EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When a hunter sees a wounded duck flapping in the air, he shoots it.
"Now, if it's lying on the ground flapping," said Giants center Shaun O'Hara, "that wouldn't be the right thing to do. But you could snap its neck."
Cowboys rookie cornerback Mike Jenkins said: "We're hurting. We're missing some key people. Everybody knows it. But I still felt like we were flying around out there trying to make it happen."
And to that, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs offered: "KAPOW!"
The Giants blasted Dallas 35-14 at Giants Stadium on Sunday in a game that looked very much like a 7-1 team (the Giants, the hunter) vs. a 5-4 team (the Cowboys, the wounded duck).
Several key Dallas players were out due to injury and the pivotal one was quarterback Tony Romo, who has not played since injuring the pinkie finger on his right, throwing hand on Oct. 12 at Arizona. Dallas, 1-2 without him, has scored 14, 13 and now 14 points again in those three games. And seven of the Dallas points on Sunday were gained on a Jenkins interception return.
Dallas with Romo had scored as many as 41 points in a game this season.
But with Brad Johnson the starter in the last three, the Cowboys have lost their mobility in the pocket, their rocket arm and their mojo.
They fell behind the Giants 14-0. Jenkins gave his team a lift with his pick and 25-yard score midway through the second quarter that cut the lead to 14-7. But the Giants dominated the rest of the way, scoring another touchdown before halftime and inducing Dallas to bench Johnson for Brooks Bollinger in the second half.
Bollinger managed an 8-yard scoring pass to Terrell Owens early in the fourth quarter. That did little to erase the ugliness for Dallas:
» Marion Barber was held to 2.8 yards per carry, and 21 of his total 54 rushing yards were gained on one run.
» Johnson threw for 71 yards and two picks in the first half. Bollinger for 63 yards, a touchdown and pick in the second half. Both were sacked twice.
» Four turnovers in all for Dallas and no chance against the Giants' ominous running game: Jacobs led the way with 117 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Giants gained 200 rushing yards and ran the ball more (34 times) than they passed it (27 times). And even with that, Eli Manning tossed three touchdown passes.
Asked what part of the game was most disappointing for him, Dallas coach Wade Phillips responded: "All of it. The whole thing. That's the way it is when you lose."
Losing is one thing. Getting blasted while you are a wounded duck is another.
"Our goal, of course, was to hold their offense to zero points, but we realistically thought we had a chance to keep them at 10," Jenkins said. "They had other things in mind, especially the way they ran the ball."
Twelve of the Giants' 23 first downs came from running plays. That helped New York convert 62 percent of its third-down plays. Derrick Ward scored the game's final points with 8:20 remaining on a 17-yard run. Receivers Steve Smith and Amani Toomer, along with tight end Kevin Boss, caught Manning touchdown passes. Manning lost two fumbles along with being picked by Jenkins; otherwise, the ugliness for Dallas might have been far worse.
"You hear things," Jacobs said of the Dallas defense between plays as the game wore on. "You hear guys complaining on their defense about not being in the right gap, about making better tackles. You could hear that they were a little confused. But that's a good football team."
Several Giants said they had the best week of practice this season while preparing for this game. The defense focused on Johnson and was aware of Bollinger. But worried? No. The Giants said they prepared for Johnson and knew enough about Bollinger that they were confident they could negate him. They did.
And here the Cowboys were afterward looking to the Giants of last year as part of their hopes, their goals for their remaining seven regular-season games. The Cowboys talked about the Giants being 4-4 last season before taking off and claiming the Super Bowl. Dallas knows now, with four losses, that it cannot match its 13-3 record from last season. A season that saw them sweep the Giants in the regular season and then lose to the Giants in the playoffs.
So, with Romo back, when the full complement of Cowboys return, Dallas seeks a late-season run. It still believes it can get hot in December and January and ride late into the postseason. And it can.
Dallas is counting on a third visit with the Giants.
With a charming outcome.
It has a bye followed by a road game at Washington. Romo should be back by then. That game will tell us plenty more about the Cowboys. Whether they were simply wounded ducks for a while -- or if the holes in their wings are way too deep for meaningful flight.
Someone asked Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck if he thought the Giants were the best team in football and cruising now.
"We are not tasting that Kool-Aid again," Tuck said. "We did some of that before the Cleveland game and look what it got us; that's our only loss. This week guys are going to go about their business and prepare hard and be smart."
And keep hunting.
