The Dallas Cowboys are no longer alone atop the NFC East.

Instead of building a two-game division lead, the Cowboys blew a
12-point lead over the final 5 1/2 minutes and lost 37-34 Sunday
night to drop into a tie with the New York Giants, who snapped a
four-game losing streak to get even with three games left.

“This one is going to hurt,” Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said.
“This one is going to sting.”

Just another bad memory for Romo and the Cowboys at home against
the Giants.

“Very disappointing. Major game for both teams, my hats off to
the Giants,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said outside the locker room
before walking off without taking questions. “We are very
disappointed and we certainly know that we’ve got our work cut out
for us.”

New York (7-6) has won all three of its games at Cowboys
Stadium, including the first regular-season game in another Sunday
night game two years ago. Then there was last year’s game, when
Romo broke his collarbone and didn’t play again.

This time, the Cowboys might be looking back at this loss as the
one that cost them another division title _ and maybe knocked them
out of the playoffs _ if they don’t recover.

“It’s like playoffs for us. It’s sudden death. We have to win
the next three to give ourselves a chance,” linebacker Bradie James
said. “This was a big one. We all talked about being in first
place. We knew what was on the line. But those guys made one more
play than we did.”

Dallas plays Saturday night at Tampa Bay, then is home against
Philadelphia on Christmas Eve before the regular-season finale New
Year’s Day at MetLife Stadium. The Giants have games left against
Washington and the Jets before the home game against the
Cowboys.

Cowboys sensational rookie DeMarco Murray won’t play any of
those games. He broke his right ankle and sustained a high sprain
when his foot got twisted under a defender while being tackled at
the end of an 8-yard run in the first quarter. Murray left the
locker room on crutches, staring down with a hoodie pulled down
over his head.

“It appears that he’s done for the season,” coach Jason Garrett
said.

Even after Brandon Jacobs’ 1-yard run and D.J. Ware’s 2-point
conversion with 46 seconds left, the Cowboys had another
chance.

With no timeouts left, Romo hit Miles Austin for 22 and 23 yards
before spiking the ball to stop the clock with 6 seconds left and
set up rookie Dan Bailey for a 47-yard field goal to force
overtime.

Bailey kicked the ball through the uprights, but New York had
used its last timeout just before the ball was snapped. When Bailey
tried again, Jason Pierre-Paul blocked the kick and the ball
fluttered through the air and nowhere close to the goalpost.

“I’m not really sure (what happened). … They’re a big middle
rush team. Your guess is as good as mine,” Bailey said. “I felt
like I made good contact with the ball.”

Pierre-Paul, filling in for injured defensive end Osi Umenyiora,
sacked Romo in the first quarter for a safety and also forced a
fumble just before halftime that led to a field goal.

The Cowboys lost their second straight game, both in dramatic,
frustrating fashion that involved missed kicks by Bailey, who’d
been so good for so long this season.

“We have to process this game and put it behind us quickly,”
Garrett said.

Eli Manning was 27 of 47 for 400 yards and two touchdowns. He
was intercepted once, on a tipped pass, and it led to a touchdown
that appeared to put the game away for Dallas when Dez Bryant was
wide open for a 50-yard catch.

But Manning came back with a pair of touchdown drives. The first
went 80 yards in eight plays, capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to
Jake Ballard.

The Giants then held Dallas to a three-and-out. Romo, who had
thrown touchdown passes on the two previous possessions, missed a
wide-open Austin deep on third down. Romo said Austin, in his first
game back after missing four with a right hamstring injury, lost
the ball in the lights.

The Cowboys punted, and it was a short one. Then the Dallas
defense had two penalties that helped scoot along a drive capped by
Jacobs’ scoring plunge.

For Dallas, Bailey’s closing segment was all too similar to a
week earlier, with a twist.

Bailey had a 49-yard kick at the end of regulation against
Arizona, and had kicked the ball through the uprights for the
apparent game-winner when officials signaled that Garrett had
called timeout. Bailey then missed, and the Cowboys lost in
overtime.

Bailey had two field goals against the Giants, both 49-yarders.
The second put Dallas up 20-15 midway through the third
quarter.

