Cowboys vs. Giants: Tony Romo vs. Eli Manning Quarter-by-Quarter Analysis

Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys faced a prime-time matchup against the rival New York Giants on Sunday.  The quarterback matchup between Romo and Eli Manning was set to be a good one.

Both Romo and Manning entered the game with outstanding seasons to that point.  Manning entered the game fourth in passing yards, fifth in passing touchdowns, fourth in yards per pass attempt and first in game-winning drives.  Romo entered the game sixth in passing touchdowns, eighth in passing yards, fourth in quarterback rating, ninth in yards per pass attempt and second in game-winning drives.

People from all vantage points could argue about whether one or both of them were playing over their heads.  Observers are used to seeing Manning throw inaccurately and frequently toss interceptions.  Romo hadn't blown a game since Week 4.

On Sunday, the stage was set once again to see which tenuous quarterback would prevail.

Following is a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the dual between Romo and Manning.

First Quarter

Both Romo and Manning came out rusty to start the game.

Romo was 0-for-2 in his first drive.

Manning connected on his first two passes but threw back-to-back passes incomplete just outside field goal range.

The momentum swung in Manning's favor when, after Romo was sacked in the end zone for a safety, Manning hurled a bomb to Hakeem Nicks 64 yards.  After Manning threw two incomplete passes, a field goal made the score 5-0.

Romo wouldn't let the Giants savor the lead for long.  He led the Cowboys on an 80-yard drive, ending in a 12-yard touchdown pass to John Phillips, giving Phillips his first career touchdown.

Phillips surely won't forget catching his first touchdown pass in such a testy rivalry game.

Manning would connect on two of three passes before the quarter would end.

First-quarter stats:

Romo:  2-for-5, 30 yards, TD

Manning:  5-for-10, 110 yards

Edge:  Romo

Even though Romo took the safety, he gets the edge for taking the Cowboys on a touchdown drive, whereas Manning was unable to finish in the red zone with a touchdown.

Second Quarter

Manning completed one more pass on the drive, and Brandon Jacobs ran one in for a touchdown two plays after a pass interference penalty on Gerald Sensenbaugh that negated a Manning third-down incompletion.

Manning was lucky that Sensenbaugh was penalized because he nearly threw an interception to Mike Jenkins.

Answering the Jacobs touchdown, Romo took the Cowboys on an 80-yard touchdown drive.  Romo was 4-for-4 on the drive and hit Laurent Robinson on a slant for the nine-yard score.

Manning couldn't get things going in the air on the next drive.  He hit Victor Cruz on a nice short pass, which Cruz took 16 yards.  Then, dropped one off five yards to D.J. Ware.  His next one went high off the fingertips of Victor Cruz. 

A lucky defensive holding call negated a third-down drop by Cruz.  Manning would throw one deep to Manningham, in which Terence Newman tripped over Manningham, forcing an incompletion.

On the next Giants drive, Manning failed to capitalize on the fumble forced by his defense.  Manning missed Henry Hynoski and underthrew Jake Ballard.  A Lawrence Tynes field goal gave the Giants the lead, no thanks to Manning.

Romo had a wonderful drive to end the half.  He hit Jason Witten on a six-yard laser.  Then, he lofted one 34 yards to Robinson.  Shortly thereafter, Dan Bailey hit the field goal to give the Cowboys the halftime lead.

Second-quarter stats:

Romo:  7-for-9, 68 yards, TD

Manning:  3-for-7, 31 yards

Edge:  Romo

Romo made his own success and earned every point the Cowboys put on the board, including a last-minute field goal by Bailey.  On the other hand, Manning was fortunate enough to have drives sustained by Cowboys penalties.  He couldn't get a passing touchdown, even with good field position handed to him by his defense.

Third Quarter

Manning did what he could on the first Giants drive of the second half, throwing a seven-yard pass to Ahmad Bradshaw, giving Bradshaw his first touch of the game.

Romo generally took what the defense gave him on the next Cowboys' drive.  He couldn't find a man and tucked the ball in, taking a sack.  Then, he overcame pressure to hit Robinson for 10 yards and dumped one to Jones for eight yards.

