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A couple of days after losing starter Terrell Thomas and backup Brian Witherspoon for the season due to injuries, the New York Giants today had a bunch of cornerbacks come in for workouts. Mike Garafolo reports that there were four of them (who all left in the same van, which is downright adorable) and that two of them were Lito Sheppard and Brian Williams. Mike also checked with Randall Gay's agent, who said his client was not one of the four.

Earlier in training camp, Giants first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara suffered an injury that will keep him out for at least the first month of the season, and reserve Bruce Johnson is also out for the entire season. The team is therefore looking at several options. Mike reported via twitter that safety Antrel Rolle was with the corners at the beginning of Wednesday's practice.

I assume the Giants will sign at least one of the guys they had in today, if for no other reason than to get an extra body in there for these practices. Corey Webster and Aaron Ross are going to have to handle starter's duties, but it's not a position at which you want to be caught thin. And right now, though Giants fans always get on my case for saying this about their team, the Giants are extremely thin at cornerback.

UPDATE (5:29 pm): The Giants announced that they have signed Williams, a 32-year-old veteran who has 19 interceptions in a nine-year NFL career that has included stops in Minnesota, Jacksonville and Atlanta. He was a regular starter for most of his career, but spent 2010 in a reserve role with the Falcons, for whom he played all 16 games but started just one.

Observations from the Giants 41-13 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football":

We preach all the time that preseason games don't matter, but so few people really take it to heart. Fans like to hang on every play, to wonder whether or not it matters that Eli Manning doesn't look sharp, or to try and figure out whether or not Brandon Jacobs deserves more carries than Ahmad Bradshaw. But in the end, there are no accurate judgments to be made off of these games and the only thing that actually matters in any of them is that nobody gets seriously hurt.

And that's why, regardless of the final score or the potentially very encouraging way the rest of the team played during the game itself, Monday night's victory over the Bears was a disaster for the New York Giants.

Shortly before halftime, Giants starting cornerback Terrell Thomas collided with Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and limped off the field. At halftime, Giants coach Tom Coughlin revealed to ESPN's Suzy Kolber than Thomas had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and would miss the entire season.

This is devastating news, first and foremost, for Thomas, one of the very good guys and leaders on the Giants' roster and a player who has one year left before free agency. Thoughts go out to him, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

But it's also awful news for the Giants, who earlier this preseason lost cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson to major injuries (and later in this game saw Brian Witherspoon carted off with a knee injury). Amukamara is out for at least a couple of months, Johnson for the year and now a team that was already struggling for depth at cornerback has lost one of its starters. They've gone from hoping Aaron Ross could be a reliable No. 3 corner and play as their extra defensive back in passing situations to hoping Ross can be a reliable starter and probably using safety Deon Grant in that role as they did last year. The Giants weren't deep to begin with, and they came out of their second preseason game with a major hole on the roster and in the starting lineup.

So that's all that matters from this game, period. But if you want to know what else I saw that might have a chance to matter down the road if by some coincidence regular-season developments jive with preseason performance in specific areas, here you go.

1. On the bright side, Ross looked very good. He knocked down two Jay Cutler passes intended for Roy Williams on third down early in the game. He made another play on a receiver later to prevent a touchdown (though he may have pushed off on that coverage). He made a nice tackle on Marion Barber behind the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. You could do worse than Ross as a fill-in cornerback when one of your starters gets hurt, and it's encouraging that he played well. But again, the Giants were figuring on Ross as their third corner, not one of their top two.

2. Oh, and X-rays on William Beatty's foot were negative. Which is a good thing. Beatty didn't have to take on Julius Peppers all night as we expected, since the Bears moved Peppers over to the other side to terrorize Kareem McKenzie and the Giants' overmatched tight ends. Beatty looked better overall in this game, holding his own and keeping his man off the quarterback, though he still looks a little grabby to me. You don't like to see a left tackle reaching quite as much as Beatty does to try and prevent the edge rush. He's got to do a better job of getting his whole body in front of his guy, or he's going to be a walking holding penalty.