Romo finished 21 of 31 for 321 yards with four touchdowns and no
interceptions. Laurent Robinson had four catches for 137 yards,
including a 9-yarder for his eighth TD in seven games.

Tight end John Phillips’ 12-yarder for his first career TD in
the first quarter pushed Romo over 20,000 yards passing in his
career _ and made it 7-5 after the Giants had gotten the safety and
a field goal.

Jones ran 16 times for 106 yards, and caught six passes for 31
yards.

The Cowboys have lost six straight Sunday night games. Romo also
continued his trend of winning in November (4-0), then losing in
December (0-2).

`’We need to get a win next week and get back going,” Romo said.
“You have to put your head down and keep playing.”

Sunday night provided an amazing game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys that featured multiple lead changes, a heart-stopping finish, and a huge collapse by the Cowboys as the Giants prevailed, 37-34.

The two teams combined for over 950 yards of offense and 71 points, and each side gave up an embarrassing touchdown on completely blown pass coverage. What struck me, though, as I watched the last 5:41 of the game was how the Cowboys repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.

After an incredible interception and return by linebacker Sean Lee, Dallas took a 34-22 lead with 5:41 left when Tony Romo hit a wide open—and I mean wide open—Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown strike on a play in which the nearest Giants defender was somewhere in Fort Worth. The Cowboys appeared to be on the verge of taking a two-game lead in the NFC East with three weeks to go.

But then something went terribly wrong. The Cowboys couldn’t get out of their own way.

Lousy Pass Defense

Eli Manning kept hitting Victor Cruz for considerable chunks of yardage, including a 23-yard gain on 3rd and 1. When the Cowboys finally contained Cruz, Hakeem Nicks caught one over his head and tiptoed out of bounds at the 8-yard-line for a gain of 23 yards. With 3:14 left, Manning found Jake Ballard for the touchdown.

You could see it in the Cowboys’ faces and body language. Having blown large leads twice previously this season, Dallas players and fans feared the worst, and it turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

On the ensuing drive, Dallas ran a couple of clock-killing plays on the legs of Felix Jones, and then on 3rd down, Romo missed a wide open Miles Austin on a play that would likely have sealed the game. Austin had beaten his defender and had no one between him and the end zone, but Romo overthrew him. Not only did it become 4th down, but the incompletion also stopped the clock and saved the Giants a timeout.

Back-Breaking Penalties

After a less-than-impressive punt by Mat McBriar, the Giants set up on their own 42-yard-line with 2:12 left. Manning immediately found Ballard for a 21-yard gain, but on the next play, Manning was not on the same page as his center, and the snap came too early and too high. The ball bounced around the field before it was finally recovered by the Giants, but for a huge loss.

Except that there was a flag on the play. DeMarcus Ware had lined up in the neutral zone. Instead of a big loss, the Giants had the ball 1st-and-5 on the Cowboys’ 32-yard-line.

After Mario Manningham dropped a perfectly placed throw by Manning in the end zone, the Cowboys forced an incompletion that set up a 3rd-and-10 for the Giants.

Except that there was another flag. Defensive holding. Automatic first down.

Another big pass to Ballard took the ball to the 1-yard-line where Brandon Jacobs pounded it in for a touchdown. D.J. Ware weaved his way through Dallas defenders for a two-point conversion, and the Giants had suddenly taken a three-point lead with :46 left to play.

Mind Games and Poor Blocking

When Dallas got the ball back, Romo found Austin on a couple of long passes and set rookie kicker Dan Bailey up for a 47-yard field goal attempt to send the game into overtime. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin played it perfectly, though, calling timeout a fraction of a second before Dallas snapped the ball.

Bailey’s kick was true, but it didn’t count. Just like in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Bailey was iced—only this time, by the opposing coach instead of his own.

After the timeout, the Cowboys lined up to try the field goal again, but Jason Pierre-Paul burst through the center of the line, got his arm up, and blocked the kick. Game over. Cowboys choke again.

Don’t Blame Romo

It may be tempting for Cowboys fans to blame Romo for another 4th quarter collapse, but this one isn’t on him.

