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OCT 25, 8:30 pm - Giants at Cowboys
| Game 7 | |||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Giants | 7 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 41 |
| Dallas | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 35 |
| ESPN Scores | ESPN Recap | ESPN Stats |
Giants
beat the Cowboys 41-35.
Eli
Manning was 25-of-35 for 306 yards with 4 TDs and 3 INTs.
Ahmad Bradshaw rushed
for 126 yards on 24 carries, 1 fumble and caught 2 passes for 12 yards.
Brandon
Jacobs rushed for 75 yards on 12 carries and had 1 fumble and 1TD.
Hakeem Nicks
caught 9 passes for 108 yards and 2 TDs.
Steve Smith caught 9 passes for 101
yards and 1TD.
Mario Manningham caught 3 passes for 40 yards and 1 TD.
Kevin
Boss caught 1 pass for 23 yards.
Ramses Barden caught 1 pass for 22 yards.
Michael
Boley, Deon Grant and Barry Cofield each had 1 sack.
Justin Tuck and Deon Grant
recovered fumbles.
Lawrence Tynes kicked 53 and 26 yard field goals.
Game
Notes:
"What a bad start. The
Giants were three-and-out on their first two possessions with two straight interceptions
off the hands of Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks. When did the ball get so hard to
catch? We were quickly down 10-0 to the Cowboys. The offense recovered on the
next possession and Eli Manning drove downfield, mostly using a combination of
runs by Ahmad Bradshaw and passes to Hakeem Nicks, who ended up with the ball
in the endzone. After the kickoff the Cowboys returned the ball to their 40 yard
line, and the defense was able to hold given more of a chance than they had earlier,
when they found themselves having to defend first from their own 5 and then the
18 yard line.
The Giants next drive started in the second quarter on the 10
yard line after Chris Snee was hit with a false start penalty. It ended a few
plays later when Brandon Jacobs fumbled the ball, and once again the defense took
up position on their own side of the field. Then
Tony Romo got hurt completing a 14 yard pass to Miles Austin. I never want to
see any player hurt, and when he left the field it was like the rest of his team
followed along with him in spirit. Romo's offense, now led by backup quarterback
Jon Kitna, settled for a field goal and a
13-7 lead.
The Giants went three-and-out but Matt Dodge boomed the ball all
the way down the field with his punt. Unfortunately it was returned all the way
back for a 93 yard touchdown and a Cowboys 20-7 lead. It
sure looked to be one of those games where things were not going to end well for
the Giants. They didn't give up though. In fact the offense came up with two touchdowns
and a field goal before the first half ended, while the defense kept the less
spirited Cowboys in check.
The half ended with the score 24-20 in favor of
the Giants and the third quarter had them scoring two more touchdowns which meant
that the Giants had put up 31 straight points to the Cowboys none. Somehow even
with the score 38-21 and less than five minutes to go, things got a bit strange
and dicey. Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled near midfield. Jon Kitna was sacked and lost
the ball. Eli Manning threw an interception. Jon Kitna threw for a 15 yard touchdown.
The Cowboys went for 2 and made it. All that happened in about a minute and a
half of playing time and the Cowboys were suddenly within 10 points of tying the
game.
The onside kick didn't work and Ahmad Bradshaw, out to make amends for
his earlier mistake, reeled off a 22 yard run and Lawrence Tynes kicked a short
26 yard field goal for a more comfortable 13 point lead. That lasted for just
about a minute when Jon Kitna completed another 15 yard touchdown pass. So with
40 seconds to go, and with the Giants up by only six now, the Cowboys tried another
onside kick which also did not work. The Giants ended up with the victory tonight,
but if Tony Romo had been in this game all the way, the outcome might not have
been the same."
"The Giants sure don't make things easy on themselves. At a time when their defensive unit is peaking, the offense continues to put them in a hole. Aside from Eli Manning fumbling the ball away four times, he now has 11 interceptions which is the most of any quarterback in the league. Granted that half of them have bounced off his receivers but his throws have also been high at times. The good part of Eli is his confidence level because he comes right back, and he is tied for the league lead with Drew Brees for the most touchdowns. Both have 11.
In the game tonight, the erratic offense had five turnovers which included 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles by the running backs. The same players who made the mistakes also turned in some good numbers which led to 41 points. Eli Manning threw four touchdowns. The receivers who batted the ball to the other team, Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith, each caught 9 passes for over 100 yards and pulled in three of Manning's touchdown passes. The running backs who fumbled, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, combined for over 200 yards and 1 touchdown. Imagine how this game would have played out without those mistakes.
The defensive unit faced a strong opponent and was put in some tough field position. They held the Cowboys on third downs to 0 of 10, and only allowed one of the two fourth down attempts to succeed. The Cowboys running game was squashed and held to just 41 yards. They did allow the Cowboys to score two touchdowns in the final minutes, but on one they were defending from the 15 yard line.
Punter Matt Dodge played a strong game, it's too bad the coverage team couldn't take advantage of his 69 yard kick which was returned for a touchdown. Special teams coach Mike Quinn has his work cut out for him over the bye week, although to their credit they did successfully handle those onside kick attempts. Lawrence Tynes has been reliable and he kicked a career best 53-yard field goal.
The Giants will have a bye this week, and then a long trip to Seattle. They're not their best coming off bye weeks with a 5-16 record. They should focus hard on cleaning up those mistakes."
Scoring:
| First Quarter |
| DALLAS
- TOUCHDOWN Play: Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards in 0:4 9 Dallas 7-0 DALLAS - FIELDGOAL Play: Dallas 10-0 GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN Play: Drive: 11 plays, 79 yards in 6:10 Dallas 10-7 |
| Second Quarter |
| DALLAS
- FIELDGOAL |
| Third Quarter |
|
GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN Play: Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards in 2:21 New York 31-20 GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN Play: Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards in 3:49 New York 38-20 |
| Fourth Quarter |
| DALLAS
- TOUCHDOWN |
Notes:
Giants Manning is 20-4 as a starter in October.
That's
the best among all Super Bowl-era quarterbacks (minimum 20 starts).
Giants are 2-0 at the Cowboys new stadium.
Giants have injured 5 quarterbacks this season in 7 games.
Giants Lawrence Tynes kicked a career-best 53-yard field goal.
Cowboys were 0 for 10 on third downs.
Cowboys Tony Romo broke his own club record, throwing for a TD in his 18th straight game.
Cowboys
backup quarterback Jon Kitna hadn't played since Oct. 5, 2008.
Kitna was part
of Detroit's winless season that year.
Cowboys would have to match the 1970 Bengals, the only 1-5 team ever to make the playoffs.
Cowboys went 1-15 the last time they started a season at 1-5, back in 1989.
Next Games
Nov 7 - Giants at Seattle
Giants Tickets - Buy or Sell 700+ tickets! (as of 10/25)
Nov 14 - Cowboys at Giants
Giants Tickets - Buy or Sell 1200+ tickets! (as of 10/25)