3. Giants' special teams looked better. Devin Thomas is really showing his speed and athleticism on kick returns. Matt Dodge and Steve Weatherford both bombed huge punts all night. There was good kick coverage, including a big tackle by receiver Victor Cruz as he continues to work to try and secure a spot in the receiving corps. Jerrel Jernigan doesn't show much on punt returns, but the Giants had so many problems on special teams last year that if they can get it down to just one, Coughlin is going to be ecstatic.

4. How did those receivers keep getting open between Corey Webster and Kenny Phillips? It happened twice in the first half, and Cutler hit it for a big gain each time. It looked as though the receiver got by Webster and Phillips didn't get over in time to help. There are three possibilities that I can see: 1. Webster let his man go by him without making sure he had the safety help; 2. Phillips was supposed to help but was slow getting over; 3. Phillips went with the tight end up the seam after the tight end got by middle linebacker Jonathan Goff, which would kind of lead back to (1.) though with some blame to be shared by Goff. Either way, I'm certain it'll be discussed in detail in meetings this week. The Giants will obviously need mistake-free play from Webster and Phillips with as vital a piece as Thomas now missing from the secondary.

5. Victor Cruz, preseason wonder. Domenik Hixon had the big touchdown catch, but I really believe the Giants are trying to bring Hixon along slowly as he's coming back from his knee injury. And if that's the case, it opens up opportunities for guys like Cruz to get more reps at wide receiver. Cruz lined up with the starters in the team's three-receiver sets at the start of the game, and he did a lot of good, athletic, impressive things, just like he did last year in the preseason. As long as he keeps contributing on special teams, he's a good bet to make the roster. And if he does and Hixon is still being babied come the regular season, Cruz should get a serious chance to show whether or not his preseason success can carry into the regular season this time.

6. Some notes on the sure things. Manning looked fine, though I wouldn't put him in John Beck's class as a preseason quarterback. (Easy, folks... I kid because I love...) Brandon Jacobs looked especially spry on his touchdown run. And how about Justin Tuck's downfield tackle on Matt Forte? Tuck's a beast, but I couldn't help thinking a linebacker or a safety should have made that unnecessary. Overall, the Giants' defense looked very good, especially when it came time to keep the Bears out of the end zone in goal-line situations. Mark Herzlich's interception on the fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter was the most fun of the stops.

7. Still could use a tight end. Not that this is a Priority No. 1 at this point, but Travis Beckum and Bear Pascoe have been fully underwhelming at a key position for the Giants' passing game. We saw Manning audible at the line a few times and look to check it down, but with Steve Smith in Philadelphia and Kevin Boss in Oakland, he's still looking for reliable options to serve as safety valves. There was a third-down throw on which he and Mario Manningham couldn't connect that made you think he missed Smith. But two more preseason games to go and work still to be done, as is the case with every team.

Good morning to all, and to all some good, piping-hot links:

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant says "one drop is too many" and seemed to be beating himself up a bit over that ball he dropped on third down with the Cowboys driving in the first half of Sunday night's preseason game. It was indeed a bad drop, and if it were to keep happening we could add it to the list of concerns. But the fact that Bryant didn't wave it off as a "just preseason" thing is encouraging for Cowboys fans. When Bryant has the ball in his hands, he's pretty tough to bring down.

Jason Garrett was unhappy, too, pointing out that his team committed three turnovers and forced none. At first I thought it was silly for the coach to be upset over a preseason loss, but that specific critique made me change my mind. Garrett sees a loss in which the Cowboys didn't look very good as a chance to teach a lesson. More intensity on defense, more care taken on offense. And the fact that the starting quarterback was directly responsible for one of the turnovers helps drive home the point without making anyone further down the roster feel as though he's taking it out on only them.

New York Giants

Zach Berman looks at Travis Beckum, the disadvantages he faces as a small tight end and what he's doing to overcome them so he can take the place of Kevin Boss as the Giants' starter at the position.

Aaron Ross is happy to be back playing the position he loves -- cornerback, instead of spotting in at safety and nickelback. The Giants want to see something, though. With Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson hurt, they're looking for depth behind their very good starting corners, and Ross should get a chance in tonight's preseason game to show what he offers in a backup corner role.

