The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants typically put together exciting games when the two NFC East rivals meet, but their game on Sunday Night Football was particularly entertaining. The game included eight lead changes, but it was the Cowboys that came out on top in the end as they moved closer to a spot in playoffs with a 37-34 victory.
Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey had a 47-yard field goal attempt go through on the first attempt, but Giants coach Tom Coughlin called a timeout before the snap. His second attempt was blocked by Jason Pierre-Paul, effectively ending the game with just one second left on the clock.
Pierre-Paul was impressive throughout, forcing an early-game safety and stripping Felix Jones to give the Giants an extra possession prior to halftime. The second-year pro finished the game with eight tackles and two sacks to go with his blocked field goal and strip earlier in the game.
The Giants were able to put together an impressive fourth quarter performance as Eli Manning came through in the clutch by leading the Giants to two touchdowns in the final four minutes after trailing 34-22 for a time. Manning finished the game with 400 yards passing and two touchdowns, but he was actually better than the statistics show.
The game-winning touchdown came when Brandon Jacobs rushed for his second touchdown from one-yard out with 51 seconds remaining on the game clock. Jacobs rushed rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winner, though his celebration on the star was probably most memorable -- if nobody remembers his early-game hurdle, that is.
Regardless, the game-winning touchdown is included below.
The Cowboys were impressive on offense as Tony Romo completed 20 of his 29 passing attempts for 296 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers as Miles Austin, Laurent Robinson, Dez Bryant and even tight end John Phillips were on the receiving end of Romo bombs.
Dallas's last touchdown from Romo to Bryant looked similar to quite a few of their passing touchdowns as he inexplicably found himself wide open for a 50-yard touchdown. In the end, however, the kicker couldn't come through as the Giants came back to win.
The two teams will meet again in the final week of the season, but the Giants will host the Washington Redskins next week. The Cowboys go on the road to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Saturday night.
For more on the Giants head over to Big Blue View. For more on the Cowboys, check out Blogging The Boys. Follow the rest of week 14 at SB Nation NFL.