East Rutherford, NJ — Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett passed out t-shirts at the beginning of training camp this summer in Oxnard. They had one word on them - "FIGHT."
The Cowboys say they embodied the spirit of that motto in a come-from-behind win over the Giants Sunday night at MetLife Stadium Dallas just kept reeling in the Giants, erasing an 11-point halftime deficit and a 4-point deficit with three minutes left to play.
"We've been in a lot of these games over the years and somehow, some way we've been on the other side," said tight end Jason Witten. "I just thought it was a great team effort. These division games are always tough I just thought we came back in the second half and just did exactly that, we fought. We fought together. It's a big win."
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo led a 7-play, 80 yard drive that last one tick less than two minutes. On the drive, Romo found Dez Bryant, Witten, and Cole Beasley and he had phenomenal protection to make plays. Twice he had more than seven seconds in the pocket to survey the field, including the game-winning 12 yard touchdown toss to Dez Bryant.
"We don't believe in pressure," said Bryant. "We knew what we had to do coming out in the second half - whenever we get the ball we need to make something happen and we need to make it count."
Bryant and Romo did just that, connecting for two of Romo's four passing touchdowns. Romo completed 18-of-26 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns. The game-winning drive marked the 23rd fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
"You're comfortable being in uncomfortable situations," said Romo. "That comes, like I said, from having been through it and experienc[ing] it and having to go out and figure out a way to win."
The Cowboys say they were rusty after the bye and that explained a poor start, especially defensively. The Giants scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions. New York converted 7 of 8 third downs in the first half. Eli Manning completed 14 of 16 passes for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Rookie receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. put on an absolute show in the first half, grabbing 8 catches for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. His second touchdown was a highlight for the ages. It was a one-handed stab of the football as he was falling backwards and into the end zone. It was part of a forgettable first half that had everything going against the Cowboys.
But they found a way to turn thing around and keep their perfect road record intact; the Cowboys remain the NFL's sole unbeaten team on the road, now at 5-and-0.
The Cowboys have precious little time to enjoy the thrilling victory. They'll line up against the Eagles Thursday afternoon with first place in the NFC East on the line.
"Now we have another challenge coming up real quick," Romo said. "Philly is playing great football so we're going to have to play better than we did tonight to win that game."
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