Simms Completes Sweep of Cowboys : NFC: The Giants’ quarterback throws three touchdown passes, moves ahead of Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw on NFL all-time completions list.

The New York Giants have been accused of winning this season with a run-oriented attack that makes for the most boring offense in the NFL.

But against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, quarterback Phil Simms opened things up and threw for three touchdowns to lead the Giants to a 31-17 victory.

Simms completed 16 of 22 passes for 188 yards and had touchdown passes plays of 12 yards to Mark Ingram, seven to Bob Mrosko and 27 to rookie Rodney Hampton as the Giants (4-0) beat the Cowboys (1-3) for the sixth consecutive time.

Simms’ 16 completions gave him 2,040 in his 12-year career and moved him past Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw--who had 2,025 with the Pittsburgh Steelers--into 20th place in all-time completions.

“Everything we did today was simple,” Simms said after his first three-touchdown passing performance since the final game of the 1988 season against the New York Jets. “It was nothing complicated or tricky. We weren’t trying to fool anyone. We just won the battle physically.”

The Giants’ victory was the second in three weeks against the Cowboys. In their 28-7 victory at Dallas, the Giants rushed 50 times for 168 yards.

On Sunday, the Giants rushed for 136 yards, including 79 from Ottis Anderson, but it was Simms who did the damage.

“Let’s face it, we want to run the ball and control it,” Giant center Bart Oates said. “But when the other team puts eight guys up front to stop the run, you have to throw the ball. It wasn’t so much a matter of them daring us to throw. It was more desperation. They knew they couldn’t let us run the way we did two weeks ago.”

The Cowboys threatened to make it a game when they pulled to within 17-10 midway through the third quarter on a four-yard run by Emmitt Smith. It was the first touchdown against the Giants’ defense since the fourth quarter of their opener against Philadelphia.

However, Simms and the Giants responded by driving 75 yards in 12 plays, with Hampton catching his second pro touchdown pass 38 seconds into the fourth quarter for a 24-10 lead.

Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman completed 21 of 26 passes for 233 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jay Novacek with 1:58 left. It came shortly after backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler had extended the Giants lead to 31-10 with a 12-yard run.

New York took the lead for good late in the first quarter with a six-play, 49-yard drive set up when Aikman fumbled a snap and Steve DeOssie recovered. Simms completed passes of 14 yards to Hampton and 13 to Howard Cross before finding Ingram on a corner pattern for the touchdown.