EASTRUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Thanks to Eli Manning and Victor Cruz, an all-or-nothing game was all New York Giants and nothing but frustration for the Dallas Cowboys.Manning threw three touchdown passes, including a 74-yarder to Cruz early, and the Giants claimed the final spot in the NFL playoffs, beating the Cowboys 31-14 on Sunday night to win the NFC East."I knew we were going to fight and keep playing until the end, I feel good about the way we're handling the ups and downs, and it comes down to finishing," Manning said after throwing for 346 yards and no interceptions.New York (9-7) won three of its final four games for 65-year-old coach Tom Coughlin and earned a wild-card home game next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons (10-6)."We've had a lot of ups and down, but when our team needed it most we responded," said the up-and-coming Cruz, who has capped his team-record setting season with six catches for 178 yards. "We were able to keep level-headed when we were on the four-game skid."The Cowboys (8-8) lost four of their final five games in their first full season under coach Jason Garrett."It's extremely painful and it's a damn shame," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "We have a good team and I thought we would be going to the playoffs, but that didn't happen. We have to be able to take some of the good with the bad and move on. We did a lot of good things this year, but to point to one thing why this happened would be subjective. We're 8-8 and we have to be better than that."Patriots 49, Bills 21: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a three-touchdown deficit as they scored 49 straight points.Brady finished the regular season with the second-most yards passing in NFL history, 5,235, after throwing for 338. Drew Brees, who last week broke Dan Marino's record of 5,084 with the Miami Dolphins in 1984, added 389 Sunday for the New Orleans Saints and ended with 5,486.Chiefs 7, Broncos 3: In Denver, Tim Tebow fell short in his latest comeback bid and former Bronco Kyle Orton got his revenge in leading Kansas City to a win over Denver.Ravens 24, Bengals 16: In Cincinnati, Ray Rice had a pair of long touchdown runs that gave the Ravens their third AFC North title.Chargers 38, Raiders 26: In Oakland, Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes and Richard Goodman returned a kickoff 105 yards.Steelers 13, Browns 9: In Cleveland, Isaac Redman replaced an injured Rashard Mendenhall and ran for a touchdown as Pittsburgh limped into the playoffs.Saints 45, Panthers 17: In New Orleans, Drew Brees threw for 389 yards and five touchdowns.Jaguars 19, Colts 13: In Jacksonville, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for a season-high 169 yards, clinching the NFL rushing title and breaking Fred Taylor's single-season franchise record.Titans 23, Texans 22: In Houston, Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes as the Titans edged the Texans.Dolphins 19, Jets 17: In Miami, Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions and the Jets were eliminated from the wild-card race.Packers 45, Lions 41: In Green Bay, backup Matt Flynn threw a touchdown pass to Jermichael Finley with 1:10 left to finish off his record-setting day of 480 yards and six TD passes.Bears 17, Vikings 13: In Minneapolis, Charles Tillman's interception return in the second quarter helped Chicago end a five-game losing streak.Eagles 34, Redskins 10: In Philadelphia, Michael Vick threw three touchdown passes, including a 62-yarder to DeSean Jackson, as the Eagles closed the season with four straight wins.49ers 34, Rams 27: In St. Louis, Michael Crabtree caught two touchdown passes, one from kicker David Akers on a perfectly executed trick play.Cardinals 23, Seahawks 20 (OT): In Glendale, Arizona, Larry Fitzgerald's spectacular one-handed grab set help up a 28-yard field goal by Jay Feely.Falcons 42, Buccaneers 24: In Atlanta, Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds, Michael Turner ran for two scores and the Falcons put up a team-record 42 first-half points.
No comments:
Post a Comment