True, he missed a wide open Austin on one play. But he also got the Cowboys into field goal range to force overtime. Romo wasn’t out there getting torched on defense, nor was he the one committing two back-breaking penalties at the worst possible time. It wasn’t Romo who failed to block Pierre-Paul on the second field goal attempt. In fact, Romo went 21-of-31 for 321 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s normally a game-winning performance.

For the defensive wizard that Rob Ryan is supposed to be, that unit is not very good. The Giants had 510 yards of offense and scored 37 points, and at the worst possible time, the Dallas D imploded.

If fans want to direct their wrath at someone, aim it at the defense.

The author is a Featured Contributor in Sports for Yahoo! Contributor Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.

Also by this author:

10 random thoughts about NFL’s Week 14

Orlovsky, Colts don’t enjoy return to Northeast

Kevin Sumlin returns to Texas A&M

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Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Miles Austin (WR – DAL), Tony Romo (QB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Laurent Robinson took over for the Dallas Cowboys as Miles Austin was out due to injury, but even with Austin back in the lineup for their game against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, the veteran was able to find the end zone. Tony Romo connected with Robinson midway through the second quarter to give the Cowboys a 14-12 lead.

Robinson has just one reception and one target thus far in the game, but he made it count as it ended with a trip to the end zone. The video below will show just exactly how it happened.

Following Romo’s safety on the Cowboys’ first possession of the game, the Dallas quarterback has completed seven of his nine passing attempts for 55 yards and a pair of scores. This game might not end up as ugly as it started for the Cowboys quarterback after all.

For more on the Giants head over to Big Blue View. For more on the Cowboys, check out Blogging The Boys. Follow the rest of week 14 at SB Nation NFL.

While the
New York Giants
and
Dallas Cowboys
both lost last weekend, the damage by those defeats can easily be mitigated thanks to what’s at stake this weekend.

The Giants will try to end a four-game losing streak Sunday night on the road against the Cowboys as these rivals play for
the NFC East lead.

Dallas (7-5) leads New York (6-6) by one game. The Giants led the race by two before their slide.

The Cowboys had their four-game win streak snapped thanks to mistakes that included poor clock management in last Sunday’s
19-13 overtime loss at Arizona – a defeat that cost them a chance to clinch the division this weekend.

“Most importantly, we have to put this one to bed and go to the next one,” coach Jason Garrett said.

The Giants, meanwhile, seem buoyed despite last Sunday’s 38-35 last-second loss to Green Bay. After giving the unbeaten Packers
their toughest game, New York is looking forward to the chance to move back into first place.

“The mindset is looking ahead,” quarterback
Eli Manning
said. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done last week or what your record is. It’s what you’re playing for, who you have this
week. And you have Dallas, Sunday night football, that’s a big one.”

These teams’ quarterbacks are having similar seasons. Manning has a 96.0 passer rating, 23 touchdowns to 11 interceptions
and 3,705 passing yards.
Tony Romo
owns a 97.3 rating with 22 touchdowns to nine interceptions and 3,325 yards through the air.

“I think everyone knows this is an important game and you have to play the best football this time of year,” Romo said. “We’re
going to go out there and give great effort and be ready for a great challenge in the Giants.”

Each passing game could get a boost Sunday.

Receiver
Mario Manningham
, out the last two games with a sore knee, could return for New York. Manningham has three touchdown catches in his last four
games against Dallas and would complement a group that includes
Hakeem Nicks
and
Victor Cruz
.

Cruz is fourth in the league with 1,076 receiving yards after three straight 100-yard efforts.

Cowboys star receiver
Miles Austin
and blocking fullback
Tony Fiammetta
returned to practice Wednesday and both are expected to play. That should provide help to an offense that has produced three
touchdowns over the last two games.

“We feel like we have a rejuvenated offense,” receiver
Laurent Robinson
said.

The Giants had some changes on their offensive line last week with
Kevin Boothe
replacing
David Baas
(neck) at center and
Mitch Petrus
entering at left guard. Dave Diehl had already replaced the injured
Will Beatty
at left tackle.

Diehl is accustomed to that spot from years past, and could renew his battle with linebacker
DeMarcus Ware
. Ware, who leads the NFL with 15 sacks, sat out practice Wednesday with a stinger.