Philadelphia Eagles

The chances of the Eagles starting two rookies on the offensive line took a big step forward over the weekend. They've informed Jason Kelce that he, not Jamaal Jackson, will be the starting center in the next preseason game. And while that could be a matter of wanting to take a longer look at the rookie, it could mean much more. New offensive line coach Howard Mudd is the one, they say, who hand-picked this guy. He's light and athletic, the way Mudd likes his linemen. And he's been sharing first-team reps with Jackson since the first day of training camp. Kelce is a legitimate candidate to be the starting center soon, if not right now. I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles decided to line him up next to rookie right guard Danny Watkins in Week 1.

The headline on this notebook says, "DJax likes Fitz deal," and I'll just bet he does. I'd be more than willing to bet that DeSean Jackson does, indeed, approve of the eight-year, $120 million deal Larry Fitzgerald just signed with the Cardinals. I believe Jackson likes Fitzgerald's $50 million guarantee, too. Currently in a dispute with the Eagles over his own contract, and with one year left until free agency, a deal that moves the market for top receivers the way Fitzgerald's just did is manna for Jackson and his agent. Not that Jackson's as good as Fitzgerald, but a deal like that moves the price up for everyone at or near the top.

Washington Redskins

After watching the tape of Friday's game, Mike Shanahan came away impressed with quarterback John Beck. Said Beck made good decisions, which I thought was one of the most important takeaways from that game. They rolled him out a lot to try and take advantage of his speed and athleticism, but at the end of the rollouts he made smart plays. He threw the ball away when there was nothing there and, as this story points out, he didn't look for something downfield just for the sake of doing that. The Redskins' offense right now isn't going to offer much in the way of deep downfield options. Maybe as the year goes along, but not right now. Beck did a good job of taking what he was given, and it appears the right people noticed.

The Redskins are getting a bit healthier on defense. A hamstring problem has slowed LaRon Landry's recovery from his Achilles injury, but it sounds as though fellow safety O.J. Atogwe, cornerback Josh Wilson and linebacker London Fletcher are all back practicing and gearing up for Thursday's preseason game. Not as encouraging on the other side of the ball, where tight end Chris Cooley and kick returner Brandon Banks don't seem to be making much progress.

Coincidentally, I am in Washington, D.C., for a couple of days, doing some sightseeing with the wife and kids. So unless something huge goes down, you're not likely to hear from me again until I'm online tweeting during the Giants-Bears game. But I promise I won't forget about you, and you can always come back here to the links to yell at each other.

Yeah, forgot about this because it had been a while, but we write posts reacting to free-agent signings, and the New York Giants on Tuesday re-signed safety Deon Grant, who started eight games and played all 16 for them last year.

This is a good signing for the Giants, who were starting to look a little too thin in the secondary with injuries to cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson. Grant is a versatile player who was used in a number of three-safety sets with the Giants last year and could be again since they're not going to be able to deploy Amukamara as they'd hoped over the first half of the season.

Grant is also very popular in the locker room and was one of the leaders on last year's Giants team. Fellow safety Kenny Phillips, when I spoke with him last week at Giants camp, told me learning the position from Grant was one of the great benefits of a 2010 season in which Phillips was still getting up to full speed physically following his 2009 knee injury.

"He's just a savvy veteran player," Phillips said. "I actually still watch film of him now, just watching his technique and how he was able to play different positions on the field, just taking his value up. He's a guy who'll play any spot, any time, however he can help the team."

If there's a team that's had a worse couple of post-lockout weeks than the New York Giants have had, I can't find one. The latest round of lousy news hit Saturday night with the announcement that first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara had broken a bone in his left foot and would need surgery. The team says he's out indefinitely, but you have to think this is going to cost the rookie (who just signed his contract two days ago) at least two months, after which he'll have to play on a surgically repaired foot with a screw in it.

Amukamara, like all 2011 rookies who missed out on minicamps and OTAs because of the lockout, was already going to have a tough time getting up to speed, and this sets him back further.

