This time, the Giants were content to give up short yardage and the Cowboys accepted the invitation, especially with Marion “The Barbarian” Barber joining the starting lineup for the first time.

A Pro Bowler as a backup, Barber racked up 101 yards by halftime but the game was tied at 14, thanks to a last-minute drive aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty and capped with Manning throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Toomer. The pair hooked up for a 52-yard touchdown on the game-opening drive, with Toomer taking a short pass, bouncing off two defenders and running from everyone else.

The Cowboys stuck to their slow-go game plan to open the second half, but the mistakes began biting them. A dropped pass in the end zone and false start forced Dallas to kick a field goal after a drive that burned the first 8:07 of the third quarter.

The Giants trailed only 17-14. After not getting anywhere on their next drive, a 25-yard punt return by McQuarters left Manning only 37 yards from the go-ahead touchdown. He needed only six plays to get it on a 1-yard run by Brandon Jacobs, who celebrated by throwing the ball into the play clock.

There was still 13:29 left, the 92nd between these division rivals but the first in the playoffs. While it got more interesting, the caliber of play didn’t improve. Dallas made more sloppy mistakes and New York missed chances for clock-killing drives.

It finally came down to this: the Cowboys had 1:50 left to go 48 yards.

A Brett Favre-esque scrambling shovel pass to Jason Witten got the Cowboys to the 22 with 31 seconds left, then came more mistakes — 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 futilely speeding up and the final play, caught by McQuarters.

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Owens had four catches for 49 yards. Glenn, who missed the first 15 games following two knee surgeries, caught two passes for 30 yards.

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

“I’m so proud of our players,” New York coach Tom Coughlin said. “They really rose up.”

Notes: New York doesn’t have a turnover in two playoff games. ... Dallas’ three scoring drives took nine, 20 and 14 plays and took 23:32, with eight straight third-down conversions. ... Giants DB Aaron Ross left with a right shoulder injury. ... Toomer’s first TD 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.

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