Sunday Night Football: Giants Clinch Playoff Berth With Victory Over Cowboys

Cowboys Vs. Giants Final Score: Playoff Berth Goes To New York

The New York Giants were essentially hosting a playoff game on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys for the right to the NFC East's automatic berth in next weekend's postseason action. Eli Manning did his part, too, as the Giants pulled out a 31-14 victory in the win-or-go home victory over their divisional rivals.

Tony Romo did his best to try and lead a second half comeback as he connected with wide receiver Laurent Robinson to make the score 21-14 following a pair of second half touchdown passes on his way to 289 total yards, but the comeback attempt fell through as the Giants offense was simply too much for Dallas's defense to handle.

The Giants jumped out to a 21-0 lead at halftime behind a pair of touchdowns from running back Ahmad Bradshaw, one rushing and one receiving, as he went on to end the night with 69 all-purpose yards and the pair of touchdowns. His quarterback deserves quite a bit of credit, too, as Eli Manning was exceptional in the second half.

Manning's final line showed he completed 24 of his 33 passing attempts for 346 yards and three touchdowns. His most impressive play was probably a spin-move that resulted in a big gain for wunderkind Victor Cruz that took away any momentum the Cowboys may have had following a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the second half.

The Giants will host the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday in the first round of the playoffs while the Cowboys will need to wait until next season to avenge their season-ending loss.

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

NFL Playoff Picture: NFC Bracket Set After Giants Win The East

The NFL playoff picture is now officially set following the New York Giants victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The final regular season game of the season was perhaps the most important of the day as the NFC East's playoff berth was up for grabs between the divisional rivals.

The Giants were able to hold off a second half comeback from the Cowboys, spurred by a pair of touchdowns from Tony Romo to Laurent Robinson, as running back Ahmad Bradshaw and Eli Manning led the way to a win. It's the Giants first playoff berth since the 2008 season, following a two-year drought despite winning eight and ten games respectively.

The final seeding for the NFC playoff picture ended up as such:

No. 1:Green Bay Packers
No. 2: San Francisco 49ers.
No. 3: New Orleans Saints
No. 4: New York Giants
No. 5: Atlanta Falcons
No. 6:Detroit Lions

The Giants will face the Atlanta Falcons at home on Sunday, Jan. 8, in a game scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on Fox.

For more, SB Nation has everyone covered with an NFL playoff schedule for the Wild Card games as well as the divisional games the following weekend.

VIDEO: Eli Manning Spins Around, Finds Victor Cruz On A Deep Pass

Eli Manning was all hemmed in by the Dallas Cowboys with nowhere to go, but it didn't matter. Manning didn't display a burst of speed or drag a defender downfield in the fourth quarter with his New York Giants clinging to a 21-14 lead: he spun around. All he did was spin 360 degrees before heaving the ball downfield to Victor Cruz in a play reminiscent of the David Tyree catch.

You can imagine Manning screaming "Goooooin Deeeeeeeep" as he tosses this ball up to Cruz.

This Cruz kid is quite all right, as well. It was a great move and throw by Manning, but Cruz does the dirty work, shielding off the coverage and going up to get the ball at its highest points. Cruz is well over 100 yards on the night already, and has come up with numerous big catches, as he has all year. Quite the find, he was.

Cowboys Vs. Giants Score: Laurent Robinson Scores Again To Pull Dallas Closer

This week's Sunday Night Football game looked like it would be a blowout when the New York Giants jumped out to a 21-0 lead at halftime, but the Dallas Cowboys have decided to make it interesting in the second half. Tony Romo connected with Laurent Robinson for the second time in the game to bring the Cowboys within a touchdown before the Giants made a field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 24-14.

Robinson has four receptions for 61 yards as he's come alive in the second half with a pair of touchdown receptions. His quarterback hasn't been bad, either, as Romo has completed 24 of his 29 passing attempts for 261 yards and the pair of touchdowns to Robinson.

The Cowboys seem to be clicking very well in the second half, but it might be a case of too little, too late for them to earn the NFC East's playoff berth.

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

VIDEO: Laurent Robinson Score Starts Dallas Cowboys Comeback

The Dallas Cowboys decided they aren't quite ready for their season to end, apparently, as the team just put its first points on the board. It took until the second half, but Tony Romo connected with Laurent Robinson to pull the Cowboys within a pair of touchdowns against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football.

Romo rared back and tossed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson to give the Cowboys their first score of the game. Robinson beat his defender and then fell into the end zone to score his first touchdown of the game.

Romo's line is an impressive one, but unfortunately for Cowboys fans, it hasn't translated into a lot of points. Romo has completed 16 of his 18 passing attempts for 173 yards and a touchdown, but the Cowboys running game hasn't been able to come through in short-yardage situations.

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

Cowboys Vs. Giants Halftime Score: New York On Its Way To NFC East Playoff Berth

The New York Giants wasted no time in the first half of their game on Sunday Night Football as they battle the Dallas Cowboys for the last berth up for grabs in the NFL Playoffs. The Giants scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-0 lead and the advantage in the race for the NFC East's playoff spot.

Eli Manning has had a very efficient game as he completed 15 of his 20 passing attempts for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he's been keying on Cowboys defensive back Terence Newman. Newman was hurdled twice in the first half and was beat on Manning's 74-yard touch down pass to Victor Cruz.

It was Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, however, that seemed to be the key player for New York in the first half. Bradshaw carried the ball nine times for 46 yards and a touchdown and was a factor in the passing game as well as Manning found him on a swing route for a 10-yard touchdown reception shortly before halftime.

The Cowboys were stifled in the first half despite Tony Romo's box score looking efficient as he completed 10 of his 12 passing attempts for 91 yards. The team had no running game to speak of, however, and all but the final possession of the first half ended with a punt (Dan Bailey missed a 52-yard field goal heading into halftime).

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

ANIMATED: Ahmad Bradshaw Juke Extends Giants Lead Over Cowboys

The New York Giants are in the catbird's seat as far as the NFC East's playoff berth is concerned as they've taken a 14-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys early in the second quarter of their game on Sunday Night Football. The Giants second touchdown came courtesy of a fancy juke from running back Ahmad Bradshaw.

Bradshaw looked like he'd be wrapped up in the backfield by a Giants defender, but made one move and was able to avoid Abram Elam to score from five yards out. Bradshaw has carried six times for 13 yards in the game while his counterpart in the New York backfield, Brandon Jacobs, has rushed three times for seven yards.

The Giants need to win on Sunday night in order to clinch the NFC East and a playoff berth against the Atlanta Falcons next weekend.

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

Cowboys Vs. Giants Score: Victor Cruz Burns Terence Newman To Put New York On Top

The New York Giants are hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football with quite a bit on the line as the NFC East's playoff berth is up for grabs. After a few possessions that ended in punts, the Giants are the first team on the score board following a Victor Cruz run and catch to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

Cruz was able to burn aging defensive back Terence Newman and then turn on the burners for what ended up being a 74-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning. It was the second-year wide receiver's ninth touchdown of the season after missing the majority of his rookie year due to injury.

The long catch and run was set up by Giants' back-up tight end Bear Pascoe hurdling the aforementioned Newman to advance the ball up the field. As the animated picture below will show, it was pretty awesome:

For more on these two teams, visit Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys and Giants blog Big Blue View.

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