Giants 37, Cowboys 34: My Top 10 CBS Contemplations
10. Please don't start with the "Tony Romo chokes in December" bullshit. He came within an eyelash of throwing for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns Sunday night. Yes, he could've won the game by not over-throwing Miles Austin on Dallas' next-to-last possession, but the quarterback played well enough to win. Two weeks in a row, in fact, Romo has made heroic plays in the fourth quarter only to watch crucial field goals not go through the uprights.
9. What is it with the Giants at Cowboys Stadium? They're now 3-0. Last year they broke Romo's collar bone and this year it's DeMarco Murray's ankle. Bastards.
8. Did I really see Chris Canty mocking DeMarcus Ware's "Hulk" sack celebration? The guy has 14 in his career. Ware has 15 this year alone. That said, Ware committing two offside penalties in the final three minutes and recording 0 sacks is totally revolting. When the Cowboys' secondary needed help up front to pressure Eli Manning, the Cowboys' best defensive player was nowhere to be found.
7. The Cowboys simply aren't good enough to compensate for mistakes like Terence Newman dropping an interception for a touchdown, Felix Jones fumbling at his own 15 at the end of the first half and Mat McBriar shanking a 33-yard punt to kick-start New York's final drive. Their margin for error is thinner than Jerry Jones' patience.
6. Murray, who suffered a fractured right ankle when tackled awkwardly from behind by Dave Tollefson, is done for the season. Ouch. Tashard Choice, all is forgiven? Remember, Phillips Tanner is also out for the year, placed on injured reserve last week with a pulled hamstring. Murray won't break Tony Dorsett's team rookie record of 1,007 yards rushing, instead finishing with 897.
5. Before the game, an airplane circled Cowboys Stadium flying a banner that read "Where's the birth certificate?!" Biggest waste of money ever?
4. This one's on Rob Ryan's defense. Manning dropped back to pass 47 times and was sacked exactly 0 times. The Cowboys led 34-22 with 5:52 remaining but the Giants drove 80 and 58 yards on their last two possessions.
3. After Dan Bailey nailed what appeared to be a game-tying 47-yard field goal right down the middle, the Giants – after the obligatory freeze timeout – blocked his next attempt when Jason Pierre-Paul squeezed between center Louis-Philippe Ladouceur and left guard Montrae Holland to deflect the ball harmlessly into the end zone. Said Bailey, "I hit it good. Solid." Bailey has never missed a field goal in Cowboys Stadium… that wasn't blocked.
2. This one wasn't as blatant last week's debacle in the desert, but again Cowboys' head coach Jason Garrett cost his team precious time down the stretch with simply incorrect, inexplicable clock and game management. When Giants' tight end Jake Ballard caught a pass down to Dallas' 1 with 1:14 remaining and the Cowboys leading only 34-29, Garrett should have called an immediate timeout and then allowed the Giants to score on the next play. In the owner's suite, NBC cameras caught Jerry and son Stephen yelling for a timeout. In that scenario, Romo would've gotten the ball back trailing by three with about 1:10 on the clock and one timeout. Instead, the Cowboys frustratingly didn't call a timeout until :14 after Ballard was tackled, then used their last after a running play for no gain. So instead, Romo took possession trailing by three with only: 46 left and no timeouts. Said Garrett afterward of allowing the Giants to score, "We talked about it." Not acceptable. By Garrett's actions, he was putting more trust in his defense stopping New York on first-and-goal from the 1 than in Romo and Bailey driving the field.
1. As Bailey was talking to the media, a "Clear some room!" shout went up in the Cowboys' locker room. As the cameras and notepads scattered, Murray – foot in a boot and hoodie covering his face – hobbled on crutches into his white Mustang with the blue stripes and the Oklahoma plates. Yep, the Cowboys lost a running back, a game and perhaps the season. Bewildering bummer.
