so we could see more action after next week at the meadowlands. five cornerbacks on injured they lose goff early on. they've been able to mix and shower for tom coughlin, as if with the leg right now.

the giants wind up 9-7. the nfc east champions. >> cris: tom coughlin knows how quarterbacks feel right now. you know he's back there, but you don't know where he is. >> al: they should pour it on fewell. >> cris: maybe that's who it's for. he took heat. once he got boley in there. uh-oh, maybe the son-in-law is going to get him. there you go. >> al: 31-14, the wendy's post-game report coming up next.

>> bob: well, in the second half, dallas rallied back, but then the giants pulled away again to end the cowboys' season and prolong their own. 31-14. eli manning, 24 of 33 for 346 and three touchdowns. one of those tds, caught by the dynamic young receiver, victor cruz, who had six receptions all told for 178 yards and the two of them are on the field with michele tafoya. michele? >> michele: thank you very much. eli, after all the highs and lows of this season, what does a

win like this mean? >> it's a great feeling. our guys have stuck together the whole season. we've had ups and downs. we talked about finishing. that's what we wanted to do in the off-season. we've done great ithe fourth quarter and we finished the season strong. we needed two wins to make the playoffs. we got it done. >> michele: speaking of the fourth quarter, you threw your 15th fourth quarter touchdown pass. that broke the record held by johnny unitas and a guy by the name of peyton manning. what does the mean for you? >> under the circumstances, we needed it today to seal the victory. great catch by nicks. our guys played big in the fourth quarter. couple big catches, cruz and nicks. big-time conversions. >> michele: speaking of victor cruz, you continue to get in the cruz. what kind of weapon has he become for you? >> he's done a great job. his working hard, understanding the offense, how to get open, working on his craft.

he's a big play guy. we saw a three-yard out route, he turns upfield and gets touchdowns. in the fourth quarter, down the middle of the field, he does a great job jumping up. either he's going to catch it or nobody. he's done a great job making big plays for us. >> michele: congratulations, eli. victor cruz, you just heard it. what has the ride this season been like for you. >> it's been amazing, to come in relatively unknown. to find a spot and to propel us to the nfc east champion. it been amazing. i have to give credit to god, of course, and to my whole team believing in me and the coaching staff trusting i'm going to do the right things. it's been incredible. >> michele: obviously, eli manning has found great trust in you. you've built the relationship as a passer and catcher. how do you continue this roll into the playoffs. >> good defense and understanding what we have on offense and understanding what defenses want to play against us and taking advantage of that. and i think if we can do that,

if we pay attention in the film room, we'll be all right. >> michele: victor, congratulations. >> no problem. thanks a lot. >> michele: bob? >> bob: michele, thanks. the playoffs are set completely in the nfc. the packers and the 49ers have the beas. detroit travels to new orleans saturday night. atlanta will play at new york next sunday at 1:00 eastern on fox. let's bring in tony dungy. tony, in your mind, what was the key for the giants tonight? >> tony: i thought michele hit on the first one, and that was eli manning in the fourth quarter, bob. when the momentum had shifted, making two great throws to victor cruz, getting away from the rush and making those plays that franchise quarterbacks make. but also, you have to look at the giants pass rush. we talked about it before the game. and it wasn't just jason pierre-paul tonight. it was osi umenyiora, justin tuck. everyone getting after tony romo, making him uncomfortable. you have to credit perry fewell's defense.

six sacks and they did a job on romo. looking ahead to next week, it's going to be the same situation. atlanta with a powerful passing game, a lot of weapons. but their offensive coordinator, mike mularkey, has to be looking at how do i slow down the pass rush. they've got to run michael turner to keep these guys under control and not let them just tee off on matt ryan. >> bob: let's move over to the afc. the patriots and the ravens have the byes there. six seed, cincinnati, travels to houston in the early game on saturday. coverage beginning at 4:00 eastern here on nbc. the 12-4 steelers will go to denver to face the broncos on sunday at 4:30 eastern on cbs. now, tony, tim tebow hasn't been the same since the first half against the patriots. what do you think has happened to him? >> tony: the more people have had a chance to look at tim and this read option offense, the more they've found out what he does well and what he doesn't do well. and what people are doing now is taking away the outside runs of

