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New York Giants Brandon Jacobs against Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. (ZUMA PHOTO)
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01/14/2008 2:30am
Giants' winning road show rolls by Cowboys
IRVING, Texas -- Football games are rarely won or lost because of one play, but with 16 seconds on the clock and the Dallas Cowboys looking at fourth-and-11 before a nervous Texas Stadium crowd, one more play was all the New York Giants needed.
They got it, too.
R.W. McQuarters stepped in front of Terry Glenn in the end zone and snagged Tony Romo's pass with an assured finality, lifting the Giants to a 21-17 upset of the Cowboys that propelled them to Lambeau Field for the NFC title game.
Romo, with few options and once again under a heavy rush from the 23-yard line, threw into heavy traffic over the middle. "It hurts," said Romo, whose season ended last year in the playoff opener when he mishandled the snap on a potential game-winning field goal. "It's a tough pill to swallow."
Yet the ending was typical of how this tight NFC divisional playoff game unfolded. The Giants, now winners of nine in a row on the road, were the ones dripping with poise when it mattered most. The Cowboys, despite the No.1 seed earned with a 13-3 regular-season record, too often looked like the team that didn't know how to win such a high-stakes game.
Before Dallas' last frantic drive, the Cowboys started a possession near midfield with seven minutes remaining. But that opportunity was hampered by Romo's intentional grounding -- one of 11 Dallas penalties -- and ended with a third-and-20 heave to Terrell Owens that was not close to being completed.
"I am so proud of our players," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "They really rose up. Our defensive guys had to make two big stops on our side of the 50-yard line at the end of the game."
The game-clinching interception isn't the only reason McQuarters is a Giant hero. He was pressed into the lineup after injuries left the Giants extremely thin in the secondary. Already down two corners, with Sam Madison and Kevin Dockery out because of injuries, New York lost Aaron Ross for most of the second half to a shoulder injury. McQuarters held his own as Romo fired away down the stretch.
He also set up the winning touchdown -- a 1-yard Brandon Jacobs plow early in the fourth quarter -- with a 25-yard punt return that gave the New York offense a short field at the Dallas 37.
Dallas was forced to punt because of a third-down gaffe that epitomized its struggles. After Romo scrambled from trouble, he sidearmed a pass to a wide-open Patrick Crayton that would have moved the chains. But the drive-killing drop swung the momentum.
"There were opportunities throughout the whole game," Owens said. "We made them sometimes, and sometimes we didn't. ... It's the playoffs, and every play counts. Every play is magnified."
Just when it appeared Dallas had dug itself out of an early jam, New York scored on the game's opening possession when Greg Ellis' whiffed tackle contributed to Amani Toomer's 52-yard TD, a reminder that momentum can be fleeting.
The Cowboys went 90 yards on a 20-play drive just before halftime, converting six third downs and chewing up 10 minutes, 28 seconds of clock. Marion Barber (27 rushes, 129 yards) plowed in with a 1-yard TD that gave Dallas a 14-7 lead.
One problem: Dallas, which went 90 yards on its first TD drive, left 53 seconds on the clock. Rather than a signature drive to take away the Giants' will, New York responded with an urgent march of its own.
And the Cowboys helped. After Steve Smith's 22-yard catch to midfield, Eli Manning (12-for-18, 163 yards, two TDs, no picks, 132.4 rating) hit Smith again along the right sideline for 11 yards. When Jacques Reeves tugged on Smith's face mask, 15 yards were tacked on. Four plays later, Manning zipped a 4-yard TD pass to Toomer. Game tied, seven seconds before the half.
"It was big," Manning said. "They had all the momentum with that last drive. Our defense was gassed. We didn't have a lot going our way, and to get a touchdown was a huge momentum builder for our team."
The Giants undoubtedly have poise on their side. Manning was smart and efficient with the football, and as was the case at the Tampa Buccaneers a week earlier, he didn't commit a turnover. And for the second game in a row, neither did his team.
And while the flags were flying against Dallas, New York was penalized just three times.
That's the type of composure it takes to win in the playoffs. For the Giants, it came wrapped in the type of confidence that matters, too.
The sign posted in the visiting locker room spoke volumes.
It read, "Road Warriors: 9-1."
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??? Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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