Demarcus Ware and Eli Manning Photo by Donna McWilliam-AP	T.O. and Tony Romo Photo-Harry How-Getty

Charles Dickens may have said it best, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."  In recent memory, surely no victory was more treasured by one NFL city and no defeat was more regretted by the other.  Surely no game has ever been marked as the coming of age for one quarterback and team while being measured as a display of foolishness by the other.

And rightfully so.  Eli Manning and the Giants prepared for the game of their lives as if it were so.  They played the last game of their regular season to the hilt, only losing to the undefeated New England Patriots in the final moments.  They then dismantled the high-flying Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.  They took no time off, they said no foolish things, they played through painful injuries where possible.  They were a football team that believed in themselves and in their leadership, their quarterback, their coach and their owners.

 

Their entire team then played magnificently in a game they needed to advance one further step to the Super Bowl.  They had a sound game plan, devised by Kevin Gilbride and Steve Spagnuolo, their offensive and defensive coordinators.  The plan was executed to perfection by Manning.  His offensive line, banged up as it had been against both the Pats and the Bucs, protected Eli and created holes for their running backs, both Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  Both the veteran receivers, Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress, and the rookies, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss, ran routes to perfection and caught the ball upon delivery. 

 

The Giants defense held the mighty Cowboys to 17 points, despite getting run over for much of the game by the Cowboys huge offensive line and their fireplug running back, Marion Barber.  They chased Tony Romo all over the field.  They jammed the feared Cowboys receivers at the line, they ran and stayed with them.  They committed very few penalties.

 

The Giants considered the Cowboys a huge challenge, they were prepared for the game, and they played well on Sunday.  They of course won the game. The entire New York metropolitan area rejoiced.

 

The owner of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones, bought two tickets to the NFC Championship game for each of his players before the qualifying game was played.  Their coach, Wade Phillips, gave his players some time off.  He rested his players down the stretch.  He was ok with his star quarterback leaving the country for a few days to frolic with his celebrity girl friend in Mexico.  Their wide receivers seemingly tried to outdo each other for foolish statements the week before the game.

 

 The starting lineup was even changed for this one game, Marion Barber being inserted for Julius Jones at running back.  Despite playing the game for 16 weeks with Jones as the starter, and having Barber come in to provide spark and power, they thought it prudent to change a lineup that had provided them with a 13-3 record in the regular season.

 

The louder of the two wide receivers, Patrick Crayton, dropped one critical pass over the middle, that, had he caught it, may have gone for a touchdown.  He also gave up on an endzone route late in the game that wound up being overthrown as a result.  Marion Barber was gallant for three quarters, his powerful running game seemingly demoralizing the Giants.  He tired in the fourth quarter.

 

 The huge offensive line was rendered ineffective for much of the game.  They couldn’t deal with the Giants pass rush.  The center couldn’t even snap the ball on time, which resulted in some very serious penalties at critical junctures.  In the fourth quarter especially, Romo, who actually played well for three quarters, had no time to find his receivers downfield.

 The Cowboys underestimated its opponent, did not prepare properly, showed little character and even less leadership in the weeks leading up to the game.  They played poorly on Sunday.  Dallas is in shock and may be in shock for some time.

Twelve Pro-Bowlers.  Americas Team.  Tony Romo.  Terell Owens.  Jerry Jones.  Too bad.