Fort Worth Star-Telegram 1/2/12: Giants’ pass rush too much for Cowboys
Giants’ pass rush overwhelms Cowboys
Posted Sunday, Jan. 01, 2012
By Aaron Bracy
Special to the Star-Telegram
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Giants’ defense gave Tony Romo and the Cowboys fits on Sunday night.
New York recorded six sacks — three in each half — and eliminated Dallas (8-8) from playoff contention 31-14 and sent the NFC East champion Giants (9-7) into a first-round game against Atlanta at noon Sunday.
The Giants set the tone in the first half and upped their season sack total to 48, moving them into a tie for third place in the NFL.
Jason Pierre-Paul continued his impressive season, sacking Romo for the first time for a 12-yard loss early in the first quarter to force the Cowboys into a third-and-21. It gave Pierre-Paul 16 1/2 sacks on the season.
Osi Umenyiora, in his first game back after missing the past four due to a high ankle sprain, then sacked Romo for a 7-yard loss on third-and-4 from the Dallas 22 later in the first quarter. It was the first of two sacks on the night for Umenyiora.
“I’m happy we were able to get this victory. It was fun. It was a good time,” Umenyiora said. “We knew we were going to have to do that [get sacks] to win this game.”
Cruz-ing along
Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz continued his breakout season.
Cruz took a 5-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning and turned it into a 74-yard touchdown that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead with 4:57 left in the first quarter.
It was a tough series for Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman. Newman was covering Cruz on the play and then neither he nor safety Gerald Sensabaugh could catch Cruz down the left sideline.
Cruz had a huge impact in the fourth quarter. With the Giants clinging to a seven-point advantage, he caught a 44-yard pass on a third-and-7 from their own 28. He caught a 20-yard pass later in the drive that ended with Lawrence Tynes’ 28-yard field goal that put New York up 10 points.
“We needed to win two games and we were able to do that and play big in the fourth quarter to seal the win,” Manning said.
Giant breaks
Will Blackmon muffed Chris Jones’ punt with 2:54 left in the first quarter, but the Giants didn’t lose possession when Cowboys’ Alan Ball pounced on the ball but lost it. New York’s Greg Jones ultimately recovered it.
Later, with nine minutes left in the second quarter, New York running back Brandon Jacobs fumbled on a first-down run on the Cowboys’ 14.
The ball deflected directly to Sensabaugh, but slid out of the safety’s hands and was recovered by Manning.
Briefly
Lawrence Tynes extended his franchise record of consecutive extra points to 158 after making four.
Antrel Rolle’s third-quarter interception of Romo was his second of the season and upped the Giants’ total to 20, which is tied or sixth best in the NFL.
