Giants look to pass to head off Cowboys

It wasn't even three weeks ago that the Cowboys and Giants staged one of the most entertaining games of the season, a back-and-forth duel in Dallas that included 71 points scored, 954 yards of offense and eight lead changes. Should we expect another of those types of games in Sunday's sequel?

Half the Giants players hope so. The other half hopes not. It depends on the side of the ball they play on.

For the offense, they're certainly thinking that they can once again exploit the Cowboys' coverage even if they won't have a fully healthy Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) and Mario Manningham (knee).

"I think we have to have some big plays, we have to have some things happen in order to change the momentum and keep the momentum in our favor throughout the course of the game," receiver Victor Cruz said Wednesday. "I do see us having a lot of big plays and doing a lot of good things."

The defensive players, meanwhile, look at that game as one of the last times they were in disarray. They believe they have fixed the bugs in their coverages that allowed some wide-open Cowboys receivers -- like Dez Bryant on a 50-yard fourth-quarter touchdown that could have cost them their season -- and have simplified their game plan to the point where they are more aggressive and confident. In the last two games they have allowed 403 passing yards combined. On Dec. 11 they allowed 321 to Tony Romo.

"If we play a complete game from beginning to end, we'll pitch a shutout," linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. "That's our goal."

It's hard to imagine actually blanking the 'Boys. But they will be facing a team with a banged-up quarterback and running back, both of whom were limited in Wednesday's practice in Dallas.

While the Giants defense has settled in over the last two games, the Week 14 win against the Cowboys was really the last time that the passing game was opened at full throttle. Eli Manning was averaging 315.8 passing yards per game after throwing for 400 in that game. In the two games since, he has averaged 241 with one touchdown pass, a 99-yarder to Cruz that was really just a 10-yard pass play he turned into a record-breaker.

"Last week, we weren't real consistent, but we were effective," Manning said of the Jets win in which he completed only nine passes in 27 attempts. "We hit some big plays, had some big runs. We had some scoring drives that we needed. We have to continue to do that, hit some big plays, but be more consistent and better on third downs. There are some things we can fix up that can make us more solid."

Part if that is due to drops -- some key ones by Nicks against the Redskins and Jets -- and some of it, Cruz said, is about the Giants getting used to playing in cold weather. But at least the offense has been functional. The defense the Giants put on the field against the Cowboys was not. Even Romo said that the Cowboys "caught a break" with some of the miscommunications by the Giants.