Now, sure, the Giants can absorb a hit at cornerback. They still have Terrell Thomas, Corey Webster and Aaron Ross at the position. But with reserve Bruce Johnson having already blown out his Achilles earlier in the week, they're much thinner there than they planned to be. Amukamara was the 19th overall pick in the draft, and surely a big part of the Giants' plans for this season.

The Giants also announced that Ben Patrick, the tight end they signed earlier this week, has decided he no longer wants to play football and would be placed on the reserve/retired list. You'll remember Patrick as the tight end the Giants signed shortly before their own starter, Kevin Boss, left to sign with the Raiders. Patrick apparently was looking forward to playing with Boss and didn't want to be on the team if he wasn't.

So that's two cornerbacks and two tight ends the Giants have lost in a span of about three days, and that'd be rough for any team. But the Giants were already having a pretty rough go of things, as salary-cap concerns have impaired their ability to add outside free agents of significance and hurt them in their efforts to sign their own. They managed to bring back running back Ahmad Bradshaw on their terms when he ran out of options, and they got Mathias Kiwanuka to return on a team-favorable deal in part because of the injury from which he's recovering. But they lost Boss and still haven't re-signed Steve Smith (who's also recovering from injury and likely won't be ready for the start of the season even if he does re-sign). Boss and Smith have been two of Eli Manning's most reliable targets in the passing game over the past two seasons, and to this point it's tough to imagine Domenik Hixon, Ramses Barden or Travis Beckum as capable replacements.

Oh, and there's still the Osi Umenyiora contract dispute. The disgruntled defensive end still isn't practicing as he continues to demand either a trade or a new contract and the team continues to insist he play for the contract he currently has.

If you want to be optimistic, you can say that maybe the Giants are getting all of their rotten luck out of the way early and maybe not much else will go wrong the rest of the way. But considering how few names of potential consequence remain on the free-agent market for a team that's missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, it's hard to see how the Giants recover from all of the losses they've sustained since free agency started.

You don't want to read too much into a preseason game, but Perry Fewell's unit looked pretty solid in the New York Giants' 24-17 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps inspired by his starting role, defensive end Osi Umenyiora was dominant against the run. Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka teamed up to cause some big-time minus plays against the Steelers' first-team offense.

Here are my quick-hit observations from Saturday's rumble in New Meadowlands Stadium:

• I don't think the final numbers for quarterback Rhett Bomar -- 13-of-26 for 167 yards -- tell the whole story of his evening. Though he had one awful interception on a tipped ball, I liked the way he used his legs to extend plays. Bomar's capable of making something happen when a play breaks down, and that's the main reason the Giants should keep him around at least one more season. He obviously has a lot more upside than Jim Sorgi, but you'd have a hard time trusting Bomar if Eli Manning was out for more than two weeks in the regular season.

• Nice interception by cornerback Corey Webster against Ben Roethlisberger. Webster has his confidence back, and he's playing with a swagger. Those are the types of plays that galvanize a defense. I think Fewell's done an excellent job of restoring confidence in all of these cornerbacks.

• Hakeem Nicks can't get drawn into a fight four plays into a game. Football fights with helmets on seem so redundant. And when you get tossed from a game that early, it can put your teammates in a bind. I'm sure Tom Coughlin will have a long visit with Nicks about that play.

• The Giants gave their old pal Flozell Adams fits at his right tackle spot. Tuck gained a small measure of revenge for that shoulder injury that Adams gave him last season by blowing past the aging player at least twice, once with a nice spin move. I liked how Fewell kept moving players around before the play. I think it confused the Steelers' offensive line.

• Steve Smith made a Victor Cruz-like catch along the sideline for 45 yards from Bomar. He turned what could've been an interception into a big gain. Cruz entered the game in the second quarter to a loud "Cruuuuuuz!" chant. But he struggled against the Steelers. The muffed punt inside the 10-yard line was tough to watch. Looked like he let the ball bounce off his knee. Just a really clumsy effort. But this will give him a chance to bounce back from a little adversity.

