Giants vs. Boys Takes Center Stage

In most parts it may not be viewed as quite on par with Super Bowl 41 1/2, the promo given to the Patriots vs. Colts showdown last week, but both the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys understand the magnitude of what is at stake for each of them come Sunday afternoon.

It begins with establishing supremacy in the rugged NFC East. One team wants to maintain its dominance, the other team is looking for a little redemption. 

The last time these two powers hooked up on opening night in Dallas, the Cowboys shredded the Giants defense for nearly 500 yards, 345 of them coming on the pinpoint passing of quarterback Tony Romo. Dallas posted a 45-35 victory, but the game was not as close as the score might indicate.

Those G-Men and the team that the Cowboys will encounter on Sunday are about as different as, well, Irving and Jersey, the respective sites of their two battles this season.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin is hoping the combination of a raucous home crowd and a rested Eli Manning will make the difference for his team this time out. And if the way the fourth-year quarterback threw the ball coming off the team's bye this week is any indication of things to come, he may well be on to something.

“He was making jokes, talking about his arm is rested,” wideout Plaxico Burress told the NYC Post. “He feels good, the ball was coming out a little harder. He had a little steam on it.”

And certainly the G-Men will need all the energy they can muster in corralling the high-flying Cowboys. Coming in, Dallas ranks second in total offense and third in passing as a team,while Romo is third among all quarterbacks in passing yards and receiver Terrell Owens is fifth in receiving yardage.

But the Giants defense enters the fray boasting a few impressive feats of its own. Behind the trio of Osi Umenyiora (8), Justin Tuck (7) and Michael Strahan (4), they lead the league in sacks and rank seventh in total defense.

Thus, as much as anything else, Sunday's showdown may ultimately shape up as a battle of wills. And that may not make for bad drama for this less-than-Super Bowl occasion.

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