Making Miracles Happen

Jason Garrett's insistence on actually coaching and holding players accountable seems to be just what the doctor ordered for the previously uninterested Cowboys. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

One game into his coaching career, Jason Garrett has exhibited the ability to work miracles.

There's no other way to explain it.

It's the only way a team that came into the game having lost five straight games, blown out in the the last two by a combined 58 points, could beat up on the division leading New York Giants - winners of five straight. But the Dallas Cowboys did just that, exuding effort and playing quality football for 60 minutes.

"I thought the intensity was there in all three areas," Garrett said. "Guys were fighting for each other. We were challenged in all areas and I think we stepped up."

All kidding aside, this is a huge step for an interim coach that has been nearly as unpopular as his predecessor throughout the season.

Garrett's no-nonsense approach throughout his first week on the job has this team, for one week at least, playing the way everyone thought they would coming into the season - and they did it without Pro-Bowl quarterback Tony Romo.

In the process, Dallas took down a division rival on the road for the team's first divisional win through three contests this season.

"I'll tell you what, they played well," Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "They hit us with a lot of big plays. And we can't afford to let an offense do that against us. All the credit goes to them."

The Cowboys offense, held to a total of 24 points in the last two contests, broke loose thanks to a huge day from back-up quarterback Jon Kitna, as the Dallas aerial attack lit up the Giants' secondary. Dallas put 26 points on the board a-minute-and-four-seconds into the second half, taking a decisive 20-point lead after Felix Jones took a perfectly executed screen pass 73 yard to the house. It was the first third down conversion for the Cowboys against the Giants all season long - a total of a little over six quarters of action - and was the longest play from scrimmage for Dallas this season.

Kitna finished with 327 yards (an outstanding 25 yards per completion), three touchdowns and only one INT as he had no trouble finding holes in the New York defense. Kitna's 124.1 passer rating was his best since 2003, when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I think the difference, first and foremost, is the freakish disasters that have kind of defined our season didn't happen tonight for us," Kitna said of a Cowboys team that committed only one turnover for the game, the second fewest amount in a game all season. "There was no tipped balls for interceptions and things like that."

Dez Bryant was the beneficiary of a few incredibly crisp passes from Kitna. One of which was a circus catch in the end zone in the first quarter, as Bryant was on his way to the first 100 yard receiving game of his career.

Another spectacular play, Roy Williams' over-the-shoulder, 22-yard catch to get a first on 3rd and 22 in the third quarter, set up a 24-yard touchdown to Miles Austin that put Dallas up 33-13. The pass from Kitna was right on the money and Williams adjusted well to make sure Dallas didn't have to settle for a field goal.

While the Giants scored twice in the third, the Dallas D shut them down in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

"The timing is more important than what it means specifically to the future," Cowboys' owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "It's a good time to have a good feeling, we needed it. The players needed it and our fans needed it most of all. But it's just that, a feel-good. We have to get a lot of things worked out."

Dallas Defense Battles Back, Still Has Work To Do

Defensively the Cowboys were able to mostly contain the versatile running attack from N.Y.

While, as a team, the Giants managed over 100 yards on the ground; Dallas held the dynamic duo of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to just 90 yards on 25 carries (3.6 yards per carry) and no touchdowns.

Through the air was a different story.

Although Dallas did pick off a couple of Eli Manning's passes, including a team-record 101 yard interception (the first of his career) return for a touchdown by rookie Byran McCann, there were still some glaring holes in the Cowboys' secondary. This was true especially in the third quarter, where it appeared the Giants were poised to make a comeback.

Manning connected on three of his first four passes to start the quarter, culminating with a 5-yard touchdown to Mario Manningham that cut the deficit to 26-13. On the Giants' next drive, Manning needed only two passes (one pass interference) to get into the end zone, connecting with tight end Kevin Boss on a 35-yard strike to cut the lead back to 13 points. Manning connected on 6 of 8 passes for 85 yards and both of his touchdowns in that quarter alone.

The Giants' QB finished with 373 yards through the air to go along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. This is a lone negative on what was a great day for Dallas, but something that should not be ignored especially with both starting corners nursing injuries.

What's Next:

Dallas travels back home to take on the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon, just four days before each team is scheduled to play on Thanksgiving. Detroit has the same 2-7 record as Dallas and is also missing their starting quarterback, Mathew Stafford, for Sunday's game.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon and the game can be seen regionally on Fox.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)