Despite mammoth showings from Tony Romo and Jason Witten, the Dallas Cowboys opened the much discussed month of December with a loss on Sunday, falling to New York 31-24.
Dallas jumped to a 10-0 lead early, with a 34-yard field goal by Nick Folk and a Romo touchdown pass to Roy Williams.
Williams would have arguably his best day as a Cowboy, with six catches, two touchdowns and 60 yards receiving. Tony Romo, too, had a remarkable day, going 41 for 55, for 392 yards and three touchdowns--good enough for a passer rating of 112.1. Unfortunately for Dallas, this wouldn't be enough to suppress a desperate New York Giants team.
The running game, which posted 251 yards against New York in the first meeting between the teams, was all but silenced by the Giants' defensive front. Marion Barber was Dallas's leading rusher, with 36 yards on 15 carries for a paltry 2.4 average. Nick Folk missed two more field goals, bringing his total misses on the season to eight--one more than he had in his first two seasons combined.
New York took over in the latter part of the first half, with two unanswered touchdowns. The first came on a 21 yard pass to Hakeem Nicks, to cap a four-play, 74-yard drive. After a Marion Barber fumble abruptly ended a drive by Dallas, New York took over at the Dallas 28. Four plays later, Brandon Jacobs trotted in for the score.
Folk missed on a 57 yard field goal attempt to end the half, spoiling Dallas's hopes of regaining momentum going into intermission.
Regardless, Dallas struck first in the second half, as Romo hit Williams for a touchdown, capping a 56-yard drive and pulling ahead to a 17-14 lead. It would be their last on the day.
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On New York's first play from scrimmage following the touchdown, Jacobs caught a screen from Manning and took it 74 yards for a score, the longest of Jacobs' career.
Lawrence Tynes added a 23-yard field goal to bring the Dallas deficit to ten. Then, Domenik Hixon happened.
Hixon took a booming Mat McBriar punt 79 yards--through failing, flailing Dallas defenders--for a touchdown, giving New York a 14-point lead with just over five minutes left on the game clock.
Dallas pulled within a seven points on a Miles Austin touchdown catch late in the fourth. With a mere 58 seconds remaining, though, the Cowboys were forced to attempt an onside kick. In a fitting end to a thoroughly frustrating day for Cowboys fans, Sam Hurd was called for an illegal touch on the play, negating the Cowboys' recovery, and giving the ball--and the game--to New York.
With the loss, Dallas moves to 8-4, tied with Philadelphia (who put the beat down on Atlanta today) for first place in the east. They will host San Diego next week at Cowboys Stadium.
