Giants vs. Cowboys 2015 final score: 3 things we learned from Dallas’ comeback win

The Dallas Cowboys did everything they could to lose Sunday night. The New York Giants wouldn’t let them.

The Cowboys overcome huge mistakes, including three turnovers that led to Giants scores, and beat New York, 27-26, on Tony Romo’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with seven seconds left.

Dallas has now beaten the Giants five straight times, despite nearly giving the game away at the end of the first half.

The Cowboys had the ball with 1:10 left in the first half, holding a 6-3 lead, but self-destructed in spectacular fashion. Romo hit Cole Beasley near the right sideline, but instead of going out of bounds to stop the clock, Beasley cut back inside. That looked like a good idea when he crossed midfield, but Trumaine McBride ripped out the ball and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned it 53 yards for a touchdown.

That only put Dallas behind, 10-6, but on the next play from scrimmage, Romo’s pass bounced off Jason Witten and was intercepted by Uani’ Unga at the Cowboys’ 21-yard line. Cullen Jenkins picked up a personal foul on the play, moving New York back to the 36, and they only got a field goal out of the drive.

The Giants put together a drive of their own to start the third quarter, but stalled in the red zone. Josh Brown kicked his third field goal to make it 16-6, but New York was still leaving points on the field.

That came back to hurt the Giants when the Cowboys drove down the field for the touchdown that made it 16-13, but Dallas had one more trick up its self-defeating sleeve.

With Dez Bryant in the locker room with a foot injury, Romo threw a short pass to backup receiver Devin Street. In what looked like a replay of the Witten play, the ball bounced off Street’s hands and was intercepted by McBride. He returned it to the Dallas 1, and Rashad Jennings scored on the next play to make it 23-13.

The Cowboys came back to score, with Romo hitting Witten to pull them within three points with 5:11 to play. Needing a stop, Dallas let the Giants drive to the 1-yard line, but on 3rd-and-goal, Eli Manning rolled right and threw the ball out of the back of the end zone.

Not only did New York had to settle for a field goal that made it a 26-20 game, the incomplete pass left 1:34 on the clock when the Giants could have taken it down under a minute. That changed everything for Romo, who was able to use the middle of the field because of the extra 40 seconds.

1) Eli Manning is a better fundamental football player than Tony Romo

On Rodgers-Cromartie’s fumble-return touchdown, it was quickly obvious that the only man he had to beat was Romo. Seconds later, it became clear that wasn’t going to be a problem. Romo began his approach by tripping over his own foot, and stumbled out of the frame as DRC sailed by on his way to the end zone.

While Romo’s form won’t be found in any textbook, Eli Manning stepped up when he got an opportunity to show his non-quarterback skills. With Shane Vereen looking for running room, Manning stepped up and slowed down two Dallas defensive lineman. That allowed Vereen to pick up a first down.

2) The Cowboys are going to miss DeMarco Murray

Joseph Randle took over as the Cowboys’ starting running back and rushed for a reasonable 65 yards on 16 carries, with Darren McFadden adding 16 yards on six carries. Without Murray, though, Dallas didn’t have the big-play threat that would have kept the Giants from selling out on the pass rush.

3) The Giants have to learn how to finish scoring drives

New York should have won the game without much trouble, especially given the help from Dallas’ constant mistakes, but it had to settle for four field goals, including one from the 1-yard line in the final two minutes. If the Giants put one of those drives in the end zone, they win the game.

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