--CB Corey Webster had two of the Giants' three interceptions, while SS James Butler grabbed the third. "Coach has been preaching turnovers, turnovers, turnovers the whole year," said Webster. "We might have got off to a slow start but we picked it up at the right time." The Giants now have 11 interceptions and three fumbles recovered. The fumble they pounced on Sunday was by Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, his first lost possession since Dec. 12, 2004, when he played for the Eagles.

--DE Justin Tuck had 21/2 sacks, giving him 81/2 for the season, along with three QB hits and three stops behind the line of scrimmage. "I look at this defense, and while I think there are still a lot of things we can do better, I'm pretty happy with what we have," Tuck said. "Is this better than our defense of last year? I'm not ready to say that yet, but we have to think we are, that's the formula that works for us."

--SLB Danny Clark had the best game of his season since coming over from the Houston Texans during the UFA period. He had nine tackles to lead the team along with two tackles behind the line of scrimmage. "We knew that without (Tony) Romo at quarterback we were going to go after them," he said. "Our confidence level is solid. We're getting better and stronger each week."

--ORT Kareem McKenzie didn't disagree with the statement that the offense could have been better but balked at being too negative. "We were extremely productive when we had to be," he said. "A couple of breakdowns here and there, sure, but our defense kept us in and gave us great field position."

--WR Steve Smith, in his second season out of USC, scored his first TD and with his five receptions leads the team for the season with 34. "It felt great," he said. "I haven't been in the end zone since college, and I'm really happy about that. It's a very special way to help the team."

REPORT CARD VS. COWBOYS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus -- QB Eli Manning completed 16 of 27 attempts for 147 yards and three TDs. He was picked off once (for a 23-yard Michael Jenkins TD) and sacked four times. The interception, for which he took full blame, seemed to be an error in communication with WR Plaxico Burress. WR Steve Smith scored his first NFL TD and led the team with five catches. For the season, he has a team-leading 34 receptions. Manning spread the wealth to six receivers, including three for 30 yards to TE Kevin Boss. Boss scored the Giants' first TD pass, a 13-yarder in the first quarter. Despite the four sacks, the offensive line appeared to play well; Manning said that two of the sacks came when he unwisely broke from the pocket.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- The Giants gained exactly 200 yards on the ground, led by 6-4, 265-pound RB Brandon Jacobs, who carried 17 times for 117 yards and a 12-yard TD. He now has 680 yards for the season and seven rushing touchdowns. His carries were more varied, going inside and wide both on sweeps and tosses. The one highlight run was a 25-yarder in which he veered to his right, then suddenly stopped, spun and went left, beating one cornerback with foot-speed and breaking another tackle before being pushed out of bounds. OLT David Diehl and LG Rich Seubert were efficient in run blocking, as was RT Kareem McKenzie who lived up to his nickname of "the road grader." Derrick Ward continues to run hard as Jacobs' replacement, gaining 63 yards in 12 carries. Four of his runs earned a first down on third-down.

PASS DEFENSE: A-minus -- The Cowboys were mesmerized by the Giants' defense and pass rush. Two backup quarterbacks shared the game in place of starter Tony Romo (broken finger). Brad Johnson got the first half and Brooks Bollinger the second and neither one was effective. Johnson completed five of 11 for 71 yards. Bollinger was nine of 16 for 63 yards and the Cowboys' only offensive touchdown, a way-too-late eight-yard toss to WR Terrell Owens. Each quarterback was sacked two times. CB Corey Webster had a pair of interceptions and SS James Butler accounted for the third. DE Justin Tuck had 21/2 sacks, DE Mathias Kiwanuka one and backup DT Jay Alford earned half a sack. The Giants held usually potent Cowboys WR Terrell Owens to five catches for 36 yards.

RUSH DEFENSE: A-minus -- Going into the game, Dallas RB Marion Barber had 611 yards rushing; against the Giants he added just 54 more in 19 carries. The only other Cowboy rusher was rookie Tashard Choice, who had five trips for 27 yards. In all, Dallas had just four first downs via rushing with an average gain per rush of 3.4 yards. The Giants recorded 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and seven of SLB Danny Clark's team-leading nine tackles were on rushing plays. The defense continued to under-shift, which led to several Dallas rushing attempts that were blunted at the line of scrimmage. DTs Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins combined for seven tackles for no gain.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Neither team attempted a field goal. The Giants' kick coverage units were effective, especially on punt returns. There was just one return for six yards as punter Jeff Feagles booted three others out of bounds -- at the 5, 13 and 15. The Dallas kickoff return numbers were better, five for 108 (21.6). Feagles overall averaged 40.3 on his four punts (38.8 net). The Giants recorded eight special teams tackles.

COACHING: B-plus -- The most important contribution head coach Tom Coughlin has made lately is keeping the team grounded despite its 7-1 record. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo once again modified and adjusted the coverage and pass-rushing techniques, and the changes were wildly successful. SLB Danny Clark hinted at part of the game plan when he said: "We knew we were going to do a lot of pass-rushing with (quarterback) Tony (Romo) not playing." Offensively, there was a decided intent to get TE Kevin Boss in the passing game early; in fact, he scored the team's first TD on a 13-yard post pattern in the first quarter. QB Eli Manning threw more passes to the deep sidelines with the absence of CBs Terence Newman and Pacman Jones.