History of the Giants-Cowboys rivalry

1960: FROM GIANT TO COWBOY
Before leading the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles in 29 years as the head coach in Dallas, Tom Landry was a Giant. He spent six seasons as a defensive back with Big Blue from 1950-55 before taking over as the defensive coordinator in 1954, when he spent the season as a player-coach.

DEC. 4, 1960: FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIE
In their first meeting, the exhibition Cowboys entered the game against the Giants at Yankee Stadium at 0-11. The Giants got off to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on touchdowns by Mel Triplett and Joe Morrison. Trailing 24-17 in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys tied the game on an Eddie LeBaron touchdown pass to L.G. Dupre. The game ended in a 31-31 tie in the Cowboys’ only non-losing effort of the season.

DEC. 19, 1981: DANELO PLAYS THE HERO
The 12-3 Cowboys were favored to win the regular-season finale at the Meadowlands as the 8-7 Giants were looking to advance to the postseason for the first time in 18 years. With the game tied at 10 in overtime, Giants linebacker Byron Hunt intercepted a Danny White pass to set up a 35-yard field goal attempt for Joe Danelo, who drilled the kick to clinch a wild-card berth for the Giants.

NOV. 2, 1986: THE ROAD TO VICTORY
It was a pivotal game for both teams as they each entered the game at 6-2, along with their division rival Redskins in Week 9 of the 1986 season. The Giants’ Joe Morris rushed for 181 yards, and though the Cowboys won the yardage battle, 408-245, the Giants won the game, 17-14, after a hit from Giants linebacker Carl Banks forced Danny White to leave the game. The Giants went on to win their final 10 games before ultimately winning their first Vince Lombardi trophy while the Cowboys lost six of their last seven games and missed the postseason.

NOV 26, 1992: THERE'S NO CRYING IN FOOTBALL
The hate between the Giants and Cowboys started to escalate when the Cowboys defeated the Giants, 30-3, on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium. The Giants later complained that the Cowboys ran up the score and Jimmy Johnson responded by calling them “whiners.” “In all honesty, a classy football team doesn’t cry and whine about somebody beating them up," he said.

JAN. 2, 1994: BATTLE FOR THE NFC EAST CROWN
The Giants and Cowboys were both 11-4 and the winner would earn the NFC East title and first-round bye in the playoffs. The loser would get a wild-card berth and head to San Francisco. The Cowboys opened a 13-0 lead on the road, but the Giants managed to climb all the way back and David Treadwell tied the score with a field goal with 10 seconds left to send it into overtime. But even after suffering a separated shoulder, Emmitt Smith kept the Giants from the upset win with 229 all-purpose yards, including 41 on the final drive to set up the winning 41-yard field goal from Eddie Murray. The Cowboys went on to repeat as Super Bowl champs as Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor walked off into the sunset.

NOV. 7, 1994: BRAWL IN BIG D
Troy Aikman completed a Hail Mary to Alvin Harper at the end of the first half in their first meeting of the 1994 season on Monday Night Football to give the Cowboys a 14-3 lead, but Giants safety Tito Wooten laid a hard hit on Harper when he was in the air, sparking a brawl. Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and receivers coach Hubbard Alexander went after the Giants’ Jarvis Williams and Cowboys safety James Washington grabbed monopod from a photographer to fend off potential attackers. Harper suffered a knee injury after the hit from Wooten, and Irvin, Alexander, Washington, Williams and Giants safety Jesse Campbell were later fined a combined $43,000. The Cowboys won the game, 38-10.

DEC. 17, 1995: JUST FOR KICKS
The Cowboys came into the game having lost two straight road games to the Eagles and Redskins after getting out to a 10-2 start. In the regular-season finale, the Giants were up 17-12 in the fourth quarter before Emmitt Smith scored on a 5-yard rushing touchdown to take an 18-17 lead. The Cowboys went for two but failed. A Brad Daluiso 27-yard field goal put the Giants up 20-18 late in the game. With 3:31 left, Troy Aikman threw an interception, and it seemed like yet again a division foe would take the Cowboys down. Dallas’ defense came up with a big stop on the Giants’ next series to give Aikman another chance. With five seconds left, Chris Boniol hit the game-winning field goal. The Cowboys would later win their third Lombardi Trophy in four years.

