Peyton Manning fooled Cowboys defense AND Broncos offense on rushing touchdown (GIF)

While everyone on the Dallas Cowboys defense piled on Knowshon Moreno on this second quarter play, Peyton Manning faked out everyone by moseying in for his first rushing touchdown in five years. And even his own Broncos teammates didn't know Manning had planned to scamper left for the score.

After the game, the Denver Broncos tweeted that Manning didn't even tell his own team that he was going to take it in himself on this third-and-goal jaunt so his offense would sell the running back up-the-middle play better.

Manning said he was the only one that knew he'd keep the ball on his TD run so that everyone else would sell the RB run better.
— Denver Broncos (@DenverBroncos) October 7, 2013

Manning already had three TD passes in the first half and — after his unmolested run faked out everyone from the cameraman to his own team — the Broncos quarterback even did a little fist pump as he crossed the goal line.

Omaha!

Giants counting on Manning to close gap in NFC East — Peyton Manning that is

If the New York Giants have any chance of salvaging this season, it sounds like the team believes it will have to pin their slim hopes on the broad shoulders of a Manning or two.

If there was ever a good time for Giants quarterback Eli Manning to cash in on a family favor — it couldn't have come at a better time than this weekend.

As the Oh-and-four Giants regroup after Sunday's  31-7 shellacking at the hands of the Chiefs, salvation might come in the form of a quarterback from another team —namely Eli's big brother Peyton.

The division-leading Cowboys play Peyton's Broncos on Sunday and it sounded like Eli is already counting on that game as a win for his big brother and his seemingly unstoppable offense.

"Dallas is going to Denver this week, so we feel we’ve got to get a win here and hopefully we’ll get a win and we can be one game back," said the optimistic Eli on Monday.

The game is actually being played in Dallas, but Eli's point is taken.

Luckily for the pathetic Giants, every other team in the NFC East are almost as bad. The Cowboys are on top with a 2-2 record and the Eagles and Redskins each have one victory. Even with a four game losing streak to start the season, the Giants are only two games back.

The Giants have an opportunity to close the gap on Sunday. Don't discount what a little brotherly love can do.

Eli Manning pouts after pick-six interception (GIF)

New York Giants’ Eli Manning did a lot of pouting Sunday night. But none was more obvious than the pick-six that cost his Giants the game.

This self-loathing came after his late fourth-quarter interception that was returned by Brandon Carr 49 yards for a touchdown to ice the Cowboys’ victory. Manning threw three interceptions  in Sunday's 36-31 loss to the 'Boys but his teammates' three other miscues only added to his frustration.

Here's  Eli Manning’s little tantrum after the final minute interception that helped Cowboys ice the win over Giants.

Jerry Jones accuses Giants of faking injuries

Jerry Jones finally had a reason to gloat and then added insult to the Giants’ injuries after Sunday night's 36-31 whooping over his New York rival, accusing Big Blue of faking injuries to slow the Cowboys hurry-up offense.

"It was so obvious it was funny," the Cowboys owner said after his team beat the Giants for the first time inside his billion dollar playground — AT&T Stadium.

Jones was likely referring to Cullen Jenkins, who briefly went down midway through the second quarter, but returned just plays later. Not that it helped; the drive ended with a Jason Witten 15-yard TD catch.

On back-to-back plays the Giants lost linebacker Dan Connor to a burner and Jenkins to an apparent shoulder injury, but the Cowboys thought there was some gamesmanship involved.

"I thought us experts on football were the only ones who could see that," the Cowboys owner and general manager said with a wink. "No, it was so obvious it was funny. It wasn't humorous because we really wanted the advantage and knew we could get it if we could get the ball snapped."

The crowd booed at New York's lame tactic, but no penalties were called. Coach Jason Garrett had a conversation with referee Tony Corrente during the break in action.

Last week the NFL sent a memo to the 32 teams about "faking injuries," and a team would be subject to disciplinary action even if no penalties were called in the game.

Connor, who suffered similar injuries last year for the Cowboys, did not return to the game. Jenkins jogged off the field and quickly returned. The Cowboys ended the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten for a 13-3 lead.

"I thought we got them moving a lot and got them pretty tired during that stretch," Romo said. "They obviously had a bunch of injuries in that stretch. Tough break, I know. Seemed to come back pretty good after that though."

