Gramatica, Cowboys kick Giants while they're down

Updated: Dec 5, 2006, 05:53 am

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Bill Parcells has never been crazy

about kickers.

Martin Gramatica may have changed the Dallas coach's opinion.

Scouts Inc.'s take ...

The Giants came ready to play and did not look like a team that had lost three in a row. Just like the first meeting between these two teams, the Giants where able to run the football on a good Cowboys run defense by using the same run scheme as before. Eli Manning had a good game. With a more ball-control type of game plan that utilized a power off-tackle running game plus a short-to-medium passing attack that allowed Manning to make safe throws. That built up his confidence and took the game out of his hands. Finally, the Giants coaches got tight end Jeremy Shockey involved in the offense early and he was really unstoppable while playing with an injured hand. But penalties hurt the Giants. They either stalled drives or gave the Cowboys good field position. Tony Romo struggled in the first half (throwing two interceptions) as the Giants brought a lot of pressure that got him out of rhythm and made him rush his throws. Romo rallied in the second half and led the Cowboys for the game-winning field goal by Martin Gramatica (above). Gramatica was recently signed and made three field goals, including the game-winner, after missing his first attempt.

Gramatica, signed last Monday after Parcells cut the enigmatic

Mike Vanderjagt, kicked a 46-yard field goal with a second left

Sunday to give the Dallas Cowboys a 23-20 win over the New York

Giants and a two-game lead in the NFC East.

"I've got to thank the Cowboys for giving me a second chance,"

said Gramatica, once a top kicker who had just one field goal in

three games since 2004.

"It's been a rough couple of years for me," the journeyman

said, "being out all last year and then not making any teams this

year."

The winning score was set up by a 42-yard pass by

Tony Romo to

Jason Witten and came just over a minute after the Giants, wearing

their red jerseys for the first and only time this season, had tied

the game at 20-all on a 5-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to

Plaxico Burress.

Gramatica, who also kicked field goals of 41 and 35 yards, was

signed last week after the Cowboys cut Vanderjagt, who had received

a three-year $5.3 million contract in the offseason.

But being the new guy didn't keep Gramatica from bursting into

one of his over-the-top celebrations: The diminutive kicker leaped

into the arms of his teammates, while coach Bill Parcells broke

into a wide smile on the sidelines as the ball sailed through.

"Gramatica made me look good," Parcells said with a smile.

"For a first game back in the league, you can't get more pressure

than that for the division lead."

It didn't look so good for Parcells on Gramatica's first kick, a

44-yard attempt on the Cowboys' opening drive. But the last kick,

which went right down the middle with power to spare, more than

made up for it.

"For a guy who hadn't been kicking with regularity," Giants

coach Tom Coughlin said, "it was a difficult thing to do."

It was the fourth straight loss for the Giants (6-6) and the

fourth win in five games for Dallas (8-4) since Romo replaced

Drew Bledsoe at quarterback at halftime of a 36-22 loss to New York on

Oct. 23. He finished 20-of-34 for 257 yards with two interceptions.

"Anytime you come up to this place you know it's not going to

go smoothly," Romo said. "We made mistakes today. I know I did.

You just have to have a chance to do something at the end of the

game to win."

Both teams did -- there were three scores in the final 3:33 -- but

the Cowboys had the last chance.

First, Marion Barber III scored the first of his two touchdowns

on a 1-yard run at the end of a 66-yard drive. Then Manning drove

the Giants 63 yards for the tying score on the pass to Burress.

But Romo hit Witten on the first play after the kickoff with a

strong throw to take the Cowboys to the Giants 26.

The Giants took an early 7-0 lead on their first possession,

driving 66 yards on 10 plays with Manning hitting Jeremy Shockey on

a 17-yard pass for the score. But they couldn't score a touchdown

again until the fourth quarter, despite first downs at the Dallas

4-yard-line twice in the second half -- in each case, New York had

to settle for field goals.

Dallas tied it at 7-all on Barber's plunge, which was set up by

a bizarre sequence: Matthias Kiwanuka picked off a Romo pass and

returned it 12 yards before he was stripped of the ball and Sam

Hurd recovered for the Cowboys.

It was the second game in a row that the Giants' rookie

defensive end started to make a big play that turned into a mistake

-- last week he had Tennessee's Vince Young in his arms for what

could have been a game-winning fourth-down sack but released him

because he thought Young had released the ball. Young then

scampered for a first town and Tennessee went on to win.

On Sunday, the key sequence came just before the half.

With a fourth-and-short and 1:30 left, the Giants went for it,

running short yardage specialist Brandon Jacobs outside, where he

was stopped for a 3-yard loss. Romo then drove the Cowboys down the

field for a 41-yard field goal by Gramatica.

In the second half, Gramatica and Jay Feely alternated field

goals -- the Giants kept getting closer than the Cowboys but

couldn't score a touchdown. Manning, who had been slumping lately,

was 24-of-36 for 270 yards with two touchdowns and no

interceptions.

The loss leaves the Giants, who were 6-2 at one point, with

little margin for error if they want to make the playoffs -- most

likely as a wild-card entry.

"We have to approach it as if we have to win all four games,"

Manning said. "Maybe three of four will get us in, but we can't

look at it that way. We have to approach it if we have to win them

all."

Game notes
Five of Romo's seven interceptions are against the

Giants. ...All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora returned for the

Giants after missing five games with a hip injury but did not

register a tackle. .... Dallas had three kickers last season and

gave Vanderjagt, who had been the most accurate kicker in NFL

history, a $2.5 million signing bonus in hopes of solving their

problems. He was 13-of-18 when he was cut.