Hixon’s return to glory?

For the first 27 minutes of yesterday’s Giants-Cowboys game it was ice cold in section 339 of the Meadowlands. The wind was whipping and the drowning-your-sorrows beers were flowing as star-hatted Cowboy fans chirped it up. The scoreboard kept replaying past moments of Meadowlands glory and those seemed like distant memories to the Giant faithful.

With Dallas ahead 10-0, the G-Men engineered a drive to close the gap to 10-7 with under 2 minutes remaining in the half.  Eli Manning connected with Hakeem Nicks for a 21-yard score. The ever-greedy Cowboys took the ensuing kickoff and started upfield pressing for a pre-halftime score but Marion Barber coughed the football up around midfield.  The Giants capitalized to take the lead 14-7 right before the half on a Brandon Jacobs 2-yard run. The half ended with Flozell Adams taking another cheap shot on Justin Tuck after the play had ended and a melee breaking out. Cowboy fans were suddenly silent perhaps reflecting that it was now December and they were indeed Cowboy fans in that month.

The once frigid section 339 was now drinking celebratory beers.

The second half was marked with Dallas controlling the ball and driving and New York making the big plays. Statistically, Dallas dominated but New York scored uncharcteristically from long distance. Brandon Jacobs sideline 74-yard rumble and Hixon’s 79-yard punt return were highlights. The defense shut down the run (45 yards) allowing Tony Romo to peck his way to 391 yards passing. The Giants won 31-24 and superficially all was right in the soon to be closed Meadowlands.

Hats off to Coach Coughlin for mixing the defense up. Starting Goff at middle linebacker and reducing Osi’s snaps was the right call. Kudos to Osi for accepting those changes and not moaning and complaining like many other pampered athletes might have done.

This was a solid effort but questions remain. Eli struggled (11-25, 241 yards) in a windy environment. Jacobs 74-yard catch aside, those are meager numbers. The pass rush was better but not dominant. The running game sluggish. In any case, a win is a win and guarded optimism is back as the Philly Sheagles come to town for a Sunday night showdown.