IRVING – Tony Romo is getting credit for saving the Cowboys' season.
Eli Manning is taking the heat for the unraveling of the Giants' season.
Sunday is the rematch of an Oct. 23 game, won by the Giants, 36-22.
That night, Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe and was 14-of-25 for 227 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Manning started and was 12-of-26 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Since that Monday night clash, Manning's season has gone into the swamps of the Meadowlands.
Romo's?
Well, he's 4-1 as a starter, and the Cowboys hold a one-game lead in the NFC East.
"He's been getting killed in the media up here if you can imagine," Giants running back Tiki Barber said of Manning. "He lets it roll off his back. He's very easy and composed. I think it's paramount we rally around him, which we've been doing."
Manning has struggled in several areas – namely interceptions and accuracy.
He threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter as part of a monumental collapse against the Titans, where the Giants blew a 21-point lead in a 24-21 loss.
But it's more than Manning's performance in the Tennessee game that has many inside the Giants organization concerned.
Over the last five weeks, Manning has completed 53 percent of his passes and thrown only four touchdowns with seven interceptions. He has three games in which he finished with a quarterback rating of under 60. Against Chicago, Manning had a rating of 28.3.
"I don't think I'm in a slump," Manning told the New York Daily News. "Just a matter of trying to figure out a way to win games."
The success of three other quarterbacks drafted in the same year as Manning places more scrutiny on him to produce.
Philip Rivers, whom the Giants traded to the Chargers for Manning in the 2004 draft, is 9-2 in his first year as a full-time starter. Rivers has a 94.5 quarterback rating this season.
Ben Roethlisberger, despite his struggles this season, was the 11th pick and has won a Super Bowl with the Steelers.
J.P. Losman, the 22nd pick by Buffalo, has won three of his last four games and compiled a rating of 84.1.
"Well, you are going to get compared to other quarterbacks," Manning said. "There are not a whole lot of us out there. I can't worry about being compared to them or look at my numbers to their numbers."
Manning's teammates say he has their support, but if he struggles Sunday in an important NFC East game, that could change.
"He does press sometimes, that's on all of us," Barber said. "The coaching staff and his peers have to reassure him we're all in this together, and we all got to do it together."
E-mail cwatkins@dallasnews.com
TONY ROMO
| Date | Result | C-A-Yds | TD-INT | QB rating | | Oct. 29 | def. Carolina | 24-36-270 | 1-1 | 86.6 | | Nov. 5 | lost to Washington | 24-36-284 | 2-0 | 109.0 | | Nov. 12 | def. Arizona | 20-29-308 | 2-0 | 126.8 | | Nov. 19 | def. Indianapolis | 19-23-226 | 0-1 | 89.5 | | Nov. 23 | def. Tampa Bay | 22-29-306 | 5-0 | 148.9 | |
ELI MANNING
| Date | Result | C-A-Yds | TD-INT | QB rating | | Oct. 29 | def. Tampa Bay | 16-31-154 | 1-0 | 76.5 | | Nov. 5 | def. Houston | 17-28-179 | 1-1 | 76.3 | | Nov. 12 | lost to Chicago | 14-32-121 | 0-2 | 28.3 | | Nov. 20 | lost to Jacksonville | 19-41-230 | 1-2 | 51.9 | | Nov. 26 | lost to Tennessee | 18-28-143 | 1-2 | 59.1 | |
Cowboys (7-4) at NY Giants (6-5), 3:15 p.m. Sunday (Ch. 4; KTCK-AM 1310, KDBN-FM 93.3, KTDK-FM 104.1, KFLC-AM 1270 in Spanish, KFZO-FM 99.1 in Spanish)
