Their first three scoring drives took nine, 20 and 14 plays, burning a total of 23:32 off the clock. Dallas converted eight straight third downs in that stretch, yet came away leading only 17-14 midway through the third quarter.

Toomer turned a short pass into a 52-yard touchdown on the game-opening drive, breaking free from two tackles and running away from everyone else. New York hardly had the ball the rest of the first half, but got it back at its 29 with 47 seconds left and Manning turned it into another touchdown to Toomer, a 4-yarder on a drive helped along by a 15-yard face mask penalty.

The Cowboys stuck with their formula at the start of the third quarter, taking more than half the time off the clock on another long march. Yet a drop in the end zone by tight end Anthony Fasano and a false start penalty on Flozell Adams stalled things. Dallas settled for a field goal and a 17-14 lead.

The Giants had to go only 37 yards on their go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Jacobs ran it in, then threw the ball into the play clock for emphasis.

The 91st meeting between these teams, and first in the playoffs, would only get more interesting from there. Not better, just interesting.

The teams traded scoring chances — and missed opportunities.

Romo was sacked on the next drive and wound up leaving the field pointing at teammates and pouting after an incompletion. New York then started on its 3-yard line and saw Jacobs get stuffed on a third-and-1.

Dallas had great field position, but Romo wasted it with another sack. Then came a third-down conversion erased by an illegal formation penalty, an intentional grounding on a heave out of bounds and a third-and-20 pass to Terrell Owens that came up short.

Manning was only able to take the clock down to the 2-minute warning on the next drive, ending it with a sack of his own. Dallas had 1:50 seconds to go 48 yards, but Romo couldn’t do it.

A Brett Favre-esque scrambling shovel pass to Jason Witten got the Cowboys to the 22 with 31 seconds left. Then came another false start, a short pass that forced Dallas to use its final timeout and a pair of poor throws — a ball in the end zone that Patrick Crayton seemed to give up on before speeding up at the last second and the final play caught by McQuarters in front of Terry Glenn.

Marion Barber — whose bruising running style earned the nickname “Marion the Barbarian” from Owens and helped him make the Pro Bowl despite never starting — got his first start and responded with an early 36-yard run, then gained 67 during the 96-yard drive. He had three of the third-down conversions in the 20-play drive, including a 1-yard touchdown, and had 101 for the half. But he had only 28 yards after that.

Owens missed the final 1 1/2 games because of a high ankle sprain. His return was far less dramatic than the recovery he made for the Super Bowl a few years ago, but impressive nonetheless. He had four catches for 49 yards.

Terry Glenn, who missed the first 15 games following two knee surgeries, caught two passes for 30 yards, both on third downs.

The Giants only rushed for 90 yards, with Jacobs getting 54. Toomer had four catches for 80 yards.

Notes: Giants DB Aaron Ross left with a right shoulder injury. ... Toomer’s first touchdown was his longest since a 77-yarder on Nov. 30, 2003. It also gave him the most postseason receptions in club history, passing Mark Bavaro. ... There were plenty of interesting signs, including a teenager holding one that read: “I wish I was in Mexico with Jessica.” A few more: “Dump Jessica,” and, “Hey, Tony, you want a REAL Texas girl!” A changeup: “Jessica can have Tony. I (heart) Wade Phillips.”