The Cowboys were not ready to play this one when the game started. The Giants jumped on to a 13 point lead when the Cowboys had some early turnovers. The Cowboys finished with six turnovers in the game, but remarkably the Giants had to settle for field goals on five different occasions. The Cowboys defense under coordinator Rob Ryan was ranked sixth in the league going into this game, and as the Giants struggled to get in the end zone, the Cowboys showed the Giants their defense is for real. The tough stops on defense for the Cowboys are what allowed their offense to get there game plan together and get back into the game. After the early lead, the Giants didn't necessarily play conservatively, but they were on their heels a bit.
Romo, with four interceptions on the day, started to tune out the bad and find his favorite target Jason Witten to propel the Cowboys back into the game. The Cowboys took at the end of the third quarter and went up 24-23. Eli Manning furiously led the Giants back into field goal range in the fourth quarter, but once again the Cowboys would not allow a touchdown. Eli managed to scrape another field goal later in the quarter, meaning the Cowboys would need a touchdown to win the game.
And then it happened. The whole world stood still as Dez Bryant got a step on Corey Webster and Michael Coe failed to get over in coverage. The Giants pressed several defenders at the line with safeties up top as opposed to lining up in a prevent, and it almost cost them the game. The Giants felt they had to play aggressively, but they almost gambled and lost as Dez Bryant almost came down with what would have been the catch of the year. But somewhat instinctively, Bryant put his hand down to break the fall and by a matter of centimeters, the game was won and then lost.
In division rivalries the biggest moments can be so close it's infuriating to any football fan. The Cowboys almost put together an incredible comeback. In fact many fans may argue that the Giants won because they got lucky.
Now the Giants were certainly fortuitous, that's undeniable. But there has never been a football game won from luck. The Cowboys had six turnovers. It's a testament to their defense that they were in the game until the final seconds, but when the Giants come away with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries, where's the luck in that? Every win in football is earned, no matter how close or ridiculous the ending result is.
The Giants earned this victory in another epic division battle for the second week in a row. The Giants are 6-2 to start the season and are 1st place in the NFC East and are one of the best teams in the NFC and blah blah blahhhhh. Wait a second this has happened almost every season for the past seven years. Some years they've kept it up, others they've slipped up in the second half, or maybe even collapsed. This is where the Giants truly have to be resilient. Because this is where it's gonna get hard. Players are going to go down, opposing teams are going to figure things out, and games are going to become tougher and tougher to win.
The irony is, there's some good news in the fact that the Giants have been down this road several times before. And that is they know they can't get first half happy. Eli and Coughlin know that for sure. They've seen too much pain, and experienced too many times the "what could have been." The 2006 season where Mathias Kiwanuka allowed Vince Young to escape, the 2009 season where the mediocre Carolina Panthers under Matt Moore made a joke out of the Giants defense to end the season, the 2010 season where every Giants fan stood stunned as Desean Jackson mockingly jogged into the end zone to complete a 28 point walk off rally. These are some awful, gut wrenching memories. But they are recent, and have happened under head coach Tom Coughlin, even when the Giants have had really great first halves to their season.
Heck it almost happened last year! The Giants were 5-2, then all of a sudden were 7-7. But the Giants discovered that they had yet to play their best football. With their backs against the wall, the world saw the Giants best game. When they had that chance, they took it, and ran with it. The Giants won six straight on their path to Super Bowl XLVI, their second title in four years. Super Bowl XLII consisted of a 6-2 start as well, the Giants finished 10-6 and came together in the final weeks of the season.
Right now, things are good for the Giants. They have an identity of being clutch and knowing how to win. This not a bad persona to have, but the Giants haven't truly come together as a team. That moment has yet to come. The point is, this is when it all gets real. There are still some big division games left in the season, and next week the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming to town.
There are no easy wins. There is no luck. Great teams find ways to put it together. That often happens when teams have looked failure dead in the face. Coughlin knows the feeling of pain when you realize the season's over. He knows what it's like to see Jackson's punk ass dance into the end zone and ruin your season.
The Giants have to keep the fire. The first half of the year is over and the Giants have looked excellent. The two games they lost were one possession games. But the leadership of Eli and Coughlin can't let this team get comfortable. This is where teams are made. This is how championship teams are made.
By coming together as a team in desperate times.
Those desperate times are coming, it may not seem like it but just watch. The Giants will be ready, and if they overcome the obstacles that stand in their way the sky's the limit.
Play the schedule. Don't quit, keep taking it one week at a time. Because Giants fans kind of like this identity of being a clutch club that knows how to win.
Lets keep it that way.
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