[GAME RECAP: GIANTS CROWNED NFC EAST CHAMPIONS
](http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Giants-Crowned-NFC-East-Champions/f1766634-effa-41d1-acca-e90a18098f2f)Reupholster the NFC East throne Giants blue.
With their season, division title and playoff aspirations down to a one-game, do-or-die situation Sunday night, the Giants responded with an impressive and memorable victory. They jumped out to a 21-point lead in the first half and went on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14, in MetLife Stadium.
The Giants' second-straight victory to end the season gave them the NFC East championship with a 9-7 record, one game better than the Cowboys, who they beat twice in the last four games. They earned their first division title and first postseason berth since 2008 and will host the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC Wild Card Game next Sunday at 1 p.m. Atlanta finished 10-6 and in second place in the NFC South.
The Giants and Falcons have never before met in the first round.
The first-place finish is the Giants 23rd and the postseason appearance will be their 31st, both NFL records. They are the first team to win the NFC East title with less than 10 victories since the 1970 merger.
**POSTGAME QUOTES
**Coach Coughlin: *"Good evening, NFC East champions. That is a great thing to hear and I won't get tired of hearing that over and over again. To be in a position where you are playing for this opportunity in the last three weeks of the season and to be able to determine your own destiny and to play good solid football. There were some times tonight where there was some nerve wracking, in particular the third quarter. We straightened it around and finished the game the way we wanted to finish it, finish the season the way we wanted to finish it and create an opportunity for ourselves to be in the playoffs and everything goes forward from here.
"Very, very exciting time for all of us and I congratulate the ownership, coaches and the players for an exceptional job. Dallas came in here with the same kind of goals and the same kind of objectives that we had. We were plus-two tonight (in turnovers) and a bunch of big plays from Victor Cruz. We took good care of the ball and had the plus-two, we didn't turn it over. We had Greg Jones save one for us and did an outstanding job in the middle of the field in the first half. Just a very solid game and Eli came through big time. They were doing a good job of rushing the passer and they did a good job stopping the run for a while. They are a good team, they are a good offensive team with a lot of skill players. In this division, to be able to be the NFC East champions is a very rewarding thing but as we stated from day one, we wanted to win the division so we could have the direct route into the playoffs and that is what has happened." FULL TRANSCRIPT
*BOX SCORE
|
DAL |
NYG | |
|
1st Downs |
19 |
20 |
|
Passing 1st downs |
16 |
16 |
|
Rushing 1st downs |
3 |
3 |
|
1st downs from Penalties |
0 |
1 |
|
3rd down efficiency |
4-12 |
7-15 |
|
4th down efficiency |
0-1 |
0-1 |
|
Total Plays |
59 |
66 |
|
Total Yards |
300 |
437 |
|
Passing |
251 |
331 |
|
Comp-Att |
29-37 |
24-33 |
|
Yards per pass |
6.8 |
10.0 |
|
Rushing |
49 |
106 |
|
Rushing Attempts |
16 |
31 |
|
Yards per rush |
3.1 |
3.4 |
|
Red Zone (Made-Att) |
1-2 |
3-5 |
|
Penalties |
7-43 |
3-28 |
|
Turnovers |
2 |
0 |
|
Fumbles lost |
1 |
0 |
|
Interceptions thrown |
1 |
0 |
|
Defensive / Special Teams TDs |
0 |
0 |
|
Possession |
25:27 |
34:33 |
