EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—The New York Giants responded to head coach Tom Coughlin's challenge with a 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.
The win gave the Giants the NFC East title and will send them into the first round of the playoffs next week against the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile the Cowboys, who were their own worst enemy Sunday night, finish in third place in the division behind the Eagles.
The Giants dominated the first half, jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Wide receiver Victor Cruz turned a short reception into a 74-yard score in the first quarter, grabbing a third-and-1 pass and zipping down the sideline, aided by a downfield block by fellow receiver Hakeem Nicks.
Running back Ahmad Bradshaw had two first-half touchdowns for the Giants, both in the second quarter. The first came on a 5-yard run and the second on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning.
The Giants defense kept Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo off balance throughout the first half. Although Romo completed 10 of 12 passes, he only managed to get 97 yards as he was sacked three times by New York.
Dallas, who had six first-half penalties among a litany of mistakes, also converted just one of their six third-down attempts in the half as the Giants defense continued to bring the pressure and cover the Dallas receivers tightly.
The Cowboys built momentum with a crisp drive with quick throws to offset the Giants' pass rush with a score in the third quarter. Romo found receiver Laurent Robinson for a 34-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-7.
But the Cowboys continued to squander opportunities. After finally getting on the board, the Cowboys appeared to have forced a Giants turnover at the Dallas 40 when Giants running back DJ Ware was stripped of the ball and the fumble recovered by linebacker Sean Lee.
However, an offside penalty—the third of the game against Dallas—was called against Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and nullified the turnover.
The Cowboys eventually got the ball back thanks to the Giants' inability to convert on fourth-and-one. However, after driving down to the Giants' 10-yard line, Dallas, facing a fourth-and-one, came up short on a rushed quarterback sneak by Romo. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and linebacker Michael Boley, who leapt over the Cowboys' line to wrap up Romo, were credited with the tackle to snuff out the potential Cowboys scoring drive.
The Cowboys got a break thanks to a Giants mistake when on a 13-yard punt return by Dez Bryant, Devin Thomas was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which gave Dallas the ball at the Giants' 41. Working from the no-huddle, Romo connected with Robinson for their second score of the day three plays later, this one a 6-yard strike to narrow the Giants' lead to 21-14.
Unfazed by the Cowboys' surge in momentum, the Giants' offense went right back to work on the ensuing drive. Manning and Cruz connected on passes of 44 and 20 yards, the second of which gave New York first-and-goal on the Cowboys' 8.
After Manning was sacked by Ware for a loss of 10 yards, Manning scrambled on third down for eight yards to set up a 28-yard field goal attempt for kicker Lawrence Tynes, who earlier in the game had missed a 40-yard field goal wide right. Tynes' 28-yarder gave the Giants a 24-14 lead.
New York drove the final nail in the Cowboys' coffin as with 4:04 left on the clock, Manning found Nicks for 36 yards to give the Giants first-and-goal on the Dallas four. They followed that play up with a back-shoulder fade from Manning to Nicks, a 4-yard touchdown that bumped the lead to 31-14.
The Giants host the Falcons Sunday, a 1 p.m. ET kickoff that will be the Giants' first playoff game since the 2008 season, when as the NFC's top seed, they were defeated in the divisional round by the Eagles, 23-11.
The Giants haven't played the Falcons in the postseason and are tied with the Falcons 10-10 in the regular-season series.
Game Notes: WR Victor Cruz, who had a first-quarter 74-yard touchdown reception that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead, has five touchdown catches of 65 yards or more, the most since Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch had six for the Rams in 1951. … DE Jason Pierre-Paul finished with 16.5 sacks for the season, the highest number of sacks by a Giants defender since former defensive end Michael Strahan set the NFL record with 22.5 in 2001. … QB Eli Manning, who finished with 346 yards, recorded his 22nd career 300-yard passing game. That put him ahead of Phil Simms in the franchise record books for the most 300-plus games by a quarterback.
NFL: Do the Ravens need home-field advantage?
NFL: Can the Lions make noise in the playoffs?
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