“That has always been a great matchup and there have been some other ones all across the board on both sides of the ball,”
Garrett said. “That is certainly one of the subplots of the game and we are excited to see how it plays out.”

No NFC team has more sacks than the Cowboys’ 35, and the Giants are close behind with 33.

New York’s rushing defense is 23rd in the league, allowing 127.0 yards per game. The Giants will get their first look at Cowboys
rookie
DeMarco Murray
, who averaged 108.5 yards rushing during the win streak before being limited to 38 last Sunday.

“I think they are averaging 114 yards a game rushing,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “They are doing some good things with
the run game.”

The Giants remain last in the league in rushing with 83.8 yards per game. They reached 100 for the first time in four games
last Sunday as
Ahmad Bradshaw
returned after missing four straight with a broken bone in his right foot.

New York’s depleted secondary received good news on safety
Kenny Phillips
, who left the Green Bay game with a knee sprain but could play.

These teams split notable meetings last season.

Romo’s season came to an early end with a broken collarbone due to a hit by
Michael Boley
in last year’s 41-35 home loss to New York – part of a 1-7 start that led to the dismissal of coach Wade Phillips.

Garrett had a memorable debut as interim coach, guiding Dallas to a 33-20 victory at New York in the last meeting Nov, 14.
2010.

Their upcoming clash Jan. 1 in the regular-season finale has the chance to be even more dramatic.

New York has won both previous matchups at Cowboys Stadium, where Manning has six touchdown passes, three interceptions, a
68.5 completion percentage and 636 passing yards.

When Tashard Choice was sent packing, Dallas relied on two rookie running backs to carry the load until Felix Jones returned. Now, with Jones back, one of those rookies is now headed to the injured reserve. Phillip Tanner’s season has ended with a hamstring injury.

Replacing Tanner in the lineup is wide receiver Andre Holmes, giving Dallas some much needed depth at the position. Holmes was supposed to move into the active lineup this week anyway but injured his hamstring. Luckily for Holmes and the Cowboys, his injury was not as bad as thought.

Dallas added former USC running back Chauncey Washington to their practice squad.

Tanner, a Dallas native who went to Middle Tennessee State, finished his rookie season with 22 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. He hasn’t played in three weeks due to his hamstring problems. Unlike starter Miles Austin, who was allowed to work through his injuries, Tanner was placed in IR to help the Cowboys at other positions.

Andre Holmes is a rookie from the Hillside, a college in Michigan. In his final year at Hillside, he set the single-season school records for receptions (104), and receiving yards (1,368), and caught 11 touchdown passes. He walked on with Minnesota and was added to the Cowboys’ practice squad when preseason ended.

Holmes was seen as a necessary addition with Austin planning to play but not completely over his hamstring problems. Laurent Robinson was also a questionable start this week but practiced Friday and says he is going to play in the game with the New York Giants.

Another injury scare came with DeMarcus Ware, the Cowboys’ best defensive star. He injured his neck in the loss to Arizona and rested for much of the week. However, Ware returned to practice on Thursday and his rest was just precautionary.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Dallas Cowboys

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Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Jon Kitna (QB – DAL), Kyle Kosier (G – DAL), DeMarcus Ware (LB – DAL), Danny McCray (S – DAL), Josh Brent (DT – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware returned to practice on a limited basis after siting out Tuesday’s practice due to a neck injury he suffered last week against the Arizona Cardinals. It is expected that Ware will be in the lineup in Sunday night’s NFC East showdown against the New York Giants. 

Wide receiver Laurent Robinson was expected to practice on Thursday, but he ultimately did not participate and missed his second straight practice with a shoulder injury. In positive wide receiver news, the Cowboys are expected to get back Miles Austin who is back at practice after missing the past month with a hamstring injury.