• Linebacker Keith Bulluck was only in there for a handful of plays, but I liked when he came racing through to drop Rashard Mendenhall near the line of scrimmage. Bulluck had two tackles and looked good calling out the signals during his short time on the field.

• It's fun watching Ahmad Bradshaw run the football now that he's healthy. He has a nice blend of power and speed. As I said last week, Bradshaw's the feature back on this team. He and Brandon Jacobs seem to have a great rapport, so hopefully things won't be too awkward. But I think it will be tough for Jacobs to watch Bradshaw get 18-20 carries in a game while he receives 8-9. That's going to happen.

• Excellent job by defensive tackle Rocky Bernard on the goal-line stand at the end of the first quarter. He showed a lot of power on that play, and I think it's something Fewell can build on.

• Aaron Ross' 44-yard punt return was a thing of beauty. And don't be too worried about Steelers punter Daniel Sepulveda fighting off blockers to make the tackle. As a Ray Guy Award-winner at Baylor, Sepulveda was known for his punishing hits.

• Jason Pierre-Paul can't break contain with Byron Leftwich. The lumbering Leftwich eluded Pierre-Paul in the open field, and there's no excuse for that.

• I'm hoping Bruce Johnson was supposed to have help from safety Michael Greco on that 68-yard touchdown. That was way too easy, and it brought back memories of matchups against New Orleans and Philly last season.

• Adrien Tracy was pretty active down the stretch and ended up with nine tackles. Regarding safety John Busing, I'm not overly impressed. He's always arriving a split-second late, and I'm being generous with that estimate.

• Phillip Dillard's a little eager at times against the run, and you'll see him overpursue. But I do like the energy he brings to the field.

• The thing I like about Bomar the most is that he gets the ball out of there quickly. He'll change arm angles and fire a ball into a tight window like he did to Sinorice Moss in the second half. The numbers weren't that great, but I sort of admired how he stood in there and took some hits. And he was fearless when it came to running for first downs. Maybe a bit too fearless for Coughlin's taste.

• I saw rookie defensive tackle Linval Joseph run a nice little twist with Kiwanuka on one play in the first half. Joseph's going to be starting by the end of the season.

This time of year, we always find out how much the league rewards players in performance-based pay. This is an amount of money that goes toward players whose time on the field exceeds what role they were expected to have based on their draft status.

Giants cornerback Bruce Johnson was an undrafted rookie out of the University of Miami last season who played a vital role in the defense due to injuries. And that's why he'll be depositing a $270,766 check from the league this week, according to the Star-Ledger.

Vikings center John Sullivan, a former sixth-round pick, reportedly led the league with $397,555. I remember covering a right tackle for the Cowboys named Rob Petitti who was stunned to suddenly receive a large performance-based payment. But once he got his wits about him, Petitti rushed off to purchase a 10-person hot tub. Seriously.

While we rev up the engines for the Redskins' coaching "search" next week, we should also keep an eye on the Giants' defensive coordinator position. Head coach Tom Coughlin has defended Bill Sheridan at times this season, but he can't be happy with the first-year coordinator's results. On Thursday afternoon, Sheridan may have addressed reporters for the final time as Giants defensive coordinator. Asked about his shaky job status, Sheridan provided this response:

"I'm not concerned about it," Sheridan said. "I know you guys are very concerned about it, but I'm not concerned about it. You guys do a great job of being concerned about it, but I'm not."

This is either the most focused guy in the league or Sheridan has attended the Jim Zorn school of denial. There's no doubt that Sheridan's job is in serious jeopardy. You can certainly give him the benefit of the doubt on the injury to talented safety Kenny Phillips and the late-season loss of linebacker Antonio Pierce. But there's no good reason for why some of the most feared pass-rushers in the game came up empty for much of the season. A secondary comprised of men such as C.C. Brown, Aaron Rouse and Bruce Johnson was torched, in part, because Pro Bowlers Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck couldn't get to the quarterback. And almost as disturbing, the Giants were gashed in the running game by the Cowboys, Eagles and Panthers. This is suddenly a defense without an identity -- and someone will have to pay the price.

