Martin Gramatica, who signed last Monday, kicked a 46-yard field goal with a second left Sunday to give the Dallas Cowboys a 23-20 win over the New York Giants and a two-game lead in the NFC East.
The winning score was set up by a 42-yard pass by Tony Romo to Jason Witten and came just over a minute after the Giants, wearing their red jerseys for the first and only time this season, had tied the game at 20-all on a 5-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress.
Gramatica, who also kicked field goals of 41 and 35 yards, was signed last week after the Cowboys cut Vanderjagt, who had received a three-year $5.3 million contract in the offseason.
But being the new guy didn’t keep Gramatica from bursting into one of his over-the-top celebrations: The diminutive kicker leaped into the arms of his teammates, while coach Bill Parcells broke into a wide smile on the sidelines as the ball sailed through.
It didn’t look so good for Parcells on Gramatica’s first kick, a 44-yard attempt on the Cowboys’ opening drive. But the last kick, which went right down the middle with power to spare, more than made up for it.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Giants (6-6) and the fourth win in five games for Dallas (8-4) since Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe as quarterback at halftime of a 36-22 loss to New York on Oct. 23. He finished 20-of-34 for 257 yards with two interceptions.
The Giants took an early 7-0 lead on their first possession, driving 66 yards on 10 plays with Manning hitting Jeremy Shockey on a 17-yard pass for the score. But they couldn’t score a touchdown again until the fourth quarter, despite first downs at the Dallas 4-yard-line twice in the second half – in each case, New York had to settle for field goals.
With a fourth-and-short and 1:30 left, the Giants went for it, running short yardage specialist Brandon Jacobs outside, where he was stopped for a 3-yard loss. Romo then drove the Cowboys down the field for a 41-yard field goal by Gramatica.
In the second half, Gramatica and Jay Feely alternated field goals – the Giants kept getting closer than the Cowboys but couldn’t score a touchdown. Manning, who had been slumping lately, was 24-of-36 for 270 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The loss leaves the Giants, who were 6-2 at one point, with little margin for error if they want to make the playoffs – most likely as a wild-card entry.