DALLAS COWBOYS
PLAYER	INJURY	WED	THU	FRI	GAME STATUS
Miles Austin, WR	Hamstring	LP	LP
Martellus Bennett, TE	Ribs	DNP	DNP
Josh Brent, NT	Knee	DNP	DNP
Abram Elam, S	Not Injury Related/ Personal		DNP
Tony Fiammetta, FB	Illness	LP	LP
Jon Kitna, QB	Back	DNP	DNP
Kyle Kosier, G	Foot	DNP	LP
Sean Lee, LB	Wrist	FP	FP
Mat McBriar, P	Foot (Left)	FP	FP
Danny McCray, S	Ankle	DNP	DNP
Laurent Robinson, WR	Shoulder	DNP	DNP
Phillip Tanner, RB	Hamstring	DNP	DNP
DeMarcus Ware, LB	Neck	DNP	LP

For more insights on the Dallas Cowboys, check out SB Nation blog Blogging The Boys.

By Ed Valentine

– Regional Editor

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Dec 8, 2011 – The New York Giants face a must-win Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys in Texas. The Giants (6-6) trail the Cowboys (7-5) in the NFC East and have just four games remaining, two against Dallas. Let’s take a look at what the Cowboys are all about.

RECORD (7-5, first place in the NFC East)

Much like the Giants, the Cowboys have been all over the map this season. They started the season 3-4 but, following a lopsided 34-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Dallas ran off four straight victories. Then, last week, is a game against a weak Arizona team, Dallas lost in overtime, 19-13. 

Which Dallas team is the real one? Maybe the answer is both, which makes largely identical to the Giants.

OFFENSE

Dallas, of course, is led by quarterback Tony Romo. The Cowboy quarterback has had a typical year statistically, completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 3,325 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions thus far. He has a passer rating of 97.3 and a QBR of 71.0, which is fourth in the league.

The Cowboys leading receiver is tight end Jason Witten, who has 61 catches. Since the start of the 2007 season, Witten leads NFL tight ends with 426 catches & 4,889 yards.

On the outside the Cowboys have Dez Bryant (46 catches and seven touchdowns) and Laurent Robinson (42 catches, seven touchdowns). They also expect to get Miles Austin, who has compiled more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, back Sunday. Austin has played only six games this season due to a hamstring injury.

The Dallas running game is led by rookie third-round pick DeMarco Murray. He has 872 yards this season and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Felix Jones is the backup. The Cowboys could also be helped by the return of fullback Tony Fiammetta.

DEFENSE

For Dallas, linebacker DeMarcus Ware leads the league in sacks with 15 and will be matched up most of the time with Giants’ veteran offensive tackle David Diehl. That pair has locked horns for years, and Ware has generally gotten the better of the match-up. Second-year linebacker Sean Lee leads the Cowboys in tackles with 76. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff is another key defender for Dallas.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Dallas placekicker Dan Bailey is 29-of-32 on field goals this season. Punter Mat McBriar averages 45.2 yards per kick. Several players have shared kickoff and punt return duties. 

COACHING

Jason Garrett is in his first full season with the Cowboys. He is drawing some scrutiny after calling a timeout at the end of regulation Sunday against Arizona that would have won the game for Dallas in regulation. Bailey missed the subsequent re-kick and the Cowboys lost in overtime. Dallas is 12-8 since Garrett replaces Wade Phillips midway through last season.

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The Dallas Cowboys Sunday Night Football game with the New York Giants will determine, for a couple of weeks at least, the NFC East division leader. At the very least, it will give the winner a distinct advantage heading towards the 2011 NFL playoffs.

One area that Dallas’ fans can look at as a positive is the return of two players, Miles Austin(notes) and Tony Fiammetta(notes).

Miles Austin, the Cowboys’ starting wide receiver has only played in six games in 2011. He opened the season with a hamstring injury but started on fire anyway, with 14 receptions for 233 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games. Austin was the main hero in the Cowboys’ victory over the 49ers with three touchdowns despite tweaking his left hamstring again in the game.

Austin returned in Week 6 against New England, who came in with the worst pass defense in the NFL. Despite the solid matchup, Austin finished with seven receptions for 74 yards and never found the end zone. After that game, Austin practically disappeared, with seven receptions for 96 yards in his next three games combined. Then, in the second quarter of the Dallas game with Seattle, Austin hurt his right hamstring.

After sitting out for four weeks, Austin finally returned to practice and will return to the field in Week 14. With the Giants up next, Dallas needs Austin to be back to full strength if they want to beat their division rivals.