Sheridan was asked Thursday what he would say to Coughlin if the head coach asks him why he should keep his job:

“The same reason why he gave me the job, because he thinks I’m competent and do a conscientious, diligent job,” Sheridan said. “That’s what I told him when I interviewed for it before. I said, ‘To me the most important thing is competence, that you can give [the players] a plan on a weekly basis that will put them in the best position to defend and beat your opponent. That’s why he gave me the job. And if he’s evaluated I’m still competent in that area, that’s what I would tell him."

Sheridan has said that he "absolutely" thinks he'll return as the team's defensive coordinator. Again, he's either living in denial or Coughlin has privately assured him that his job is secure. I highly doubt the latter part of that statement.

Hope that you guys are enjoying the holidays. Now it's time for our weekly predictions in the NFC East. The Beast has been on a roll lately, but we didn't see the Cowboys' upset of the Saints coming. Here's a look at the predictions from our esteemed panel in Bristol.

Panthers at Giants: All eight panelists picked the Giants, which is a bit surprising. The Panthers are coming off a big upset win over the Vikings and Matt Moore is doing a nice job at quarterback. I don't think it's a given that the Giants win this game, but I'm picking them anyway.

Beast pick: Giants 27, Panthers 21. This is not going to be a blowout. The Panthers will keep it close by running on the Giants. In the end, Justin Tuck's two sacks and a Bruce Johnson interception will help preserve a win. There will be some extra emotion with New York playing in Giants Stadium for the final time.

Cowboys at Redskins: The panelists weren't having any fun this week. All eight of them picked the Cowboys to win in Washington. Apparently they watched that woeful Skins performance on "Monday Night Football."

Beast pick: Cowboys 31, Redskins 13. I'm afraid the Redskins have finally given up this season. They'll play hard at the start of the game, but an early touchdown by Miles Austin will cause them to go into shutdown mode. Not even the son of George Allen can prevent this tail-kicking. Jason Campbell will put up good numbers in this game, but he'll be undermined by some baffling play calls in the red zone.

Broncos at Eagles: We finally had someone break from the pack. Adam Schefter has picked the Broncos over the Eagles. The other seven panelists went with the Eagles -- and so will I.

Beast pick: Eagles 28, Broncos 17. After an outpouring of emotion for former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, Philly will go out and hang at least 300 yards passing on the Broncos. I think the return of Dawkins will actually serve to keep the Eagles from overlooking a fading Broncos team that is coming off a loss to the Raiders. This team's asking to be buried and I think the Eagles will accommodate the Broncos.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Just when you thought the Redskins could not embarrass themselves any more than they already had, special teams coach Danny Smith dialed up one of the most ill-conceived fake field goals in recent memory. Punter/holder Hunter Smith took a direct snap after kicker Graham Gano went in motion and then launched a pass to no one. Giants cornerback Bruce Johnson intercepted the pass and returned it 49 yards to end the half.

I guess it was an appropriate ending to a lackluster half of football from Washington. The Giants can call this final score. Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell is out with a shoulder injury and the fans at FedEx booed the team off the field.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Giants cornerback Aaron Ross is out for tonight's game against the Redskins. We knew starting cornerback Corey Webster (knee) wasn't going to play but the Giants were holding out hope Ross (hamstring) would be able to go.

With Webster out, either Bruce Johnson or Kevin Dockery will start at cornerback opposite Terrell Thomas. Michael Johnson and Aaron Rouse will be the starting safeties. Here are the Giants' other inactives: Ramses Barden, D.J. Ware, Adam Koets, Kareem McKenzie, Sinorice Moss and Darcy Johnson.

The biggest surprise for the Skins is that defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin is inactive. That makes room for offensive tackle William Robinson to be active. Here are the rest of the Redskins' inactives: Emergency QB Richard Bartel, Kevin Barnes, Edwin Williams, Alvin Bowen, Curtis Gatewood, Paul Fanaika and Marko Mitchell.

Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger reports that Giants cornerback Aaron Ross worked with the second-team defense Friday in practice. For now, it looks like Bruce Johnson will remain as the nickel corner.