Two incompletions followed, an overthrown ball for Dez Bryant and one off Miles Austin's fingers, and then, Bailey hit a field goal.

Manning came back with an 85-yard touchdown drive.  Manning completed his last three recorded passes for a total of 74 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Manningham.

Romo couldn't come back with a score on the next drive.  He completed two short passes and was sacked once.

Third-quarter stats: 

Romo:  4-for-6, 31 yards

Manning:  9-for-11, 121 yards, TD

Edge:  Manning

The numbers are very much in Manning's favor for the third quarter.  Manning had almost four times as many passing yards and threw for a touchdown.  Meanwhile, Romo couldn't finish a drive, and the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter was a heartstopper with thrills, disappointments and redemption.

Romo did just fine in the first Cowboys drive of the final quarter.  After an incomplete pass to start the drive, he hit three straight.  Robinson caught a bomb for 74 yards, and then, Romo slipped a short one to Austin for the score.

Next, the Giants pushed along all the way to the Cowboys 21-yard-line before Manning made a bad read and threw one right at Victor Butler, who tipped it, leading to a Sean Lee interception.

Two plays later, Romo launched one to a wide open Bryant, who trotted in for the touchdown.

One would have thought that with 5:54 left and the Cowboys leading 34-22 that the Cowboys had sealed it.

Manning had some magic in him.

After an incomplete pass to start the next drive, Manning ran off three straight completions to put the Giants at the Cowboys 37-yard-line.  A 24-yard pass to Hakeem Nicks was followed quickly by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard.

With 3:20 left, the Cowboys still had a chance to put the game away.  On third down, Romo went to pass (even though he didn't need to pass), and overthrew Austin.  He exposed the Cowboys on the blitz and then led Austin too far.

Punter Mat McBriar did Romo and the Cowboys no favor by plopping a 33-yard punt to give the Giants good field position.

Manning started with two passes for 29 yards.  Then, he overthrew Manningham in the end zone.

On the NBC telecast, Al Michaels dramatically cried, "And the pass is...not caught!"

After a defensive holding call, Manning pulled through with an 18-yard strike to Jake Ballard.  Then, he left Jacobs to do the rest to give the Giants the lead.

Romo did his best to rally the Cowboys in the final minute.  First, he hit Austin for 22 yards.  Secondly, he took a snap uneasily, caught off guard, and then due to poor timing, had to dump off to Jones, who was able to get out of bounds to stop the clock.  Next, he delivered one to Austin for 29 yards to set up the field goal.

Too bad Bailey couldn't come through on the official try after being iced.

Fourth-quarter stats:

Romo:  7-for-9, 184 yards, 2 TD

Manning:  10-for-13, 143 yards, TD, INT

Edge:  Manning

Even though Romo had more yards and touchdowns in the quarter, Manning came through with the last score.  That's what matters in the end.

Conclusion

Final stats: 

Romo:  21-for-31, 321 yards, 4 TD

Manning:  27-for-47, 400 yards, 2 TD, INT

Edge:  Manning

Manning goes home the winner, ending a four-game losing streak for the Giants.  Not every throw was pretty, but Manning was on target most of the time, giving just another fine game for the season. 

His comeback rate is significant.  He's led six game-winning drives this season.  That means that all but one of the Giants win are come from behind.

His comeback performance on Sunday was pretty darn good.  He threw some strong balls and put many passes right where they should have been.  His touchdown pass to Ballard was solid.

Romo put up great numbers.  He completed more than two-thirds of his passes.  His four touchdowns were his highest total this season.  Romo earned his fifth 300-yard game of the season.

He'll likely be scalped for overthrowing Austin late in the fourth quarter and reacting late on the snap on his next to last pass of the game.  However, Romo shouldn't be the one taking the brunt of the blame.

It wasn't his choke job.

Manning and the Giants offense took advantage of overly aggressive blitzes schemed by Rob Ryan.  Also, Manning capitalized on softness in the Cowboys' secondary left by the injury to Mike Jenkins.

Nonetheless, Manning earned the victory.  He overcame some incomplete passes and an interception that should have finished the game.  He stayed composed and brought the Giants to victory.