The second returning player may not be a big name but he plays an important role in the Dallas offense. Fiammetta is the Cowboys’ fullback, and without him the Cowboys filled in the gap as best they could. The Cowboys averaged 176 rushing yards in four games with Fiammetta as the lead blocker for Murray. In three games without Fiammetta, the Cowboys averaged 83

With Austin back in the lineup and Fiammetta blocking for Murray, the Cowboys can only hope they can get their offense back moving again.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Dallas Cowboys

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Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Miles Austin (WR – DAL), Tony Romo (QB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Laurent Robinson didn’t practice Wednesday because of a slightly separated right shoulder suffered in the first half of the 19-13 overtime loss versus the Arizona Cardinals. In four games since Miles Austin went down, Robinson has scored five touchdowns for Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys offense. Austin himself was limited in practice as he prepares for the showdown with the New York Giants.

Here is the full practice report on Wednesday for the Cowboys as they prepare for the Giants:

Did Not Participate in Practice

TE Martellus Bennett (Ribs)
NT Josh Brent (Knee)
QB Jon Kitna (Back)
G Kyle Kosier (Foot)
S Danny McCray (Ankle)
WR Laurent Robinson (Shoulder)
RB Phillip Tanner (Hamstring)
LB DeMarcus Ware (Neck)

Limited Participation in Practice

WR Miles Austin Hamstring
FB Tony Fiammetta (Illness)

Full Participation in Practice

LB Sean Lee Wrist
P Mat McBriar (Left foot)

For more insights on the Dallas Cowboys, check out SB Nation blog Blogging The Boys. For more on the New York Giants, check out SB Nation blog Big Blue View.

It’s a day of Hot Button debates as we gear up and m0ve closer to the big Sunday night showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. Earlier, we rolled the old Eli Manning vs. Tony Romo grenade into the room and ran out as quickly as we could. So here’s another one for you guys to kick around.

The Hot Button debate topic on ESPNDallas.com is also simple: Who will win the NFC East? Cowboys or Giants? Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com says it’ll be the Cowboys. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com says Giants.

Personally, I think it’d be at least as much fun — if not moreso — to hear the contrary points of view from the folks covering the teams. For instance, I want a Cowboys beat guy to tell me why the Cowboys won’t win and a Giants beat guy to tell me why the Giants won’t. I’ve always thought beat writers were, or at least should be, in the best position to see a team’s flaws up close. But someday when I’m the guy who gets to decide the Hot Button topics, perhaps this can come to pass. In the meantime, here’s Calvin on why the Cowboys, who have a one-game lead with four (including two against the Giants) to play:

Yes, the Giants have beaten the Cowboys in their first two trips to Cowboys Stadium, but this Cowboys team is playing with more confidence coming into Sunday night’s game than ever before.

The return of Miles Austin to the lineup for the final month adds a different dimension to the Cowboys’ offense. He takes pressure off Dez Bryant, who continues to improve his game, especially in the fourth quarter, and tight end Jason Witten.

Calvin also thinks the schedule favors Dallas, since they get the Buccaneers and Eagles while the Giants get the Redskins and the still-contending Jets in the other two games. And he’s right, of course, but the schedule favored the Cowboys last week, too, and they didn’t beat Arizona.

Anyway, the basis for Ohm’s side of the argument is Manning, who’s playing quarterback better than anyone else in the division and, Ohm says, “only needs a bit more of an assist from either his defense or the running game to lift the Giants to the playoffs.”

The Giants have defeated Dallas in five of their past seven meetings, and Manning has had some of his best games vs. the Cowboys. He has 26 career TDs against them, and three 300-yard passing games at Dallas, where the Giants play this Sunday night. The Cowboys’ secondary has had trouble covering Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham and now they’ll get their first taste of the red-hot Victor Cruz.

And now, thanks to their feisty performance against the Packers, the Giants have regained some of their swagger. Sure, they’ve had their share of late-season collapses and they let the division crown slip out of their fingers last year to Philadelphia. But this year, Manning won’t allow that to happen. All he needs is a little help from his friends.

