On a dreary afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, the Dallas Cowboys outlasted the New York Giants 24-21 to secure a sweep the season series and regain the lead in the NFC East.
Dallas opened up the scoring with a 50-yard fumble return by rookie safety Jeff Heath--his first career touchdown--to get out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The fumble was forced by cornerback Orlando Scandrick, who was shaken up on the play but remained in the game.
The Giants got on the board early in the second quarter with a 21-yard field goal by Josh Brown, but Dallas answered with an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten from Tony Romo to extend their lead once more, 14-3. On a tough day to pass the ball, Romo finished 23-for-38 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which bounced off the hands of Dez Bryant and into the hands of Giants cornerback Antrel Rolle.
Brown added a second field goal to close New York’s deficit to 14-6 before the half.
The Cowboys extended their lead to 21-6 in the third quarter with Witten’s second touchdown catch of the day, this time a two-yarder. But that would be it for the Cowboys’ offense for awhile.
The Giants came back with a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession, capped with a 27-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning to tight end Brandon Myers. Myers could’ve been downed well before the goal line, but the defender on the play, linebacker Bruce Carter, didn’t touch him down, allowing Myers to get up and stroll into the end zone.
In the fourth, the Giants finally tied it up, with a Louis Murphy touchdown catch and a successful two-point conversion in the form of an Andre Brown run.
At 21-21 and less than five minutes remaining, the game had all the symptoms of a disappointing Cowboys loss with, but Romo and co. were up for the task on Sunday. They drove 64 yards, eventually turning it over to Dan Bailey, who hit a 35-yard field goal as time ran out to give Dallas the 24-21 win on the road.
At 6-5, the Cowboys will host the Oakland Raiders in a Thanksgiving Day match-up on Thursday.
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