New York Giants drop Tony Romo and the Cowboys
The New York Giants beat up Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys 41-35 on Monday Night Football and sit atop the NFC East. The Cowboys lost their starting quarterback in the second quarter after Michael Boley
delivered a monster hit on Romo, fracturing his left clavicle in the process.
"The guard didn't see me," Boley said. "I came in scot-free. ... I didn't think he [Romo] was going to lay down. I thought it was a normal hit. After I got up and started running, I looked back and saw
he was down."
Romo is the most recent addition to the list of quarterbacks that New York has sidelined due to injury. He joins Detroit’s Shaun Hill, Chicago’s Jay Cutler and Carolina’s Matt Moore who all went down as
a result of the Giants and their ferocious defence that has them sitting atop their division with a 5-2 record.
Romo is expected to be out six to eight weeks, but feels that his team can still perform without him. "I'm staying optimistic," he said. "This football team has a lot of high-character guys, a lot of competitive
individuals who aren't going to give in to a tough situation."
The Cowboys were ahead 10-7 when their quarterback left the game and added to that lead on Dez Bryant’s 93-yard punt return. Dallas asked the defence to protect the lead while 38-year-old backup Jon Kitna
did his best not to blow his team's lead. For the most part Kitna did his job completing 16 of 33 passes for two touchdowns.
However, that task proved to be too much for the defence who lost their confidence and concentration when the team lost Romo. Eli Manning took full advantage of the Cowboys’ meltdown.
Manning led New York on five consecutive scoring drives—four of which found the end zone. He rebounded from his two interceptions in the first quarter and tossed four touchdowns to match his career best.
"We took a blow with Romo [being hurt]," safety Gerald Sensabaugh said. "We just went flat. They were able to make plays, and we weren't able to get them off the field."
Cornerback Orlando Scandrick had a rough night as Manning targeted him early and often. Scandrick surrendered two scores as Manning connected with Hakeem Nicks on an eight-yard pass and with Steve Smith
on a 14-yard strike. Manning finished the night completing 25 of 35 for 306 yards.
The Giants are tied with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the AFC conference and the 1-5 Cowboys are in 13th place.
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