The cool thing is, since this is pro football and not college, we don’t have to wonder. This stuff gets settled on the field. The Giants absolutely need to win the two games against Dallas, I think. They’re a game behind and could win both and still fail to win the division if they lose the two games in between. If Dallas wins Sunday night, they’ll be in complete control and could lock up the division before the Jan. 1 rematch. Who will end up winning? I’m picking the Cowboys right now because they’re the team with the lead, the better run game and — I believe — the better defense. But Ohm’s right about at least one thing: If it comes down to the fourth quarter and it falls on the quarterbacks, it’d be impossible to count out Eli.

Sometimes when things look bad, there is always time to stop and smell the flowers. In the case of the last Dallas Cowboys loss to the Arizona Cardinals, thanks to poor clock management and blown coverage in overtime, one need just step back and wonder if anything went right. If there is a silver lining, it is the performance of wide receiver Dez Bryant(notes).

Bryant made news earlier in the season when he was talking about how no team could beat the Dallas Cowboys, because they were so good, they could only beat themselves. Then Philadelphia whipped the Cowboys from goal post to goal post. Bryant also said that playing in the NFL was easier than playing in college because he did not receive as much double coverage.

That really opened up Bryant for some critics.

Bryant considered college at Oklahoma State to be harder. In his final playing season at Oklahoma State, he had 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns. He then set out the next year, suspended because he broke NCAA regulations.

In 2011, with starting wide receiver Miles Austin(notes) out of action for much of the year, Bryant has 46 receptions for 706 yards and seven touchdowns. Breaking that down, before the Cardinals game, Bryant’s best performance of the season was five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. It was his most receiving yards on the season and his second most receptions.

That is not what the Cowboys need from their star receiver.

Against the Cardinals, he was targeted 14 times, a season and career high. He caught eight of the passes, also a season high, for 86 yards, second only to Week 7. He also caught the only touchdown reception of the game.

Dallas has to hope this kind of play continues against the Giants. The Cowboys get Austin back for this game, so less coverage for Bryant should open things up for him again. In three-receiver sets, with Jason Witten(notes) as a fourth option, Bryant should get even better looks.

If the Dallas Cowboys want to win the NFC East and make it to the playoffs, they need Dez Bryant to have more games like this. It is nice when he is the silver lining but it would be even nicer to award him a game ball after a win.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Dallas Cowboys fullback Tony Fiammetta said he made a lot of improvement this week, is hopeful about playing next week and that he still can’t say exactly what kind of illness has sidelined him the past two games.

“I’m alive and well and doing OK,” he said Wednesday at Valley Ranch. “Things are getting better. …I’m starting to turn the corner. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for next week.”

Fiammetta said he experienced nausea, dizziness, “an uneasy feeling kind of thing,” over the past three weeks that led the Dallas Cowboys to list him as out because of an illness.

Fiammetta did not confirm or deny a concussion.

“We’re just trying to get to the bottom,” he said. “There’s a couple of things it could be. There’s a lot of things it could be. It’s kind of hard because you’re working off symptoms, so you don’t really know.”

Fiammetta said he rested for the first week, but has since been going to meetings and working out.

He’s also been trying to answer texts from well-wishers wondering about him.

“When people say ‘unknown illness’ in the injury report, people that are close to me and friends are going to ask me what’s going on,” he said. “We’re just still trying to get to the bottom of it. There’s no definite answer out there. There’s nothing that I can really tell them.”

The Cowboys averaged 176.3 yards rushing in four games Fiammetta served as the lead blocker for DeMarco Murray. In two games without Fiammetta, the Cowboys averaged 87.0.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he does not anticipate Fiammetta playing this week.

Asked if he might be ready to play next week, Fiammetta said, “You know what? This week isn’t completely out. But I feel really confident about moving on in the future. I don’t think this is going to linger too much longer.”

Jenkins practices

Mike Jenkins said he’s never missed so much time with an injury and that it’s tough to be out of action with the Cowboys in the hunt for a division championship.

“It’s hard, especially when you have been winning,” he said. “You want to be a part of that.”

The fourth-year cornerback practiced Wednesday after missing more than four weeks with a hamstring injury.

Jenkins was injured Oct. 30 at Philadelphia and missed games against Seattle, Buffalo, Washington and Miami.