tebow. they're forcing him to stay in the pocket. the linebackers are staying up the field and particularly on his left shoulder, making him come back to the middle of the field. he'll have to become a pocket passer. and i expect pittsburgh to do the same thing. crowd the box, line of scrimmage. make them get away from that running game and make him throw from the pocket. he has not adjusted to that. >> bob: all right, tony. happy new year. talk to you next week. we turn to mike florio of profootballtalk.com. he'll have all the news tomorrow on the nbc sports network. mike, big injuries affecting playoff teams. update us. >> steelers runningback rashard mendenhall has a right knee injury. coach mike tomlin after the game said he's not expected to play in denver next sunday, and he could have a torn acl. mri tomorrow. for safety ryan clark, an unusual health situation. in 2007, when the steelers played in denver, the altitude

caused a blood reaction for clark. he ultimately lost his spleen, gallbladder and 30 pounds. when the steelers returned to denver in 2009, clark did not play. a decision will be made in the next few days whether he'll play sunday on denver. chris kuper for the broncos is out for the year after suffering a fractured tibia against the chiefs sunday. finally, texans quarterback t.j. yates, from third stringer to starter, left shoulder injury, his non-throwing shoulder. he said after the game, as did coach gary kubiak, yates will play saturday against the bengals. >> bob: thanks as always. wednesday night on the nbc sports network, nfl turning point with dan patrick takes you inside the pivotal plays from week 17 and features record breaking saints quarterback drew brees miked for sound. here at metlife stadium, the giants beat the cowboys, 31-14. coming up, we'll take you inside the giants locker room. plus, final thoughts from al and cris. feel like your dollar keeps getting smaller?

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listen, listen, listen. congratulations to the nfc east champions. great job of finishing that. great job of finishing this part of the season. now we go, man. we go. play atlanta 1:00 on sunday. let's go. let's get ready. stay on schedule. let's go. way to go, giants! energy, energy! energy! let's have a team, one, two, three, team! good job. >> dan: big finish to the season. they beat the jets last week.

they beat the cowboys tonight. it's on to the playoffs for them. our nbc doubleheader next week begins with cincinnati against houston. then we go to the superdome, where it's detroit against the saints. we did that game back in early december. figures to be a shootout as always. >> cris: but ndamukong suh was not there for the lines, serving that suspension. and, of course, matthew stafford and drew brees, both over 40 touchdown passes. calvin johnson. going to be a lot of firepower in that game. >> al: figures to be a great matchup and we will talk to you next saturday night and, of course, we'll begin with the bengals and the texans at 4:30 eastern time. the saints and the lions at 8:00 eastern time. tomorrow don't miss the winter classic. following the game, it's the premiere of the all new nbc premiere of the all new nbc sports network. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- live, local, late breaking, this is wbal. >> rice, he is off to the races. rice will take it all the way. >> happy new year. a victory this evening. the ravens clinch the number two

seed in the north and a home game in the playoff. good evening, everyone. the stadium is exactly where the raven's want to be. undefeated at their home field. it has fans all over rejoicing. we were done ton for the celebration. >> fans across the area are excited. they are looking toward to cheering the ravens on for a playoff game. >> it is incomplete. the game is over. the ravens have locked up a by- week. >> the ravens play a hard game. they kick some but. >> for fans who could not make it out to cincinnati, this bar and grill was the next best place to watch the game. >> the ravens are headed for the playoffs. we get to have a lot of fun. [chanting]

>> celebrations continued next door where fans ground of the m.v.p.. >> ray rice. he is unbelievable tonight. how many yards did he have? >> the ravens have clinched their third title and the number 2 seed in the playoffs. there were some tense moments during the game. >> i was nervous as something i cannot say on television. i was real nervous. ray rice, two touchdowns, he came through. we made it happen. >> when the third and fourth quarter happened, i was weary. >> a win that guarantees a first round bye. fans are already focusing on bigger prospects. >> we are going to the super bowl. us versus the packers. >> a home playoff game. that is all we wanted. thank you.

