Cowboys Look To Get Past Rival Giants
NEW YORK (AP) -- For Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the concern is about his back.
While the Giants' Eli Manning is looking to rebound after one of the worst starts of his career.
Romo takes the Dallas Cowboys to New York on Sunday night with a chance to match the win total from their .500 rut of the past three seasons.
The 34-year-old quarterback whose surgically repaired back sustained yet another injury against Washington has a chance for the most efficient season of his career.
Much more importantly for him, Jason Witten and the rest of the Cowboys (7-3), they're in position to end a four-year playoff drought in a season-ending schedule filled with NFC East opponents.
The co-leaders of the division along with Philadelphia owe plenty of their lofty perch to NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys' future will depend on how Romo's back holds up through three games in 12 days, including a Thanksgiving visit from the Eagles.
"We understand what we need to do to play well," Witten said. "We know what our strengths are, the things that we do well look good in cold weather, being able to run the ball and the play-action game and getting everybody healthy. Philadelphia's good, New York's good, whoever we play after that, they're going to be good."
Manning wasn't good in last week's 16-10 loss to San Francisco, matching his career high with his second five-interception game. He had the Giants inside the 49ers 5-yard line late with four chances to take the lead.
Instead, his fifth interception on a fourth-down play sent the Giants (3-7) to their fifth consecutive loss — the second straight season they've lost at least five in a row.
"I have all the faith in the world in him," coach Tom Coughlin said of Manning, who had six interceptions through nine games before facing the 49ers. "I think the competitor that he is, the extra focus, the extra concentration, I think that he'll come out and play well."
Some things to look for when the Cowboys go for a fourth straight win against the Giants, which would be their longest streak in 20 years in the series:
TONY VS. ELI: This will be the 16th meeting with Romo and Manning, with Romo holding an 8-7 edge. Manning holds all the major passing records with the Giants, and Romo is closing in on Troy Aikman in yardage and completions. Romo already has the Dallas mark for touchdowns.
"Obviously there are only so many quarterbacks who have been in one franchise for this long, have had the ups and downs and different things," Manning said.
"I obviously have a brother who I chat with a little bit about that, but Tony, any time you're in the same division with a quarterback for whatever it's been now, eight years together, seven years, there's definitely a little bond there."
RUNNING ON: The Giants are trying to get where the Cowboys are with their running game, and they should have a better chance in Rashad Jennings' second game since returning from a knee injury. The Giants could do some juggling in the offensive line with guard Geoff Schwartz expected to play after missing the first 10 games with a toe injury and tackle Justin Pugh possibly being sidelined by a thigh injury.
"We've got to be able to run the ball," Coughlin said. "You can talk about interceptions all you want, but there's a reason for all those things."
HEALTHY COWBOYS: The Cowboys are much healthier than they were at this point the past two seasons. The only player who missed practice Thursday was undrafted rookie cornerback Tyler Patmon. Linebacker and leading tackler Rolando McClain has practiced all week after missing the Jacksonville game with knee and groin injuries.
BREAKOUT ROOKIE: Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had his breakout game in the first meeting with Dallas, getting two touchdowns. He doesn't have a touchdown since, but has 357 yards receiving in three games. The No. 12 overall pick is the first rookie New York receiver with consecutive 100-yard games since Byron Williams in 1983. "You can see why he was drafted so high," Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick said.
BRENT'S RETURN: Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent is eligible to play for the first time since Dec. 2, 2012, six days before his drunken-driving accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown. Brent was convicted of intoxication manslaughter, got a 150-day jail term while avoiding prison time and was suspended by the NFL for 10 games when he was reinstated. Coach Jason Garrett has said Brent is overweight, and it's unclear whether he will be activated against the Giants.
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