Give it up, says Tom: Cruz gave himself up

Upon further review, the call stands . . . in Tom Coughlin's mind, anyway.

There still are plenty who will debate whether the officials made the correct call -- the correct interpretation of the rule -- when deciding whether the Giants' Victor Cruz essentially took a knee before leaving the ball on the turf in the fourth quarter Sunday. Because he was not touched while on the ground, the play could have been ruled a fumble, but referee Jerome Boger and his crew declared that Cruz had "given himself up" and ruled that the play was dead.

"I'm standing by the way the rule was interpreted by the officials," Coughlin said Monday. "If you look at the way that play took place, there's no question he was giving himself up. He was headed back for the huddle. I don't know how you call it anything else."

The Cardinals certainly felt it could have been a fumble. They tried to challenge the play, but it was a judgment call and not reviewable. "I'll be perfectly honest with you: It really doesn't matter what I think," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said.