|
 Romo threw two touchdown passes and led a 14-play drive that set
up Dan Bailey's 35-yard field goal on the final play as the Cowboys
won 24-21 Sunday, ending the Giants' four-game winning streak and
denying them a place in NFL history.
"I thought it was a great drive," coach Jason Garrett said after the
Cowboys (6-5) moved into a first-place tie with idle Philadelphia in
the NFC East with five games left. "That's really when you separate
yourself as a quarterback, as an offensive team, as a team in
general."
Romo was 6 of 9 passing for 67 yards, including two crucial
third-down throws, on the winning drive that covered the final 4:45.
It came right after New York (4-7) tied the game on a 4-yard
touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Louis Murphy Jr., and a 2-point
conversion run by Andre Brown, who rushed for 127 yards.
Wide receiver Dez Bryant, who kept the drive alive with a 19-yard
catch on third-and-7 from the Dallas 23, said Romo had one message
entering the final huddle.
"We're about to do down there and score this touchdown and win,"
Bryant recalled Romo saying.
It was about the only mistake Romo made in the closing minutes.
However, a field goal was just as good.
"Everyone understood how important the game was for both teams,"
said Romo, who finished 23 of 38 for 250 yards. "They won four in a
row to put themselves back into position. They had a home game. I
could tell by their words leading up to it that they were confident.
That's what makes the game great. It was a big buildup, but we
understood that the game was going to be played on Sunday."
Romo said his only thoughts on the final drive were scoring.
"You've got to go get a field goal or touchdown and win the game,"
he said. "You either feel comfortable in those situations or you
don't. I've been in that situation the past three or four weeks. You
just have to go out and do it."
Romo did it, and it left the Giants wondering about what they gave
away in two losses to Dallas.
"This is tough," said defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, whose roughing
the passer penalty set up one of Romo's TD passes to Jason Witten.
"This is the NFL and all the teams are pretty evenly matched.
Obviously we have our work cut out, but until we are mathematically
eliminated, we're not going to pull off the gas at all."
Eleven of the 16 teams in the NFC have better records than the
Giants, so their chances of making the postseason are dim.
"Something had to happen for us to get the ball back again," coach
Tom Coughlin said.
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Romo hit Witten on TDs of 20 and 2 yards, and
Dallas got a defensive touchdown on a 50-yard fumble return by
Jeff Heath.
The Giants, seeking to become the second NFL team to win five
straight after losing the first six, rallied over the past month
to get into position to challenge for a playoff spot. They knew
this was a must-win game because they had lost to Dallas in the
season opener after turning over the ball six times.
True to form, New York tried another comeback after falling
behind 21-6 in the third quarter.
But Romo took it from the Giants on the final drive that started
at the Dallas 20 on a cold and blustery day. He hit Bryant on
the third play of the drive to keep it alive and added throws of
17 yards to Miles Austin and 13 to Cole Beasley, the latter on
third-and-10 from the New York 28.
With the wind howling, a long field goal would have been tough.
Instead, that play gave Dallas a first down at the 15 and Bailey
converted after Romo took a couple of kneel-downs.
The Giants' tying drive was kept alive by a 22-yard pass from
Manning to Victor Cruz on third-and-8 from the Dallas 27. Before
that, the Cowboys seemingly took control with a 65-yard drive
Romo capped with his second touchdown pass to Witten. The drive
continued because of Kiwanuka's penalty.
Manning's 27-yard pass to tight end Brandon Myers brought New
York within 21-13.
The Giants handed the Cowboys the season opener, committing six
turnovers in a 36-31 loss. New York continued its charity in the
rematch.
Cruz caught a pass near midfield and had the ball stripped by
Orlando Scandrick. Heath picked it up and had a clear-path to
the end zone. The fumble return started a run of four straight
scores.
NOTES: Manning finished 16 of 30 for 174 yards. ... Murphy's
catch was his second of the season. ... Dallas S Barry Church
had a game-high 13 tackles. ... Giants DT Cullen Jenkins had two
of New York's four sacks. He had a half-sack in the first 10
games. ... Giants WR Hakeem Nicks did not play because of an
abdominal injury. ... Giants C Jim Cordle left early in the
second quarter with a knee injury. ... Dallas CB Morris
Claiborne and PR-KR Dwayne Harris both left with hamstring
injuries.
___
AP NFL website:
http://pro32.ap.org/
[Associated
Press; TOM CANAVAN, AP Sports Writer]
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