Eli's three turnovers help Giants self-destruct

Eli Manning offered no excuses.

The dropped passes, the poorly run routes and his two game-changing interceptions were the type of "self-inflicted wounds" the Giants couldn't afford to have - not at home, and especially against the rival Cowboys.

"You can't afford to play mistake football," said the quarterback, who went 33-for-48 for 373 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in a 33-20 loss to Dallas. "We've kind of gotten away with it in some other games because we are explosive and we're going down scoring points."

This time it was the Cowboys (2-7) who sprinted down the field, catching passes in midair with expert precision and grace, while the Giants had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Down 9-3 midway through the second quarter, the Giants (6-3) were poised to regain momentum on third-and-2 on Dallas' 2, but cornerback Bryan McCann intercepted a pass intended for Hakeem Nicks, who stopped short on his slant route in the end zone. The rookie cornerback ran 101 yards to score on the longest interception return in Cowboys history.

"You can't have that happen," Manning said. "At the worst, it's incomplete and you kick a field goal. But that touchdown, that's a 10-point swing right there, at the least, and you just can't afford it. It's hard to overcome those things. We did a good job of fighting back, just too many mistakes."

Several of those mistakes occurred in the fourth quarter during a potential comeback.

With his team trailing 33-20 and 11:08 left, Manning was called for intentional grounding after a defender tried to bring him down by his jersey.

On the Giants' next possession, Rich Seubert's low snap sailed through Manning's legs and out of his reach. Instead of jumping on the ball, Manning picked it up and tossed it to his right, hoping a running back was nearby. Instead, linebacker Anthony Spencer was there to recover for the Cowboys.

"We had a screen call," Manning said. "I thought the running back was going to be somewhere over there. Hopefully, just kind of get it for a sec and find him and throw it at his feet. Sometimes you're in desperate measures you try to do something out of the ordinary . . . It was a bad spot to be in and I made a bad decision."

Another giveaway was on the horizon, as Dallas safety Alan Ball iced any chance of a comeback by intercepting a pass intended for Mario Manningham near the 5-yard line with 2:55 left.

"The interceptions hurt us right at the end," coach Tom Coughlin said.

Said Manning: "Tomorrow, we've got to come in and fix some things."