All indications are that coach Tom Coughlin will wait until game day to make a decision on Ross. It looks like the cornerback is at the point where he could make it through a game, but the Giants have been very cautious with him since he suffered another setback earlier in the season.

They've tested his hamstring all week, so it will be an interesting decision. I think it's 50-50 at this point, and that's why Ross is listed as questionable. The Giants could hop right back in the race for an NFC East title with a win over the Falcons on Sunday, so Coughlin will be tempted to put Ross back on the field. I think he would give this secondary a much-needed boost.

NFC Rookie Surprise: East | West | North | South AFC: East | West | North | South

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

	AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
	Bruce Johnson returned his only interception of the season 34 yards for a touchdown.

Former Miami Hurricanes cornerback Bruce Johnson had to endure the frustration of not being drafted after once being projected as an early- to mid-round prospect. He didn't wow anyone at the combine and he was barely a top-30 corner heading into the draft.

But when I arrived in Albany, N.Y., in August, Johnson was constantly making plays in training camp. You could tell right away that he was better than sixth-round draft choice DeAndre Wright -- and Tom Coughlin found a spot on the 53-man roster for him. With Kevin Dockery slowed by a hamstring injury, Johnson became the nickel corner to start the season. He had a forced fumble in his first regular-season game against the Redskins and he followed that up with a pick-six against the Cowboys the following week.

On the interception against the Cowboys, he lured Tony Romo into thinking he was in one-on-one coverage with Roy Williams and then he bailed out at the last second and jumped underneath an out route that Patrick Crayton was running. It was a veteran move by an undrafted rookie -- and he raced to the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 10-7 lead in the first quarter.

The Eagles have a fifth-round draft pick named Victor "Macho" Harris who's already cracked the starting lineup at free safety, but I think Johnson had made the bigger impact early in the season. Dockery has returned to the lineup, but I don't think he'll be able to hold off Johnson for long. Johnson's just a very heady player who Coughlin already has a lot of faith in.

Rookie Watch Scouts Inc. is keeping a weekly watch on the league’s top rookies. Rookie Watch

The only thing I've seen him do wrong is get confused on a route the Chiefs ran near the Giants' goal line. On that play, Michael Boley raced back and broke up the pass. Johnson already has eight tackles, three pass deflections, a forced fumble and an interception. I don't think this is beginner's luck.

	Tim Heitman/US Presswire
	Eli Manning led the Giants on the winning drive as New York took control of the NFC East.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

ARLINGTON, Texas -- As kicker Lawrence Tynes drilled a 37-yard field goal with no time remaining, the only sound in the packed press box was Giants co-owner John Mara slapping the back of his seat repeatedly. A crowd of 105,121 -- the largest in NFL history -- fell silent as Giants players and coaches raced onto the field to celebrate a 33-31 win.

Now the Giants begin the puff-pastry portion of their schedule with sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Before kickoff, they watched former president and Dallas resident George W. Bush and his wife Laura conduct the coin toss. Moments earlier, the Cowboys had unveiled their blue and white star at midfield following a video that compared their new stadium to lesser-known venues, such as The Great Wall of China and the Parthenon.

It was a perfect night for Cowboys fans -- right up until Giants quarterback Eli Manning trotted onto the field with 3:34 left in the game. Manning has made a habit of fourth-quarter comebacks, and the Cowboys left him entirely too much time when they took a 31-30 lead on Felix Jones' 7-yard touchdown run.

After a holding penalty put the Giants in a first-and-20 hole at their 15-yard line, Manning went to work. He said he tried to calm down his teammates by "not saying anything.'' On second-and-18, he scrambled to find a Derek Hagan for a 12-yard gain. With first-round pick Hakeem Nicks not suited up because of an injury and Domenik Hixon out of the game in the first half with a knee sprain, the Giants had to turn to Hagan. When the special-teams ace saw Manning in trouble, he came racing back toward him to make a play.

