Climbing to the Top Is a Real Grind

IRVING, Texas —  Although they didn’t always look the part, the New York Giants are NFC East champions, with a chance for home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

New York played an inept first half Sunday night and started the third quarter even more poorly before getting in gear, scoring the last 17 points of the game.

Kerry Collins threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer, and an interception by Emmanuel McDaniel set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Tiki Barber as the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys, 17-13.

“We knew it didn’t look pretty the first three quarters, but the only thing that counts is the end of the game,” Toomer said. “This is the way to win a championship--come back in the fourth quarter and grind it out.”

The Giants (11-4) won for the fourth consecutive time since Coach Jim Fassel guaranteed they were going to the playoffs. They sealed their first postseason berth since 1997 and first division title since then.

New York’s offense and defense separately doused Fassel, first with a sports drink, then water.

Thanks to Minnesota’s loss to Green Bay on Sunday, New York can clinch the NFC’s top seeding with a victory Saturday at home against Jacksonville.

New York did little right in the first half against Dallas. Its first drive ended with a blocked field-goal attempt, the Giants’ first missed kick in 11 games, and they punted on every other drive in the half.

The Giants trailed, 13-0, after Emmitt Smith scored on a one-yard run and Tim Seder made field goals of 47 and 43 yards.

At halftime, Barber reminded everyone what was at stake, including the chance to prove they could be a comeback team.

But New York remained scoreless even after starting its first two drives of the second half at the Dallas 27 and the Dallas 10 after fumble recoveries. The Giants were stopped by another missed field-goal attempt by Brad Daluiso and Phillippi Sparks’ interception.

After the Giant offense finally got going, quarterback Anthony Wright couldn’t bring Dallas (5-10) back.

The Cowboys also let their emotions get the best of them. Defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban was ejected for kicking a Giant lineman. Dallas had four personal fouls--three for unnecessary roughness and one for unsportsmanlike conduct--in the second half.

“We kept our heads,” Toomer said. “We knew we had bigger plans than they did.”

A penalty against Dallas’ Robert Thomas on punt-return coverage helped New York get going.

Thomas’ error forced a second punt, and Barber returned it 24 yards to the Dallas 48. Five plays later, Collins lofted a pass into the end zone for Toomer, closing the Giants to 13-7 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.