening possessions of the game. On Dallas’ second offensive possession, Pierre-Paul sacked QB Tony Romo in the endzone for a safety and a 2-0 advantage. The Giants added to this when they received the ensuing free kick and added a 23-yard field goal by PK Lawrence Tynes. The big play on this drive was a 64-yard pass from Manning to WR Hakeem Nicks on 3rd-and-7.

However, the Cowboys responded on their third possession with an 8-play, 80-yard drive that gave Dallas a 7-5 lead. The seesaw battle was on. The Giants then drove 80 yards in 10 plays to regain the lead 12-10 with HB Brandon Jacobs scoring from one yard out. Then the Cowboys responded again with an 11-play, 80-yard drive to take the lead 14-12.

The Giants drove to the Dallas 43-yard line before being forced to punt. Pierre-Paul then forced HB Felix Jones to fumble and S Deon Grant recovered the football and advanced it a yard to the Dallas 14-yard line. However, New York settled for a 26-yard field goal by Tynes to regain the lead at 15-14. Nevertheless, with just over a minute left before halftime, the Cowboys were able to get into field goal range and successfully hit a 49-yard field goal to take a 17-15 advantage at the half.

The Giants received the football to start the second half but went three-and-out. On their first possession of the second half, the Cowboys drove 41 yards in 11 plays to set up another successful 49-yard field goal. Cowboys 20 – Giants 15.

The Giants went back on top on their second possession of the half by driving 85 yards in 9 plays with WR Mario Manningham scoring from 47 yards out on a pass from Manning. Giants 22 – Cowboys 20.

After both teams exchanged punts, the Cowboys struck quickly by going 80 yards in 4 plays to go ahead 27-22. The big play was a 74-yard pass on 3rd-and-10. On the very next snap, Romo found WR Miles Austin from 6 yards out.

On their ensuing possession, the Giants drove from their own 20-yard line to the Cowboys’ 21-yard with just under seven minutes to play. On 3rd-and-9, Manning’s pass intended for HB D.J. Ware was deflected, intercepted, and returned to near midfield. Two plays later, Romo hit WR Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown and a 34-22 lead with under 6 minutes to play.

Manning then led the Giants on an 8-play, 80 yard march that took 2:27 off of the clock. With 3:14 to play, Manning hit TE Jake Ballard for an 8-yard touchdown to cut the Cowboys’ advantage to 34-29.

Dallas went three-and-out on their next possession. Fortunately for the Giants, Romo overthrew the wide-open Austin on 3rd-and-5 on what could have been a 75-yard touchdown.

With 2:12 to play, Manning once again brought the Giants back by driving 58 yards in 6 plays. With 46 left in the game, Jacobs scored again from 1-yard out to give the Giants a 35-34 lead. New York successfully converted on the 2-point attempt Ware scored on a running play. Giants 37 – Cowboys 34.

Dallas was not dead however. The much-maligned Giants’ defense allowed Dallas to drive from their own 20 to the Giants’ 29-yard line with 6 seconds left in the contest. It appeared the Cowboys’ kicker successfully hit the 47-yard field goal attempt to tie the game and send it into overtime. However, Head Coach Tom Coughlin called a timeout to ice the kicker right before the snap. On the kicker’s second attempt, Pierre-Paul blocked the kick to preserve the victory.

Offensively, aside from Manning’s big night, Nicks caught 7 passes for 154 yards and WR Victor Cruz 7 passes for 83 yards. Jacobs carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Highlights/lowlights of the game are available at NFL.com.

Injury Report: TE Jake Ballard jammed his wrist in the game; X-rays were negative. H-Back Travis Beckum suffered a chest injury in the first half and didn’t return.

Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were WR Jerrel Jernigan, OC David Baas (neck/intense headaches), OT Tony Ugoh, DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle/knee), LB Mark Herzlich (ankle), LB Spencer Paysinger (hamstring), and S Kenny Phillips (knee).