Giants beat Cowboys as time expires, 33-31, on field goal by Lawrence Tynes
BY Ralph Vacchiano
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Monday, September 21st 2009, 12:22 AM
ARLINGTON, Tex. - The sound of silence was music to the Giants' ears Sunday night. And it took them less than four minutes to turn the volume all the way down on what had been a screaming crowd of 105,121.
And to have it happen to the Dallas Cowboys and their showboating owner Jerry Jones during the opening of his $1.2 billion stadium-cum-palace?
"Probably the nicest thing I've ever been a part of," Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said.
That was the consensus feeling inside the Giants' locker room after they quieted the largest crowd to ever watch a regular-season NFL game with yet another vintage fourth-quarter comeback by Eli Manning. The QB led the Giants on an 11-play, 56-yard drive in the final 3:34 to set up Lawrence Tynes' game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. The kick gave Manning his 14th career fourth-quarter comeback, and it gave the Giants (2-0) a dramatic 33-31 win.
"That's when he's the best," said linebacker Antonio Pierce. "When we go no-huddle or up-tempo, you don't want it in the hands of nobody else but No.10. He finds a way."
Manning found it last night at the end of one of his best, yet most frustrating, performances. Riding the red-hot hands of receivers Mario Manningham (10 catches, 150 yards, one touchdown) and Steve Smith (10-134-1), Manning completed 25 of 38 passes for 330 yards and two scores. But the Giants also went 0-for-5 in the red zone, making the game much closer than it should've been.
In fact, those failures, plus a missed 29-yard field goal by Tynes early in the second half, were why the Cowboys (1-1) were able to take a dramatic lead of their own, 31-30, on a 7-yard touchdown run by Felix Jones (seven carries, 96 yards) with 3:40 left in the game.
While Jerry Jones and his record crowd were celebrating, though, Tynes looked at the clock and knew he'd get his shot at redemption.
"Absolutely," Tynes said. "The way they were moving the ball, I knew they left too much time on the clock. Eli played one of the better games I've seen him play. I knew when our offense got the ball we were at least going to have a shot."
It wasn't easy, though - and not just because Tynes had to kick the game-winner twice (the first one, which cleared the left upright by mere inches, came right after Dallas coach Wade Phillips called timeout). The Giants got the ball on the final drive at their own 25, but a holding penalty on guard Rich Seubert pushed them back to the 15 and set them up at 1st-and-20. They needed to convert two huge third-down passes, including one that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by nose tackle Jay Ratliff and still ended up going to Manningham for the first down.
Manning went 7-for-9 for 64 yards on the last drive - a performance that to his teammates wasn't much of a surprise.
"I didn't have any doubt in my mind," said defensive end Justin Tuck, who sat out the second half with a left shoulder injury. "He's been in so many situations like that. He stepped up and did it again."
Up until then, the Giants' night seemed destined to be remembered for wasted opportunities. Such as late in the first quarter, when rookie Bruce Johnson picked off a pass from Tony Romo (13-for-29, 127 yards, three interceptions) and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown and a 10-7 lead. The Giants recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but blew a chance to open up the game when they again settled for a field goal.
That opened the door for Romo to hit tight end Jason Witten with a 1-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, giving the Cowboys a 14-13 lead.
The Giants were at their best when they avoided the red zone entirely, as when Kenny Phillips made an alert play to intercept a ball that bounced off Witten's foot, setting the Giants up at the Cowboys' 28. Three plays later, Manningham made a falling, bobbling catch as he slid through the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 20-14 Giants lead.
Tynes' miss in the third quarter, though, allowed the Cowboys to reclaim the lead on a 3-yard run by Romo late in the third. Then, about five minutes later, Manning hit Smith for a 22-yard touchown, skipping the red zone again, see-sawing the Giants up 27-24 and setting the stage for the wild finish.
"We knew what we had to do," Manning said. "We had timeouts and we had plenty of time."
There always seems to be enough time for Manning and the Giants, who not only spoiled the big Dallas party, but now also have the early lead in the NFC East - Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington all are 1-1 - with a pair of victories in the division.
"That's what we're most excited about," Pierce said. "All the odds were against us. We were picked to lose everywhere. But we found a way to win."
