This past Sunday a battle for NFC East dominance came down to a last minute field goal as the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 23-20 at the Meadowlands. Journeyman Martin Gramatica kicked a 46-yard field goal with one second left, just one week after the Cowboys released kicker Mike Vanderjagt.
The game was almost identical statistically, with each team racking up over 350 yards of offense and both quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Tony Romo, throwing for over 250 yards. In a game where both teams were hurt by miscues, with interceptions thrown by Romo and costly penalties hurting the Giants, the momentum swung back and forth all game. Neither team was able to gain more than a seven-point lead during the game.
Manning showed marked improvement from previous weeks. However, the rising star of the game was clearly Tony Romo, who completed a spectacular 42-yard pass to Jason Witten with one minute left to set up the game winning field goal. The Cowboys, who struggled early in the year, took a two game lead in their division, while the Giants fell to 6-6 and are in danger of missing the playoffs.