SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 8, 2013
Cowboys 36, Giants 31: Barry Church and Brandon Carr returned turnovers for touchdowns as host Dallas ended its home losing streak to New York in the season opener for the NFC East rivals.
Tony Romo completed 36-of-49 passes for 263 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jason Witten as the Cowboys (1-0) posted their first win in five home meetings with the Giants since AT&T Stadium opened in 2009.
Eli Manning was 27-of-42 for 450 yards and four touchdowns while Victor Cruz matched a career high with three TD receptions for the Giants, who committed a whopping six turnovers. Manning threw three interceptions, including one on the game's first play from scrimmage.
New York turned over the ball on each of its first three possessions, but Dallas only was able to produce three points. Witten caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:55 remaining in the second quarter to put the Cowboys ahead 13-3 and Church recovered David Wilson's second fumble of the game and returned it 27 yards down the right side of the field early in the third for a 20-10 advantage.
Witten helped give Dallas its largest lead at 27-10 by hauling in a 4-yard toss by Romo for a score with 4:55 to play in the third. Manning hooked up with Cruz for 18- and 10-yard scoring strikes to bring the Giants (0-1) within 30-24, but Carr picked off a deflected pass by Manning and ran it back 49 yards for a score with 1:50 remaining to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Both teams received scares as Romo appeared to suffer a rib injury when he was sandwiched by two defenders in the first half, while Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul favored his left shoulder while being attended to by trainers in the third quarter. Pierre-Paul was questionable to even play as he missed the entire preseason after undergoing back surgery in June. ... Cruz (five catches, 118 yards), who was one of three Giants with over 100 yards receiving, also made three touchdown catches in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns last season. ... Dallas has scored at least 20 points in nine of the last 10 meetings between the clubs, while New York has done the same in eight of the last nine matchups.