Jenkins missed two games as a rookie because of a hamstring injury, but he’s played every game since then. In college, he played in 48 games in four years.

“Today I opened it up,” he said of Wednesday’s practice. “It felt pretty good. They probably want to see more out of me before they really give me the OK, but I felt good today.”

Injury report

In addition to Tony Fiammetta, five players missed practice: Miles Austin (hamstring), Josh Brent (knee), Jon Kitna (back), Kyle Kosier (foot) and Phillip Tanner (hamstring). Linebacker Bruce Carter (knee) was limited.

Briefly

Cornerback Frank Walker was fined $7,500 for a late shove on Miami tight end Anthony Fasano last week.

Running back DeMarco Murray was named NFL offensive rookie of the month.

Read More: Miles Austin (WR – DAL), Tony Fiammetta (FB – DAL), DeMarco Murray (RB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals

While the majority of the Dallas Cowboys fan base (and fantasy football) owners will worry about Miles Austin still being held out of practice due to a hamstring injury. If you asked running back Demarco Murray who he’s most concerned about, he’ll probably say third-year fullback Tony Fiammetta.

In two games with Fiammetta healthy and starting at fullback, Murray’s averaged 137 rushing yards a game. In two games without, just 80.

Here is the practice report for the Cowboys as they prepare for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday:

Did Not Practice

• Receiver Miles Austin (hamstring)
• Nose Tackle Josh Brent (knee)
• Fullback Tony Fiammetta (illness)
• Quarterback Jon Kitna (back)
• Right Guard Kyle Kosier (foot)
• Running Back Phillip Tanner (hamstring)

Limited in Practice

• Linebacker Bruce Carter (knee)
• Cornerback Mike Jenkins (hamstring)
• Safety Gerald Sensabaugh (foot)

Full Participants

• Punter Mat McBriar (left foot)
• Inside Linebacker Sean Lee (wrist)

For more insights and analysis on the Cowboys, check out the SB Nation blog Blogging with the Boys. For more insights and analysis on the Cardinals, check out the SB Nation blog Revenge of the Birds.

Playing on Thanksgiving Day every year, the Dallas Cowboys have a slight advantage in the running for the Phil Simms’ All-Iron Award. As long as the Cowboys win the game, one or more of their players will end up with the award. Since its inception in 1998, the Dallas Cowboys have won six All-Iron awards on their CBS games. Take a look back at the top three winners.

Tony Romo(notes)

Tony Romo is the only Dallas Cowboys player to win the All-Iron award twice on Thanksgiving and he nearly won it for a third time in the 2011 game. His first came in 2007 when the Dallas Cowboys dominated the New York Jets 34-3. In the game, Romo threw for two touchdowns among his 195 passing yards. At the time, the Cowboys were going strong with a 10-1 record.

Tony Romo’s second All-Iron award came in the 2009 season when the Cowboys defeated the Raiders 24-7. Once again Romo threw for two touchdowns and had 309 passing yards on the day as he hit targets like Miles Austin(notes) and Jason Witten(notes).

Miles Austin

In 2008 and 2009, Miles Austin proved to be a breakout star and a great replacement for Terrell Owens(notes). He shared the All-Iron victory in 2009 with Tony Romo as ended the game with 7 catches and 145 total yards. It was a not only a turkey feast, but a fantasy football feast for players luckily enough to have Austin or Romo on their team. An injury in 2011 prevented Austin from having a repeat performance.

Dan Bailey(notes)

In the final seconds of the 2011 Thanksgiving Day game, Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey delivered the game-winning 28 yard field goal. This kick helped cap off a 20-19 victory over the Dolphins and was his second field goal of the day.

After a slow start, Tony Romo managed to get the offense together and drive them up the field to set up field goal position and allow Bailey the chance to get the All-Iron award. His award represents a lot more than just that game though, because he has been a consistent and successful kicker all season for the Cowboys. He gets the field goals when they need him and he is a reliable offensive weapon that proved it further in the 2011 game.

Alan Donahue is a life-long NFL fan. He heavily follows the NFC East Division and has written several articles on the Dallas Cowboys.

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