Cowboys break out Romo in loss to Giants

IRVING, Texas -- The New York Giants had their way with Drew Bledsoe so much that he got benched at halftime. Tony Romo's on-field promotion thrilled Dallas Cowboys fans -- until he threw an interception on his first snap.

That's how it went Monday night: The Giants made all the big plays, the Cowboys made the big mistakes.

Eli Manning threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress on the fifth play, LaVar Arrington sacked Bledsoe for a safety soon after and the Giants fended off several potential momentum-changers, beating the Cowboys 36-22 to stake a big head start in defense of their NFC East title.

A week after sacking Michael Vick seven times, New York got four against Bledsoe and two against the more-mobile Romo. More important for the Giants (4-2) was their four interceptions.

Sam Madison picked off Bledsoe on a potential go-ahead pass into the end zone, costing the statuesque quarterback his job, at least for the rest of the night.

Romo, who played at Eastern Illinois University, was intercepted three times, with Kevin Dockery taking the last one 96 yards with 2:33 left for the game-sealing touchdown.

-- The Associated Press