Giants 26, Cowboys 10

IRVING, Texas (AP) _ The New York Giants sure are going to enjoy their bye week. After all, five games into the season they've already matched last year's win total. <br/><br/>Tiki Barber ran for

Sunday, October 10th 2004, 3:45 pm

By: News On 6

IRVING, Texas (AP) _ The New York Giants sure are going to enjoy their bye week. After all, five games into the season they've already matched last year's win total.

Tiki Barber ran for 122 yards and a touchdown and Steve Christie kicked four field goals, leading the Giants past the Dallas Cowboys 26-10 Sunday for their fourth win, all in a row.

Showing the toughness and discipline instilled by new coach Tom Coughlin, New York (4-1) overcame a slow start by taking advantage of mistakes by Dallas (2-2) and making some breaks for itself.

At game's end, Coughlin ran across the field to shake hands with Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, his former boss and sometimes nemesis. This was only Coughlin's second win against him in five tries; there should be plenty more meetings, though, as they're now division rivals.

With Philadelphia threatening to run away with the NFC East, both coaches knew this game had extra weight. There also was the momentum factor as both teams were on winning streaks, with Dallas coming out of a bye and New York going into one.

A tight game through 2 1/2 quarters, things turned the Giants' way midway through the third when a questionable roughing-the-punter penalty gave them a fresh start from their 28.

Barber had just 26 yards on 10 carries at that point. He gained 58 yards on the next snap. Two personal fouls against Cowboys defenders kept the drive alive and Kurt Warner capped it with a 1-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey, putting New York up 13-10.

Dallas had a chance to tie on its next drive, but a third-down sack by rookie safety Gibril Wilson knocked a field-goal attempt back to a 52-yarder. Billy Cundiff missed and the Giants turned it into a 47-yarder by Christie.

Then Parcells panicked.

Down by six with about 10:30 left, he opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 43. A swing pass to fullback Darian Barnes was stopped for no gain. Dallas also was stopped on a fourth-and-1 from the New York 5 in the first quarter.

Christie capped the ensuing possession with a 26-yarder. He also hit from 31 and 51 in the first half, making him 4-for-4 after an ugly three-miss performance the previous week.

Barber put the game out of reach on the next drive, first by turning a third-and-10 pass into a 55-yard gain, then with his 3-yard touchdown run. It was the first TD rushing allowed by Dallas in 28 quarters.

Barber, the league leader in all-purpose yards and No. 2 in rushing, had 76 yards on five receptions in addition to his 23 carries.

The Cowboys came out showing they'd used their time off to fix a woeful running game. Eddie George, ReShard Lee and Richie Anderson all had their longest gains of the season before halftime and the team had its season-best total by the end of the third quarter.

But the passing game that had been so good failed them. Vinny Testaverde was just 15-of-24 for 126 yards, with a 7-yard touchdown to Keyshawn Johnson the lone highlight.

George finished with 75 yards rushing and Anderson 56. Dallas had 166 overall.

The Giants lost starting defensive tackle Fred Robbins to a sprained shoulder and receiver Tim Carter left with a hip injury. Dallas rookie cornerback Bruce Thornton hurt a knee.