DEC. 17, 2000: GIANTS CLINCH DIVISION IN DALLAS
The 5-9 Cowboys got out to a 13-0 lead at halftime against the highly favored 10-4 Giants. But late in the third quarter, the Giants rallied for their first score ? a 33-yard touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to Amani Toomer. Then Emmanuel McDaniel intercepted Cowboys quarterback Anthony Wright to set up a 13-yard run by Tiki Barber to give the Giants a 14-13 lead. The Giants added a late field goal to win 17-13 and clinch the NFC East crown.

SEPT. 15, 2003: BIG TUNA RETURNS TO MEADOWLANDS
Bill Parcells spent the first eight years of his NFL coaching career with the Giants, winning two Super Bowls. He then spent another three years as the Jets head coach. After a four-year hiatus, Parcells returned to the league at the helm of the Cowboys. After a disappointing start in Big D with a 27-13 loss to the Falcons in Week 1, Parcells led the Cowboys to a 35-32 overtime victory against the Giants. The Cowboys led, 29-14, early in the fourth quarter, but led by two Kerry Collins touchdown passes and a Matt Bryant field goal with 11 seconds left, the Giants went up 32-29. Then, Matt Bryant put the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving the Cowboys the ball at their own 40-yard line. Quincy Carter completed a pass to Antonio Bryant that set up a tying 52-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff. He added a 25-yarder in overtime for the win.

JAN. 13, 2008: NO BROOMS NECESSARY
The Cowboys swept the season series against the Giants and finished the year with a 13-3 record en route to the NFC East title. But they drew the Giants in the divisional round. The Giants took a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a Brandon Jacobs touchdown run. After back-and-forth series ended in punts, Tony Romo was given one more chance to lead the Cowboys to victory. After driving to the Giants’ 23, Romo was picked off on the final play of the game by R.W. McQuarters. The Giants would go on to beat the 18-0 New England Patriots in a historic Super Bowl XLII.

SEPT. 20, 2009: KNOCKING DOWN THE HOUSE THAT JERRY BUILT
As if it wasn't bad enough for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys that they lost to the Giants in their AT&T Stadium opener, Eli Manning added insult to injury by signing his name along with the date and "'33-31' First win in the new stadium" on the wall in the visiting locker room. The Cowboys led 31-30 with just under four minutes left in the game, but Manning led the Giants downfield and Lawrence Tynes hit a 37-yard field goal to win it as the clock hit zero.

DEC. 11, 2011: ELI’S THE MAN IN DALLAS
The Giants came into the game on a four-game losing streak and were holding onto a shot at the playoffs with a 6-6 record. The Cowboys led by 12 with 5:41 left in after Tony Romo connected with Dez Bryant on a 50-yard touchdown pass. On the Giants’ next possession, Eli Manning capped off an 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard that went under review but was eventually upheld. The Giants’ defense then forced the Cowboys to punt and took over at their own 42. Led by Manning and a pair of Dallas penalties, the Giants drove downfield and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs. The Giants then converted the two-point attempt on a D.J. Ware run to take a 37-34 lead. The Cowboys got the ball back with 51 seconds on the clock and Romo marched the team down to the Giants’ 29, setting up a 47-yard field-goal attempt with six seconds left. Dan Bailey’s attempt was blocked by Jason Pierre-Paul.

JAN. 1, 2012: WINNER MOVES ON
The division title was on the line as both teams entered the game at 8-7, and only one would advance to the playoffs. The Giants opened a 21-0 lead heading to halftime. The Cowboys managed to get into the end zone twice late in the game, making it a one-score game with 10:15 left, but the Giants never relinquished their lead. Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes en route to a 31-14 win and a playoff matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Giants would go on to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, again.