With the way New York has looked in defending its championship, a similar run this season wouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

As the Cowboys try to survive without Tony Romo, Eli Manning and the Giants are thriving, and they'll put the NFC's best record on the line Sunday at Giants Stadium in their first date with Dallas since January's playoff win.

Dallas (5-3) had home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs last season, thanks in large part to a pair of victories over New York that propelled them to a 13-3 finish and the NFC East title. But the Cowboys' postseason run at Texas Stadium came to a quick end.

Romo put up Pro Bowl numbers in 2007, including eight touchdown passes in the wins over the Giants (6-1), while Manning labored through a season where he threw nearly as many interceptions (20) as touchdowns (23). But Manning threw for two scores and outplayed Romo in the divisional playoffs, leading New York to a 21-17 win while sending the Cowboys to their NFL record-tying sixth consecutive postseason loss.

"It hurts," Romo said at the time. "It's a tough pill to swallow."

What's hurting the Cowboys now is Romo's broken right pinkie. The quarterback will miss his third straight game Sunday because of the injury he suffered Oct. 12 at Arizona, which left 40-year-old Brad Johnson in charge of the offense.

Johnson looked his age on Oct. 19 against St. Louis, throwing three interceptions as Dallas was blown out 34-14, then struggled to move the ball downfield in last Sunday's 13-9 win over Tampa Bay.

He's also been sacked six times in two weeks, and against a New York defense that leads the league with 26 sacks, his lack of mobility will be a major concern. Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Johnson will start, but third-stringer Brooks Bollinger got some work with the first team Wednesday.

Defensive end Justin Tuck, who leads the Giants with six sacks, isn't concerned who's under center.

"Everybody wants to beat everybody at their best," Tuck said. "We don't want to have excuses like 'Romo is not playing, we didn't have this guy, we didn't have that guy.'

"We're still going to go in there and try to sack whoever is back there."

Romo is expected back after the Cowboys' Week 10 bye, but there's no quarterback controversy in the Giants' locker room. Manning, who completed only 56.1 percent of his passes last season, has upped that number to 61.4, and after throwing at least 17 interceptions in each of his last three years, has only four through seven games.

Part of Manning's success has been due to the amount of time he's had to survey the field. He's only been sacked twice in his last five games and wasn't dropped once in last Sunday's 21-14 win at Pittsburgh against the blitz-happy Steelers.

"The offensive line played great," Manning said after going 19-for-32 for 199 yards and a touchdown. "That was our goal, getting the ball out quick. We hung in there and played smart enough to win the game."

The Giants weren't at full strength on offense, as coach Tom Coughlin disciplined wide receiver Plaxico Burress for the first quarter in Pittsburgh. Burress, a lightning rod for controversy since arriving in New York in 2005, had already been suspended for a game for missing a team meeting.

This time, Coughlin said he missed a therapy treatment session for a sore neck and shoulder Saturday.

Burress is expected to be in the starting lineup on Sunday, and he'll be facing a depleted Cowboys secondary. Dallas is already missing safety Roy Williams and cornerbacks Terrence Newman and Adam Jones, and Anthony Henry is nursing a thigh bruise, leaving a wealth of inexperience in the defensive backfield.

"We haven't been able to hit any real big plays down the field over the past few weeks," Burress said. "Hopefully we can get back on track and score a lot of points."

Dallas has its own controversial wideout in Terrell Owens, who didn't have a 100-yard receiving performance before Romo's injury and has just seven catches for 64 yards in the past two weeks.

The Cowboys could use a big day from Owens on Sunday, particularly if tight end Jason Witten is unable to play. Witten, who leads Dallas with 46 receptions and 549 yards, broke a rib against Tampa Bay, though Phillips says he'll wait until closer to game time to decide if he can play against the Giants.

"He is top-notch, not just a tight end, a blocker, everything," Phillips said. "So you lose a lot when you lose him."

Dallas has won its last two games at Giants Stadium.