After winning TD, Cruz dances to beat
Victor Cruz of the New York Giants celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. (Oct. 30, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Trailing for most of the first 54 minutes of an unexpectedly tough fight against winless Miami Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Giants were chewing nails and worrying about their playoff chances. But when wide receiver Victor Cruz went into his trademark touchdown salsa after catching the go-ahead 25-yard pass from Eli Manning for a 20-17 victory, the celebration was on.
It was a clutch play in a third-and-12 situation as Cruz came out of the slot on the left side to find the soft spot in the middle of the Dolphins' two-deep zone.
"It was a seam route, and it was cover 2," Cruz said. "The nickel [cornerback] had played outside leverage, and I was able to break it toward the middle of the field and Eli put it right on me. I was able to put my head down and make a guy [defensive back Will Allen] miss, spin around and end up in the end zone."
Once there, Cruz put both hands in the air and began dancing to the rhythms of his inner Tito Puente. It was a move he first tried earlier this season on his first NFL touchdown at Philadelphia. As he recalled, it came just after President Obama declared Sept. 15-Oct. 15 National Hispanic Heritage Month.
"Me being half Puerto Rican and dancing with my grandmother all my years growing up, one of my coaches actually came up to me and said, 'Man, if you score, you should do a salsa,' " Cruz said. "I was like, 'I don't know.' Then a lot of other coaches started bringing it up, and I said, 'All right, if you insist.'
"In Philly I did it, and after that, my mother said, 'You know you have to keep that, right?' Then, I did it again in Seattle, and now it's like a staple. I've got to keep it going."
Miami jumped to a stunning 14-3 second-quarter lead, but with eight seconds left in the half, Manning hit on a 7-yard TD pass to wideout Mario Manningham on a fade to the left corner to make it 14-10.
For the game, Manning hit 31 of 45 passes for 349 yards, including 19 completions to wide receivers Cruz, Manningham and Hakeem Nicks for 229 yards.
"He was on point today," Cruz said. "He was letting us know where things were and how the defense was playing before we could even see it."
