Giants 31, Cowboys 14: Victor Cruz is Unstoppable

Eli Manning: 24-of-33, 346 yards and three TDs in a flawless performance. He even recovered a Brandon Jacobs fumble in the 3rd quarter.

Victor Cruz, who has to be one of the five best individual stories in the NFL this season: 6 catches, 178 yards, one TD. His season numbers are staggering: 3rd in the NFL in yards (1,536), 4th in yards per game (96.0), and 3rd in yards per catch (18.7). Did you know he wasn’t drafted?

And yes, it appears as if NBC piped in extra salsa music during his end zone celebration. So the Giants are in the playoffs, and will host the Falcons Sunday at 1 pm. They’re 3-point favorites.

The loss culminates another letdown of a season for the Cowboys, who lost four of five in December and January. Dallas opened the season with a difficult-to-swallow loss in New York against the Jets; the Cowboys closed the season in the same stadium with another loss. I really thought the turning point was against Arizona last month when ultra-conservative Jason Garrett iced his kicker against the Cardinals, and Dallas eventually lost in overtime on this wild play.

I’ll close on this point: There’s no way Dallas does anything in the 1st round of the 2012 draft other than taking a corner or safety, right? Goodness, Terence Newman might be the worst corner in the NFL.