It was one of the most memorable games in the historic rivalry between the New York Giants. The Giants came into the house that Jerry Jones built, complete underdogs. They would end up giving the Cowboys all they could ask for and then some.
If you would have told a Giants fan that their team would be leading at the halftime intermission 13-6, that Giants fan would be thrilled. And it would be hard not to be thrilled about the score when the score was the only thing that went the Giants way. The Cowboys dominated in every statistical category but when two long drives amounted to just six points the Giants ended up with the lead.
The Giants knew though that there was a lot of things that needed to change in the second half of the game. The Cowboys ran about double the plays of the Giants. They had 220 total yards, the Giants had 86. The Cowboys had the ball for 21 minutes in the first 30 minutes of play.
The difference in the first half was a touchdown return on a recovered fumble by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. That and a Dez Bryant drop on the doorsteps of the end zone were the last images of the first half. The Giants were in the perfect position to win the game, even though the Cowboys dominated just about every statistical category. They had to take advantage of the Cowboys miscues.
So the Giants did just that. The Giants, who won the turnover ratio 3-0 built a 23-13 lead late in the second half. The Cowboys were not put away though. They struck back with a 76 yard touchdown drive that took six plays. Landon Collins failed to cover Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who had come across the formation in motion. The lead was narrowed to 23-20.
The Giants put together a pretty impressive four minute offense. The Giants moved down the field, taking their time. In the red zone Manning recognized a Cowboy offside on a big 3rd and long. He threw a bullet into the hands of Odell Beckham Jr. who failed to get into the end zone. The Giants couldn’t get into the end zone and elected to kick a field goal to extend the lead to 26-20.
The Giants needed to keep everything in front of them on the subsequent drive. The Cowboys were ready to strike with 1:34 left in regulation. Giving up too many yards on check down passes to the running back, the Giants gave the Cowboys a realistic shot at the comeback win. With just seven seconds left Jason Witten scored the game winning touchdown.
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