Victor Cruz wears walking boot, still confident of Week 1 return

As Victor Cruz got ready to meet the media Tuesday, he tried to paint a pretty picture for Giants fans despite the sight of the star wideout hobbling on crutches and in a walking boot. Cruz was upbeat and confident he will be ready for Week 1 in Dallas, but coach Tom Coughlin sounded less enthusiastic.

"Why does everybody look so sad?" Cruz asked as he limped up to the podium before yesterday’s practice. The result of a left heel injury suffered Sunday night against the Colts.

It seems likely Cruz will miss the rest of the preseason, but claimed he will be ready to practice the week leading up to the Sept. 8 opener against the Cowboys.

"Hopefully, I can be back before then," he said. "But I do see myself, envision myself out here on the practice field, getting ready for that Cowboys game, getting ready to go down to Texas to play those guys. That’s what I do envision."

Coughlin poured a bucket of cold reality on Cruz's self-diagnosis.

"Hopefully it’s not going to be a long time. Who knows? I don’t know that," said Coughlin. "He feels better from one day to the next, which is a good thing. Now if you look at him you say, ‘Oh, my God, he’s on crutches and a boot.’ So they’re doing all kinds of stuff to make sure that he doesn’t put any pressure on it. But he did feel better."

After signing a six-year, $45.9 million deal before training camp, Cruz got hurt three plays into Sunday’s 20-12 preseason loss to the Colts when he went for a deep ball from Eli Manning and cornerback Greg Toler committed interference and then landed on top of Cruz.

"On the way down, the defender’s weight landed on top of mine on one single foot. I felt it go numb and knew something was wrong immediately," Cruz said. "The MRI just showed some blood in there in the area where the swelling is, and that was about it. No tear, nothing wrong with the bone. Everything’s fine, which is a good sign, which is what I was worried about."

Cruz's MRI was reassuring.

"No tear, nothing wrong with the bone," he said. "Everything’s fine, which was a good sign, which was what I was worried about. Even though I didn’t hear anything pop, but you just never know with any injuries. I was happy about that. I’m just on the road to recovery"

Cruz is wearing the boot and using the crutches to keep weight off his foot.

"It’s all about getting better at this point," he said. "I think I have a firm understanding of the offense and me and Eli have an understanding of how he likes to hit me and the things we do out there on the field. I’m not too concerned about it. Obviously, I’m a guy that loves to practice, loves to be out there, but it’s just a short setback. You would never want to have one, but if there’s a time to have one, it’s now."

The Giants sent those MRI exam results to a specialist to confirm the initial diagnosis of a bruised heel, according to ESPN. After seeing Cruz’s fellow starting wideout Hakeem Nicks hobbled for much of last year, the Giants weren't taking any chances.

"I think it’s an injury where it’s predominantly the swelling that’s the issue, and once the swelling goes down, I think I’ll be OK," Cruz said. "I just want to be smart and want to make sure I’m 100 percent when I’m out there, and make sure that all the swelling is gone and ... attack it early. I don’t see it lingering or anything long-term with it. I feel good. I feel better than yesterday, which is a good sign."

Cruz will probably miss the final two preseason games and considerable practice time. Rueben Randle is most likely to step into his role as a starter. Playing on the outside yesterday at practice, Randle caught a pair of long touchdowns in 11-on-11 scrimmages.

"That’s what preseason is all about: opportunity. And opportunity is there,’’ Coughlin said. “Also hopefully we get to the game with Jernigan, [Brandon] Collins, those kind of people ready to contribute also. So it’ll be a great chance for them also."

Giants' Dan Connor busted at airport with switchblade

New Giants linebacker Dan Connor has reportedly been arrested for carrying a switchblade knife at Philadelphia International Airport.

Philadelphia TV station WPVI reports that Connor, who grew up in the Philadelphia area, was arrested at 9 a.m. on Saturday when TSA agents spotted the knife and called police.

According to NBCPhiladelphia.com, Connor was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

We know New York is a tough place but maybe Conner thought he was joining the Jets — or the Sharks.

The 27-year-old Connor signed a one-year contract with the New York Giants in March. He played last season with the Cowboys after playing his first four NFL seasons with the Panthers, who took him out of Penn State in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. 

He is expected to compete for a starting job at middle linebacker this season.