Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes to lead the New York Giants to a 41-35 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, with the home team’s misery compounded when quarterback Tony Romo broke his collar bone.
The Cowboys forced five turnovers and scored on a punt return yet ended up losing the game easily to the Giants, who have won their last four games and lead the NFC East with a 5-2 record.
The Cowboys (1-5), whose play-off hopes have faded badly, had forced two early turnovers and were 10-7 up when Romo was hit by Giants linebacker Michael Boley early in the second quarter.
PHOTO: AFP
Romo was replaced by back-up Jon Kitna, who did not take a snap last season, but it was the crumbling Dallas defense that allowed the Giants to take control.
“We seemed to have a big let down when Tony went out,” Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. “It looked like the team just let down, we didn’t make a first down for so long.”
After the Cowboys had scored on a superb 93-yard punt return from Dez Bryant to move 20-7 ahead, the Giants brushed Dallas aside and scored on their next five possessions.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Manning, who passed for a total of 306 yards, threw two touchdowns in the second quarter to ensure the visitors held a 24-20 halftime lead.
In the third, Manning delivered a 25-yard pass to Mario Manningham and then a 30-yard run from Brandon Jacobs, breaking tackles far too easily, extended the advantage to 38-20.
With the Giants easing off, rookie Bryant added two more touchdowns for Dallas in the fourth to give them a late glimmer of hope, but New York grabbed possession from an onside kick in the dying seconds to make sure of the win.
PHOTO: EPA
The Cowboys began the year hoping to make the Super Bowl that will be held in their spectacular stadium, but while that now looks a forlorn dream, Phillips is not giving up.
“We are going to keep fighting, we have some good players who are going to step up and make plays,” Phillips said.
Manning said he was pleased with the way the Giants reacted to their poor start.
“We gave them 10 points to start with, but then we started driving and got hot in the second quarter,” he said, adding that the team had also ended the game poorly. “We need to learn to just play conservative and close out games.”
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