Tom Coughlin raced onto the field and wildly pumped his right arm, windmill style. Then he did it again.
Finally, the Giants had something to celebrate.
Coughlin exulted after Domenik Hixon went this way and that way and ran 79 yards for a game-clinching punt return for a touchdown. That closed out an emotional game in which the Giants battled from behind with some huge plays – including a 74-yard scoring catch and run by Brandon Jacobs – and then used a rousing closing rush to defeat the Cowboys 31-24 tonight at Giants Stadium to save their season.
The Giants fell behind by 17-14, but scored 17 straight points before a Miles Austin touchdown with 1:24 left cut the lead to 31-24, but the Cowboys could not recover the onside kick.
The Giants (7-5) actually moved to within one game of the Cowboys (8-4) and Eagles (8-4) for first place in the NFC East and are owners of a two-game season sweep of the Cowboys. This sets up a high-stakes game upcoming Sunday against the Eagles.
The Giants trailed 10-0 in the second quarter and scored all their 14 first-half points in a span of 87 seconds late in the quarter to turn a 10-0 deficit into a living-and-breathing 14-10 lead. Tomy Romo found Roy Williams on a touchdown pass to make it a 17-14 Cowboys lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter but the Giants 19 seconds later and took the lead for good on one of the most improbable quick-strike plays imaginable.
On first down from the Giants 26-yard line Eli Manning hit Brandon Jacobs in stride at the 35-yard line. Jacobs turned the corner, ran past linebacker Anthony Spencer and, incredibly, tiptoed down the left sideline on a career-long (by far) 74-yard touchdown reception, diving into the pylon to accentuate the run for a 21-17 lead.
From there, the Giants closed out this one out in style. Their defense rose up and harassed Romo, Lawrence Tynes made it 24-17 with a 23-yard field goal. And then, for the finishing touch, Hixon zig-zagged left then made a wicked cut right on a 79-ayrd punt return for the clinching touchdown with 5:33 remaining, getting key blocks from Terrell Thomas and Derek Hagan.
This had all the makings of a long, cold and cruel night for the Giants. Their revamped defense could not get off the field but at least was battling, trailing 3-0 in the second quarter. That’s when it looked as if it was going awry. Ahmad Bradshaw, returning after missing the Thanksgiving night massacre in Denver with two sprained ankles, fumbled away his first rushing attempt when nose tackle Jay Ratliff stripped the ball away and then pounced on it on the Giants 26-yard line.
It wasn’t hard to figure what would happen next. The Cowboys marched the short distance they needed and Romo lobbed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams. Cornerback Corey Webster was in-stride with Williams but inexplicably never turned his head to locate the ball as it whizzed over his right shoulder. That made it 10-0 with 3:14 left in the first half and the Giants were in danger of losing touch.
As they have done often in the past, the Giants went to a no-huddle attack and Manning finally got in gear, finding rookie Hakeem Nicks on a 21-yard scoring pass.
Leading 10-7, the Cowboys got the ball back with 1:39 to go in the half, plenty of time to mount a drive but instead they helped fuel the Giants’ tank. A screen pass to Marion Barber went for six yards and a first down but Mathias Kiwanuka poked the ball away and Osi Umenyiora scooped it up and raced 24 yards to the Dallas 28.
This was a significant development for two players caught up in a go-for-broke desperation from the Giants. They were the main ingredients in a defensive shakeup that was supposed to shake up the entire unit. The most eye-opening move was the removal of Umenyiora from the starting lineup, the first time since 1994 that Umenyiora was healthy and not a starter.
Kiwanuka started in his place at right end. Also sent to the bench was defensive tackle Fred Robbins and linebacker Chase Blackburn, replaced by Chris Canty and Jonathan Goff making his first career start.