New York Giants Official Website

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

ARLINGTON - The Giants have never been so happy to spoil someone else's party.

On the night the Dallas Cowboys opened their gaudy new $1.1 billion stadium with much pomp and fanfare, it was the Giants who celebrated. They overcame four deficits to defeat their NFC East rivals, 33-31, on Lawrence Tynes' 37-yard field goal as time expired.

Tynes' fourth field goal capped a terrific 56-yard drive by the Giants in the game's final 3:34, gave the game its eighth lead change and deflated the Dallas faithful in the NFL-record crowd of 105,121

"Those are situations you like to be in - you like to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter," said Eli Manning, who completed seven of nine passes on the game-winning series. "We had a feeling it was going to come down to that. We knew what we had to do. We knew we had to get in field goal range. Those are situations we practice all the time."

The Giants are 2-0 for the second season in a row, the first time they've done that since 1993-94. They are also 2-0 in the NFC East, where the other three teams each have one loss. And they won a thriller in a regular-season game that was excessively hyped because it was the first played in the Cowboys' glittering palace.

"We had a great homecoming here in Dallas," linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "For all the hoopla that was made of the game - the second game of the season Super Bowl - it's huge. But at the end of the day the biggest thing is we're 2-0 in our division. That's critical. We played a very intense game on the road in front of 100,000-plus and with everybody yelling at us. We're excited about it."

"Everybody makes a big deal because we spoiled their little party," said defensive end Justin Tuck, who missed the second half after hurting his shoulder. "Every other game we play in the NFC East will be just as big."

The Giants had a lengthy list of heroes. Manning completed 25 of 38 passes for 330 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not sacked. Manning increased his career total to 101 touchdown passes.

Mario Manningham and Steve Smith boldly demonstrated that the only people who should worry about the Giants' young receiving corps are opposing players and coaches. They caught 10 passes apiece and each scored on a 22-yard pass from Manning. Manningham, who took over in the first half after Domenik Hixon left the game with an ankle injury, had 150 receiving yards, and Smith added 134 as they became the first pair of Giants with at least 100 yards since Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress three years ago.

Safety Kenny Phillips set up both touchdowns with interceptions of Tony Romo passes. Rookie Bruce Johnson scored on a 34-yard interception return. Michael Boley stepped into the starting lineup and had seven tackles.

Tynes tied a career high with four field goals, from 30, 28, 36 and 37 yards. But he was also wide left on a 29-yard try, a miss that could have cost the Giants the game. After Felix Jones' seven-yard touchdown run gave the Cowboys a 31-30 lead with 3:40 remaining, no one was rooting harder for Manning to lead the team down the field on that final drive than Tynes.

"I was glad to get another chance at it," Tynes said. "The way we were moving the ball I knew they left too much time on the clock. Eli played one of his better games since I've been here. I knew when we got the ball we'd at least have a shot. I was prepared for anything."

After Jones' touchdown, the Giants took possession at their own 25. Rich Seubert's holding penalty pushed the Giants back to the 15. Manning hit Derek Hagan on a 12-yard pass and on third-and-six he found Smith for an 11-yard gain. Two plays later, tight end Kevin Boss caught a 13-yard pass. On third-and-four from the Dallas 41, Manning's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Jay Ratliff. But Manningham secured it for a big eight-yard gain.

"They came out with an all-out blitz," Manning said. "We had a slant backside to Mario. He got open, he won. He did a great job of staying with it and concentrating on getting the catch. It was a big play for us."

Manning then passed to Smith over the middle for a 12-yard gain. After a two-yard sneak, the Giants called timeout with four seconds left.

"We practice that all the time," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "Get the ball inside the 20 and call timeout with four seconds left. That's our two-minute drill. We don't start out at the minus-15. But when we get the ball inside the 20 we're very, very happy about that."

Tynes had to kick the game-winner twice. Just prior to the snap on the first try, Dallas Coach Wade Phillips called timeout. The kick was good. So Tynes calmly stepped up and did it again.

"When I kicked it, I thought we won," Tynes said. "The first one wasn't really pretty, but it went through. I didn't hear the whistle. I wear earplugs, and I didn't hear anything out there."

Dallas scored on runs of two yards by Marion Barber, three yards by Romo and seven yards by Jones, plus Jason Witten's one-yard touchdown catch and Nick Folk's 47-yard field goal.

Jones' touchdown capped a seven-play, 71-yard drive immediately following a Tynes field goal. The score was set up by Barber's 35-yard run immediately preceding the score. Barber rushed for 124 yards for the game.

Manning's touchdown pass to Smith gave the Giants a 27-24 lead with 13:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. On third-and-eight from the 22, Manning threw to Smith, who was wide open after a tremendous double-move and caught the ball at the five, then leaped and reached the ball over the goal line for his first touchdown of the season.

