The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Giants vs. Cowboys

If the Cowboys were a wounded animal, they would have been shot and put out of their misery. The Giants scored five touchdowns and trounced their division rival, 35-14. They knocked Dallas into last place, while upping their record to 7-1.

The Good

The Cowboys have a plethora of injuries. Tony Romo has a broken finger. Jason Witten has a broken rib. Pacman Jones is suspended. Tough luck. Boo hoo. Whenever the Giants kick the Cowboys ass, it’s always sweet. From the opening drive to the final whistle, Big Blue gave Dallas a complete and dominating smackdown. And they could have actually played a lot better. For the Giants, everything starts with their defense. The only chance the Cowboys had was if Marion Barber had a big day. But he could only scrape together 54 yards, and the Giants D held Dallas to a total of 81 yards rushing. And whatever QB Dallas put on the field looked pathetic. Brad Johnson threw two interceptions and was pulled after the first half. Brooks Bollinger replaced him, and his first pass was picked off by James Butler (who eventually left the game with a knee injury).

The Giants only gave up a total of 215 yards, 11 first downs and one garbage-time touchdown. Justin Tuck led the pass rush with two-and-a-half sacks. Mathias Kiwanuka added a sack, and Jay Alford had half a sack. Danny Clark had his best game of the season, leading the team with nine tackles. Corey Webster came up with two INT’s. And Michael Johnson recovered a fumble. Every game’s becoming a turnover fest for the Giants D.

Eli Manning didn’t have his best game, but again, receivers were dropping balls right in their hands. He did throw three touchdown passes, and finished 16 for 27 for 147 yards.  On the Giants first drive of the game, they steamrolled 75 yards down field, culminating in a 13-yard TD pass to Kevin Boss. The tight end caught three passes for 30 yards and is getting involved more and more every week. Steve Smith hauled in the first touchdown pass of his career. And Amani Toomer made a great grab, reaching behind him for his touchdown catch.

On the ground, Earth, Wind and Fire combined for 200 yards. Brandon Jacobs was a bull. He gained 117 yards, and broke free for 31- and 26-yard runs. And he had a 12-yard touchdown rumble (his seventh of the year), mowing over Dallas defenders like Rosie O’Donnell rampaging through a roomful of Republicans to get to a buffet table. Derrick Ward gained 63 yards, and had a touchdown run of his own. And Ahmad Bradshaw mopped up with 20 yards.

The offense didn’t have any red-zone problems or have to settle for field goals in this game. They didn’t even have to attempt any. John Carney kept in shape by making all five extra points. They controlled the ball all game long (especially in the first half, chewing up the clock for two-thirds of the 30 minutes), and had twice as many first downs as the Cowboys. Manning’s hard count drew Dallas offsides a number of times. And Jeff Feagles did what Jeff Feagles does - three of his four punts were put inside the 20 yard line.

The Bad

The offense scored five touchdowns, but didn’t come close to playing their best. The offensive line let up an uncharacteristic four sacks. Manning threw an interception that was returned for a TD. He also fumbled twice. On the first one, the ball just fell out of his hands. Plaxico Burress was back in the starting lineup, but again was pretty much a nonfactor. He and Manning just aren’t on the same page anymore. The lone INT came on a miscommunication between the two. Manning, as always, blamed himself. Everybody’s getting sick of Burress, and now that he’s not producing on the field, he better get his act together. The Giants safety streak came to an end yesterday. They had a safety in their two previous games. So much for breaking the most hallowed record in sports.

The Ugly

The Cowboys were the only thing ugly on the field yesterday. They were annointed Super Bowl champs before the season started, but that dream is beginning to fade, as they find themselves in last place. Sure, their injuries have piled up, but the bickering, backstabbing and finger-pointing has been there almost from the beginning of the season. The turmoil and disfunction couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of guys.

Next game for the Giants: Sunday night in Philadelphia.