Former Cowboy Dwayne Harris finally feels at home with the Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- One by one, they walked toward Dwayne Harris on Sunday evening in the MetLife Stadium tunnels. One Dallas Cowboy to a former Dallas Cowboy with a salutation, with respect. Among them were safety Barry Church and receivers Terrance Williams and Devin Street. There was a tight embrace and whispers in the ear from receiver Dez Bryant.

And later, a handshake, a hug and this offering from Dallas coach Jason Garrett:

“That’s who you are.”

That’s who he was for Dallas. A kick returner for four seasons who never scurried from a challenge, who put the “dog” and the “bite” in the Cowboys’ return game. But Harris grew restless in Dallas, wanting more chances as a receiver. The Giants promised him that. They wooed him as a free agent last March with that pledge and with more financial security.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones said after the Cowboys’ 27-20 loss to the Giants that you can’t sign them all. That the Cowboys realized what they had lost in Harris. But Jones found it ironic that Harris would make “that kind of play” in “this kind of game,” and in “that kind of way” that would drill the Cowboys.

He was talking about Harris grabbing a kickoff after Dallas had tied the score at 20 and notching the game’s winning points with 7:01 left. About Harris taking a middle kickoff return and speeding through the heart of the Dallas coverage for 100 yards.

It was the first time a Giant had accomplished a 100-yard kickoff return for a score since 1964.

It was the first time Dwayne Harris truly felt at home in his new home.

“Since I played the Giants twice a year for four years, I felt like they know who I am,” said Harris, wearing his maroon Cleveland Cavaliers hat and celebrating his “Lebron-like” moment. “I think they knew what they were getting. But when you are in a new place, it helps when you do something like this that helps win a game. You feel more a part. And this crowd here in this stadium, they let you feel it. It was a blessing, a storybook ending.”

Every NFL team in the offseason mines free agency for complementary pieces. And if you can land one and diminish a divisional rival simultaneously, well, that’s a windfall.

And when that weapon directly destroys the source, well, that’s delicious.

It doesn’t happen often and especially in such dramatic mode. So, the Dallas players respectfully acknowledged Harris. And so did his new teammates.

Harris -- born in Atlanta, a quarterback until his sophomore season at East Carolina -- was drafted by Dallas in the sixth round in 2011. He is a player used to having the ball in his hands and knows what to do with it. He is 28, is 5’10 and 202 pounds, and is a player the Giants coaches said through their first six games had been like a dog in a cage in the return game and who was close to being released and close to biting.

He caught a 38-yard pass against Dallas and has 15 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown this season. This dual role of kick returner and receiver is what he envisioned when he leaped, when he viewed the switch of teams and concluded, as he said, “Why not?”

“We know what he can do,” Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr said. “He is an underrated guy. We prepared for him. But he is always capable of the home run. And his play tonight was the momentum shifter.”

Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas said Harris makes the return team hold blocks a little longer, makes them work at the return game a little harder, because Harris always keeps his legs churning and his desire stout.

“He is one of the best return guys in the league,” Casillas said. “The players in the league know that even if the fans don’t. And tonight, I’ve never seen him run faster. I think he was playing with a little extra juice. Playing against the team that let you go can give you that extra fuel.”

Harris also plays for his brother, Derrick.

Derrick came from Atlanta last August to live with him. Derrick, 25, transferred his airport job from Atlanta to New York as they found a new home together in a new place.

Long after all of the Cowboys had offered their embraces, Harris saved the last one for Derrick. He said that Derrick has always been around him, that “I love my little brother, we always have happy times together and that he is an important part of this ride.”

Derrick felt the euphoria from the 80,319 fans in MetLife Stadium when his brother ran 100 yards into pure glory. None of that matched his joy for his best friend.

“We understand each other and we have brought a lot extra to each other’s lives,” Derrick said. “When he got a fresh start and a new opportunity with the Giants, he made it a new opportunity for me. That touchdown, that big play, he needed that. He had made a name for himself in Dallas. But a lot of people here in New York don’t know what he is about. This opens the door for them to find out.”