The score was set up by Phillips' second interception - and the Giants' third - of Romo. Phillips returned the ball 22 yards to the Giants' 27-yard line. On the final play of the third quarter, Manning fired deep down the middle for Manningham, who secured the ball for a 49-yard gain to the Dallas 24. Brandon Jacobs gained two yards on a pair of runs before Smith put the Giants on top.

The Giants' defense forced Dallas into a three-and-out and the offense took possession at its own 42. Two plays, later, Manning and Manningham hooked up for a 25-yard gain to the Dallas 34. Ahmad Bradsahw ran twice for 12 yards and the Giants picked up four more yards before Tynes kicked his third field goal, stretching the Giants' lead to six points at 30-24.

Romo's three-yard score on a quarterback draw had given the lead back to the Cowboys at 24-20 with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter. Dallas took possession at its own 17 following a Jeff Feagles punt and covered the 83 yards in seven plays. The big one was a 56-yard run up the left side by Felix Jones, who was tackled by Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster at the Giants' 27.

Barber followed with runs of 10 and 15 yards on consecutive plays to bring the ball to the two. After Barber lost a yard and Romo threw an incompletion, the quarterback took a shotgun snap and stepped into the end zone.

Folk's three-pointer with only one second remaining in the second quarter cut the Giants' halftime lead to three points, at 20-17.

Dallas drove 37 yards in five plays following a Giants touchdown. The big gainer was a short Romo pass that Barber carried 26 yards to the Giants' 29-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Folk kicked the field goal.

Manning's touchdown pass to Manningham with 46 seconds remaining in the half regained the lead for the Giants at 20-14. On third-and-four from the Dallas 22, Manningham streaked down the right side, covered by Terence Newman. Manningham caught the ball, then lost it and fell on his back in the end zone. The ball popped in the air and Manningham caught it a second time while lying down.

The Giants appeared to have scored moments earlier, when Kenny Phillips picked of a Romo pass that bounced off Witten's foot. An official on the field had ruled the pass incomplete, but replay official Tommy Moore reviewed the play. The Giants were given possession of the ball but, because the ball had been ruled down by the whistle, not the touchdown. But the ruling didn't hurt them, because Manningham scored three plays later.

It was Manningham's second touchdown in as many weeks. Manning became the fourth quarterback to throw 100 touchdown passes in a Giants uniform, joining Phil Simms (199), Charlie Conerly (173) and Frank Tarkenton (103).

The Giants put 10 points on the board within a span of 4:15 to take a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter.

They scored their first touchdown when Johnson intercepted a Romo pass intended for Roy Williams and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter. The score gave the Giants a 10-7 lead.

It was the Giants' second defensive touchdown in as many games. Osi Umenyiora returned a fumble 37 yards in the season-opening victory over Washington last week. It was the Giants' first touchdown on an interception return since Nov. 16, 2008, when Aaron Ross brought one back 50 yards for a score in a victory over Baltimore.

Johnson's touchdown was reminiscent of a score under similar circumstances three years ago. On Oct. 23, 2006, Kevin Dockery - like Johnson, a rookie free agent cornerback - picked off a Romo pass and ran it back for a touchdown. Dockery's return was 96 yards, the fourth-longest in Giants history. Ironically, Johnson has received so much playing time in the season's first two weeks in part because Ross and Dockery have been inactive with hamstring injuries.

On the ensuing kickoff, Felix Jones fumbled away the ball, which was recovered by Bryan Kehl at the Cowboys' 27-yard line. A 12-yard pass to Steve Smith gave the Giants a first-and-goal at the six. The first quarter ended with a one-yard run by Jacobs.

When the teams switched sides, Bradshaw tried to run around right end but was tackled by Jay Ratliff for a seven-yard loss. That left the Giants facing a third-and-goal from the 12. Eli Manning's pass to Smith gained only three yards and Tynes came on to kick his second field goal, a 27-yarder.

Dallas had taken its first lead at 7-3 on Barber's two-yard run up the middle with 4:11 remaining in the opening quarter.

On first-and-goal, Barber took a handoff and stepped through a hole in the center of the line. The score capped a nine-play, 62-yard drive that followed a Giants field goal.

Barber's 27-yard run around the left side was the longest gain on the series and advanced the Cowboys to the Giants' 11-yard line. Romo's 11-yard pass to tight end Martellus Bennett moved the ball to the two, and Barber scored on the next play.

The Giants became the first team to score in Cowboys Stadium when Tynes kicked a 30-yard field goal to conclude the Giants' first possession.

After Dallas went three-and-out on the game's first series, Smith immediately caught a 32-yard pass, the longest reception of his career. He later caught a 26-yarder and Domenik Hixon added a 13-yard catch. But it wasn't enough to get the Giants into the end zone. After picking up a first down at the Dallas 13-yard line, gained only one yard in three plays and Tynes came on to kick the field goal.