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.

Cowboys fans can’t blame Tony Romo for this fourth-quarter collapse.
Wikimedia Commons

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.

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Attention fans of both the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys, if you’re in the San Jose, California area and looking for a good restaurant to watch the game, you’ll have to pass on High Five Pizza. Although the business bills themselves as having been named one of the top five places to watch an NFL football game by the San Jose Mercury News in 2004/2005, apparently things have changed over the years.

sign on the entrance to High Five Pizza in San Jose. (permission rec’d by Kathy Samoun)
Kathy Samoun

The restaurant also bills themselves as the “friendliest in the San Jose area,” but that apparently only applies to some of their customers.

A sign at the establishment reads, “NOTICE: High Five Pizza Co. has a company policy that we do not show any Oakland Raider or Dallas Cowboy football games. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

If you’re a fan of the Oakland Raiders or the Dallas Cowboys, how does this make you feel?

As a fan of the Oakland Raiders, this is pretty offensive, but also, as someone who is not a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, I feel offended for those who follow the Texas team as well.

There are good and bad fans in all sports bases, across the nation and across the world. Discriminating against fans of any particular team seems to me to encourage hostility and ultimately promote violence.

I’m close to Oakland Raiders’ fans of different genders, several races, and all types of people across the nation. All of whom are upstanding people, and many who even find time and resources to give back to their communities as well.

Of course, the business has a right to serve whomever they do or don’t want to serve, but for a restaurant that bills itself as a place to watch sports in the middle of the Bay Area, discriminating against fans of the Oakland Raiders doesn’t really seem to make a lot of sense financially either, in my opinion.

Kathy Samoun, the founder of Fans Against Violence, said that she feels the restaurant is only serving to reverse the efforts that she and the organization are undertaking to encourage good-will and sportsmanship across fan bases.

Making a group of any type of people feel unwelcome based on unjust prejudice and old stereotypes seems rather barbaric. It’s hard to believe that a business would willingly promote themselves in this light in this day and age.

I contacted the restaurant to verify their policy, and they confirmed that it is true, though they did not give the reason behind it. One imagines the owner must feel that Oakland Raiders’ fans and Dallas Cowboys fans are all violent, or otherwise not acceptable patrons of their establishment.

Obviously, there are plenty of sports bars in the Bay Area that will gladly welcome fans of any and all teams, but it’s disheartening to see a business perpetuating these kinds of stereotypes. Instead, there should be more businesses that promote a place for people to come together that share a love of sports, where violence and hostile behavior is discouraged, and fun is always applauded. Or is that just a dream?

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

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POSTED: Thursday, November 10, 2011

UPDATED: 5:57 pm CST November 10, 2011

Chace Crawford will becoming an uncle soon!

Yahoo Sports reported Crawford’s sister, Candice, and NFL hubby Tony Romo are expecting their first child.

The Dallas Cowboy announced the news on a visit to a Dallas high school Tuesday.

According to the Washington Post, Romo was asked by a student if he had children. The 31-year-old responded, “I’ve actually got one on the way. My wife’s pregnant.”

Candice, a former Miss USA contestant, has four more months to go in her pregnancy. But comparisons could quickly appear as it looks like Romo’s ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson is pregnant as well.

Simpson recently made headlines for demanding that magazines pay her $500,000 for a pregnancy confirmation.

The actress turned business mogul isn’t the only preggers star with whom Candice will be competing for attention. There’s also Jennifer Garner, Hilary Duff, Brenda Song, and as we all know…Beyonce.

Which celebrity do you think will have the cutest baby?

FOXBORO (CBS) – In his first year with the New England, Andre Carter just got his first taste of the Patriots-Jets rivalry.

Carter, a former Washington Redskin, was used to calling the Dallas Cowboys his rival. Now he gets another chance on Sunday.

Carter has knowledge of everything Dallas.  Twice a year, the Washington-Dallas rivalry reached a fever pitch.  But now that he’s with the Patriots, Andre looks at the bigger picture.

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“Everybody always asks me, being a Washington Redskin and having been in that battle, is that kind of rivalry still in me?” said Carter. “I think my mentality now that I am a Patriot, I think that every week you just have to have that same [even-keeled] mentality, whoever you go up against.”

Carter knows the problems Tony Romo can present especially on broken plays.  He says you have to play the Dallas QB to the whistle.

Read: Levan Reid’s Patriots Blog

“He’s an allusive quarterback. he’s wild, he takes chances, but for the most part he’s been successful,” said Carter of Romo. ” He just has that ‘comeback kid’ mentality, especially when it comes down to the wire in the fourth quarter.”

As far as the New England defense, he believes they are getting better but still a ways to go.

“We’re still learning, just like every other team is still learning,” said Carter. “We have to continue to be hungry and strive for perfection. Each week is a challenge, but we can constantly get better.”

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Tune in to the Patriots-Cowboys game Sunday at 4:15 pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Get your Patriots Sunday started with Patriots Gameday at 11:30am on WBZ-TV and The Sports Hub’s pregame coverage, beginning at 1:00 pm. After the game tune in to the Postgame show on 98.5, and to Patriots Fifth Quarter on MY TV38.