Cowboys 24 Giants 31

Your ‘Game of the Week’ was the NFC East clash between the Giants and the Cowboys in the ‘big apple’. This was a really big game for the hosting Giants; if they were to lose they would be 3 games off the pace in the division. I expected this to happen, but I under estimated the power of the December curse, that hangs above the Dallas Cowboys. I said before the game that the Cowboys needed to run the football effectively (as Denver did on Thanksgiving) to get the win. They managed just 45 yards on the ground, 36 from Marion Barber. Just to explain how much the Cowboys struggled on the ground, their longest run of the day came from Barber, for a pathetic 8 yards. The other major problem they had on the day was the kicking of Nick Folk. Folk was just 1 of 3 on the day – costing Dallas 6 points which would have made this game a lot closer. He has now missed 5 of his last 7 kicks, and must be worrying for his job.

To be fair to the Giants, even though Dallas seemed to press the self destruct button here, they played quite well. Their run game looked ten times better than it did against Denver, and obviously their run defence had to be better. Eli Manning had 241 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT. Ahmad Bradshaw was the best rusher on the Giants, going for 47 yards from just 7 carries. This is the kind of production the Giants need to keep the pressure of the injured Eli. Brandon Jacobs struggled again though, running for just 39 yards on 13 carries. Jacobs did though have 2 TD’s in the game, including a 74 yard receiving TD. Steve Smith again proved that he is Manning’s most dependable and most talented receiver – having 6 catches for 110 yards. Another TD came from Domenik Hixon’s 79 yard punt return. This again showed another glaring weakness in the Cowboys special teams play.

This result has blown the NFC East wide open once again. With the Eagles getting the victory as well at the weekend they join the Cowboys at 8 – 4, with the Giants just one game back at 7 – 5. This week the Eagles travel to the Giants on Sunday Night football. This should be a great game, and we will learn more about both teams playoff hopes here. The Cowboys are at home to the San Diego Chargers in another great matchup. This title race is going to be good. Who do you think will win the division?? Leave a comment and let me know.

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