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Giant Upsets Continue

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2008

IRVING, Texas Having polished off America's Team, the New York Giants now turn their steely gaze toward America's Quarterback.

Capitalizing on another mistake-free attack directed by the suddenly poised Eli Manning, the Giants upset Dallas 21-17 in a divisional playoff matchup Sunday for their ninth consecutive road victory.

Amani Toomer, who burned the Buccaneers repeatedly last week, caught two touchdown passes and the Giants swarmed embattled Tony Romo in the second half as the NFC's No..5 seed advanced to the conference title game at Green Bay on Sunday evening.

"Go ahead people, count us out again next week," crowed Giants left tackle David Diehl. "Brett Favre's a legend, he's a Hall of Famer. Count us out. We love it. Words can't describe how awesome it's going to be to play at Lambeau Field with a chance to go to the Super Bowl."

Facing a rugged defense for the second consecutive week, the wild-card Giants once again avoided any giveaways in improving to 12-6 and handing the NFC's top seed a devastating setback.

"We have a special team, but someone else has a more special team," Dallas cornerback Terence Newman said. "For us to lose at home after a 13-3 season, it definitely hurts."

The Giants took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter when Brandon Jacobs went over right guard from a yard out, capping a short drive set up by a 25-yard punt return from R.W. McQuarters, who would emerge as a defensive stalwart in the frantic closing seconds.

With New York's secondary short-handed, McQuarters accounted for the game's only turnover with nine seconds remaining when he stepped in front of Romo's fourth-down pass intended for Terry Glenn in the end zone.

"We've got a lot of unknown people playing important roles and playing them very well," said Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell, the former University of South Florida standout credited with six tackles and a 14-yard sack. "We kept hitting Romo in the second half and by the end of the game, he wasn't smiling as much as usual."

After breaking a 14-14 halftime tie on Nick Folk's 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, the Cowboys punted three times and turned the ball over in their final four possessions.

Dallas had been 19-1 when Marion Barber carried at least 11 times, but Barber finished with 129 yards on 27 attempts after burning New York for 101 yards by intermission.

"It's not easy to come into the house of the Dallas Cowboys and beat 'em," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "We gave it our all and it was just enough. Give Dallas credit - they weren't going to lay down today. We threw a lot of stuff at them and they kept coming."

Romo, forced to defend himself for a getaway trip to Mexico with Jessica Simpson during the bye weekend, completed only 18 of 36 passes for 201 yards. His 64.7 passer rating was dwarfed by Manning's 132.4 figure and New York didn't allow a completion longer than 20 yards.

Dallas had beaten New York twice in the regular season, scoring 76 points, and the Cowboys rolled up 14 first downs in the first half, converting six of seven third-down situations and posting touchdown drives of 96 and 90 yards.

After Barber's 1-yard plunge capped a 20-play march with 53 seconds left in the second quarter, Manning responded with a critical 71-yard scoring drive of his own.

"That touchdown just before the half was huge for us," said Toomer, whose 52-yard scoring catch capped New York's opening possession. "They had just used up almost the entire quarter and they might have thought we were going to kneel down, but we didn't. That was a pivotal moment."

Manning hit rookie receiver Steve Smith twice and added a 19-yard strike to tight end Kevin Boss before finding Toomer open for a 4-yard score that let the crowd of 63,660 know the Giants weren't going away.

With veteran Sam Madison still sidelined by an abdominal pull, the Giants lost another starting cornerback when Aaron Ross went down with a shoulder injury.

McQuarters and rookie Geoffrey Pope stepped into the void against the NFC's highest-scoring attack and helped limit Terrell Owens to four catches for 49 yards.

"We beat ourselves a lot at the beginning of the year, but now we're taking good care of the football," said Giants center Shaun O'Hara, who didn't dress at Tampa because of a bruised knee. "We've been doing a good job on the road this season and the funny thing is I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because we get booed so much at home."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be" reached at (813) 259-7833 or" ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

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