Dallas Cowboys Electrify New York Giants in Big Victory

The lights might have gone out for a while at the Meadowlands this past Sunday, but they seemed to come on for the Dallas Cowboys.

Just one week after taking a total shelling in a 45-7 loss in Green Bay, the Dallas Cowboys and newly-named interim head coach Jason Garrett marched into New York Giants territory and won, 33-20.

The game snapped a Cowboys losing streak that has caused a great deal of shock in Dallas and a five-game winning streak that had many calling the Giants the best team in the NFC.

“I thought the intensity was there in all three areas,” Garrett said in a post-game interview.  “Guys were fighting for each other. We were challenged in all areas and I think we stepped up.”

The Cowboys did appear to have a long-missing spark with Garrett as coach, looking more like the team that many people expected to contend for a Super Bowl rather than the team that started 1-7 and were forced to make a mid-season coaching change.

Jon Kitna went 12-for-22 for 327 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, as young talent made the rest of the Cowboys headlines.

Felix Jones was finally used as a main offensive weapon, starting at running back and gaining 51 yards on 14 carries and three catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.  Most notable was a 71-yard catch and run by Jones that featured blocking the Cowboys had been unable to do in recent weeks.

Rookie Dez Bryant continued to rise, with three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown and an additional 86 yards on special teams.  Bryant appears to taking over as a main offensive weapon for Dallas, outperforming even Miles Austin in recent games. 

Austin had two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, his first score since Tony Romo's injury.

When all was said and done, the Dallas Cowboys, a team called dead and lifeless just one week ago, ran up 427 total yards of offense against the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

Rookie corner Bryan McCann also saw a chance to shine, using it to set a Dallas Cowboys team record as he intercepted Eli Manning and ran it back 101 yards for a score.  This was just one of three New York turnovers.

“I’ll tell you what, they played well,” Giants player Osi Umenyiora said.  “They hit us with a lot of big plays. And we can’t afford to let an offense do that against us.  All the credit goes to them.”

Indeed the Dallas Cowboys showed life and looked like the team expected on the field this season.  The energy brought in by changes at head coach and defensive coordinator and the play of their young stars was the only light found in the Meadowlands for much of the evening.

Dallas comes home to host the Detroit Lions on Sunday and the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving.  Will this youthful spark carry the Cowboys through two games in five days?  Discuss below.