user: News article: Expectations for Giants Aren’t Bigger in Texas

The Giants knew they were headed to play the Buccaneers when they faced the Patriots. Still, they offered a spirited performance in a 38-35 loss at Giants Stadium.

That positive vibe propelled the Giants toward Sunday’s 24-14 victory at Tampa Bay, a game played under a more familiar brand of pressure. The Giants had not won a playoff game since the 2000 season. Coughlin, nearly fired after a first-round loss a year ago, was another quick postseason exit from more untidy speculation. Quarterback Eli Manning, consistent only in his inconsistencies, faced another off-season of unkind analysis.

Coughlin is almost assuredly returning as coach, probably with a new contract. Manning, coming off his two best statistical games of the season, has discovered confidence and panache. The Giants (11-6 including the playoffs) have won eight road games in a row. And the best kind of bandwagon is filling, the kind on which riders enjoy the journey more than they worry about the destination.

“You can’t be satisfied with what you’re doing,” Manning said in the afterglow of his first postseason victory. “It’s about the bigger picture and keeping this thing going.”

The 13-3 Cowboys opened the season with a home victory over the Giants, beat the Giants again at midseason to lay claim to the East division, then beat the Packers to snare the conference title.

Those accomplishments earned home-field advantage for the Cowboys. The downside, especially in football-crazy Texas, is that anything less than a Super Bowl appearance will turn the entire season into a dud.

There are already signs that the Cowboys need to be rebooted. They looked a bit disheveled in losing two of their last three games, first to the Eagles, then to the Redskins in a matchup with no postseason implications for Dallas. The availability of receiver Terrell Owens, nursing a sprained left ankle, is likely to remain uncertain all week. Quarterback Tony Romo is coming off a three-game stretch in which he threw one touchdown pass and five interceptions, and had a 50.7 passer rating. Like Manning last week, Romo is looking for a validating first playoff win.

The weight of those expectations is piled atop the heft of history. The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 11 years, spanning four games and four coaching regimes. Wade Phillips, in his first season leading the Cowboys, is 0-3 in the playoffs.

The Cowboys will take comfort in their two regular-season victories over the Giants. But the Giants, too, are taking heavy doses of confidence from the defeats.

The Cowboys won, 45-35, at Texas Stadium on Sept. 9. They held a 17-16 lead at halftime, then bombarded the Giants with deep passes.

On Nov. 11 at Giants Stadium, the teams were tied at halftime, 17-17. Romo threw two second-half touchdown passes to Owens to secure a 31-20 victory.

The Giants led in some statistical categories that Coughlin considers critical to winning, including time of possession and rushing average. They lost largely because their defense, especially the secondary, could not keep up with the Cowboys.

“There have been, in the two games that we have played, some big plays and some big-play touchdowns have gone against us,” Coughlin said.

The Giants could face another game without cornerback Sam Madison, out with an abdominal strain, and center Shaun O’Hara, who has a sprained knee. But those injuries, sustained during the loss to the Patriots, did little to change the feel-good mood of the team or the outcome of Sunday’s game.

It highlights a big difference, several Giants said, between now and earlier in the season. Nothing seems to bother them.

“There’s so much more confidence in here, not only with the players but the coaching staff,” running back Brandon Jacobs said Sunday in the locker room after the game.

He said the Giants expected the atmosphere at Texas Stadium “to be crazy, off the wall.”

The emotions are sure to include a strong dose of anxiety, too. But not so much on the Giants’ side.

Tom Coughlin has faced an opponent three times in a season once before. His Jacksonville team in 1999 went 14-2 and lost in the conference championship game. All three defeats were to the Tennessee Titans. ... Giants players are off Tuesday.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: Expectations for Giants Aren’t Bigger in Texas. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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assistant: While the Giants are enjoying their re-inherited underdog status, the Dallas Cowboys are dealing with the pressures that come with being expected to go to the Super Bowl.