>> we would love to see pictures of your purple pride. just had to our web site, wbaltv.com. >> you can catch jerry sandusky for "ravens wrap up." they will have complete analysis of tonight's win and a look at the play of scenario. that is right after the newscast. arson investigators want to know what sparked a three alarm blaze that left 14 people homeless. one firefighter was injured while battling the flames that broke up around 6:45 this morning. when firefighters got to the scene, they noticed heavy smoke and flame coming from the homes. >> due to the intensity, it got up to the top area. it spread to eight other homes. >> no one was seriously injured

in that fire. one person was taken to the hospital with a case of smoke inhalation. >> a rescue this morning at a family-run farm. these images, they were sent by the fire and rescue services. they show flames devoured in a barn. 60 firefighters responded to the two alarm blaze. horses were inside at the time. the animals were rescued and unharmed. investigators are looking for a cause. two stabbings that occurred within half an hour may have been connected. both happened along the 700 block of meadowwood court between 10:30 and 11:00 last night. in each case, the victims said they got involved in some type of fight. a number of new rules are in effect as we turn the calendar

to 2012, including a ban on hand-held cell phones for bus drivers and truckers. this comes with a tough fine. commercial drivers caught holding, diving, and reaching for cell phones will face penalties of up to $2,700. some state police do not have to wait to find in other craft defense. >> they can pull them over. in the common carrier aspect, a passenger can do the same thing if it is a bust. they can notify police of what is going on. >> trucking and bus companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held phones could play as much as two thousand dollars in fines. baltimore county employees can be included in their partner's health insurance plans. a judge ruled in favor of police

officers who same-sex buses -- the two had been fighting for more than a year to be covered under the same plant. under the new provision, and a county employee that is married in another state will be able to extend benefits to their same- sex partner. power ball organizers take a gamble betting you will play twice -- you will pay twice as much the price is doubling to two dollars. they believe it will draw more people, with the promise of a bigger payoff. it is meant to distinguish the power ball. the price increase goes into effect january 15. police and firefighters say they may have a person of interest in 39 fires in and around los angeles.

>> a vehicle fire next to a structure in certain cases. >> police say the person of interest is an older white male, seen at two of the scenes they are investigating. officials have confirmed the arson had been set in a similar manner. fire officials are saying smoke detectors have helped from turning the fires that lee -- deadly. dozens of black birds died and fell from the sky in arkansas. lest it, it was thousands. fireworks could be a problem. they believe the birds could become disoriented and send them crashing into the streets and on top hat and -- houses. remembering children we have lost in the past year. victims of violence. why organizers say this downtown memorial should impact baltimore in more ways than one. before 2012 turns an hour old,

baltimore's first babies make their entrance into the world. >> a big storm is been in over canada. it is going to drag in big air. -- cold air. skies are clear in baltimore. the winds are picking up. it is 49 at the airport.

we have confirmed the first baby was born at public clock 17 this morning. hospital officials cannot -- at 12:17 this morning. hospital officials cannot confirm whether it is a boy or girl. clocking in after that, a baby boy was delivered at 12:37. the labor was a surprise. they arrive at four o'clock yesterday afternoon. some looked back at 2011 with solomon membranes. at the cathedral in downtown baltimore, a service was held to remember children who lost the lead to violence. a candle was lit to each child who died in our city. payers were said for the lives of children are around the world. it served a purpose that is

universal to all faiths. >> one clear message, no matter what faye or background you are from, the life of a child is something here. us coming together hoping for a safer and better world for our children. >> this is the 13th either the cathedral has been holding this mass. now, your 11 forecast. >> we had a little rain earlier today. temperatures are warm, in the 50's, mild for this time of the opinion that rain has moved offshore. off to the west, -- mild for this time of year. that rain has moved offshore. off to the west, moisture being squeezed out of the air. most if not all of it will not make it across the mud and. if we get a flurry, it would not

be too surprising. let's take a look at today. i mentioned the mild temperatures. 57 at the airport. 31 and 40 with the lows this morning. even though cold air is coming in, it is not that cold. one one-hundredth of rain mensch -- measured at the airport. records show for this day was 4.3 inches. -- record snow for this day was 4.3 inches. we have not had any snow to speak of. just a flurry here and there. last week, we had at one spike. now we are headed for a down slope. they will head up again. we are adjusting things to something closer to normal. cold weather, typically cold weather. 54 degrees in annapolis. 50's on the boardwalk. down to the 40's. these creams change to blues. the