Week 2 Coverage • Seifert: Favre managing the game • Kuharsky: Dissecting Houston's win • Mosley: Giants ruin Cowboys' party • Graham: Jets follow through on talk • Walker: Bengals take 'leap' forward • Yasinskas: Carolina's D the problem • Pasquarelli: Falcons' Ryan proving worth • Williamson: Magic runs out for Chargers • Sando: 49ers make statement • Wojciechowski: Cutler redeems himself • Chadiha: Saints still working out bugs

"Hagan earned a spot on this roster," Manning said after the game. "He did a really nice job on the scramble drill."

Manning then started firing passes to wide receivers Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, who combined for 284 yards and two touchdowns. At this rate, all the questions about the Giants' ability to replace Plaxico Burress' production will disappear by the end of this month. Smith and Manningham toyed with Cowboys cornerbacks Orlando Scandrick and Terence Newman. The deep balls that had been so hard to come by the last couple years were there for the taking against an overwhelmed Cowboys secondary.

The Giants had a third-and-4 at the Cowboys' 41-yard line with 39 seconds left when Manning delivered a ball toward Manningham that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by nose tackle Jay Ratliff. Manningham adjusted nicely and his 8-yard grab put the Giants in good shape.

"They came out with an all-out blitz," Manning said. "We had a slant backside to Mario. He got open, he won. He did a great job of staying with it and concentrating on getting the catch. It was a big play for us."

Manning was 25-of-38 for 330 yards and two touchdowns. He was frustrated by the Giants' lack of production in the red zone, but he never got greedy. Meanwhile, Tony Romo was having one of the worst performances of his career. The only reason the Cowboys had a chance to win the game was because they gashed the Giants in the running game for 251 yards. Marion Barber and Felix Jones were brilliant in locating seams in the Giants' defense -- and it certainly helped that Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck was on the sideline with a shoulder injury following a Flozell Adams tripping penalty.

	Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
	The Cowboys had success rushing the ball but the Giants intercepted Tony Romo three times.

Romo had three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown by undrafted rookie cornerback Bruce Johnson. But late in the third quarter, Romo and the Cowboys had a chance to put the Giants away. With a first-and-10 from the Giants' 46-yard line, Romo inexplicably threw a deep ball to Sam Hurd, who was bracketed by two defenders. Safety Kenny Phillips made the easiest interception of his career, which happened to be his second of the evening -- and the Giants were given new life.

Romo spent most of training camp promising that he would protect the ball this season, but he made too many careless throws Sunday night and ended up issuing an apology after the game.

"I'm really, really disappointed in myself right now," Romo said. "You work so hard on something and you try to do certain things to change them. It's disappointing and frustrating. I'm really not OK with it right now and I'll try to rectify tomorrow and tonight to get better and improve."

At least he didn't turn to his "life goes on" speech from last year's Philly game. But that was the only positive sign from Romo. On a night he simply needed to make the smart plays, he came up woefully short.

Jacobs sounds off on Jerry Jones: Last week, running back Brandon Jacobs told me that the Cowboys should have scheduled the Lions instead of the Giants for the stadium opener. And Sunday, he tried to explain to me where his hatred for the Cowboys comes from.

"I hate the Cowboys straight up," Jacobs told me. "It's beginning to be a personal thing. And it's been like that since I was a kid. I've been wishing bad things on them for a long time. I was a hateful little kid. Everyone loves them, so I had to hate them."

Asked what he thought about the new stadium, Jacobs said: "It's a beautiful place. It was nice of Jerry to invite us down here. But he better be careful what he asks for next time. Last year, [Jones] said he wanted to play us on Broadway, and then he got his ass beat. They got whooped 35-14 on Broadway."

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Oops! Tony Romo got loose with a throw (intended for who, I don't know), and Giants cornerback Bruce Johnson returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. Looks like the Giants dropped into zone coverage just before the snap and Romo didn't adjust properly. Patrick Crayton was running a corner route and Roy Williams was running a zoom (short route where he turns inside). I guess Romo was trying to go to Crayton, but the ball floated on him, and Johnson (from the U) had his first NFL touchdown.

Giants up, 13-7. Cowboys very fortunate it's not worse.

Injury update: Giants WR Domenik Hixon left the game with a knee sprain. His return is questionable.