Cowboys... 31 Giants... 20

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Once they stopped beating themselves with penalties, the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants and took command of the NFC East.

Tony Romo connected with Terrell Owens on two of his four touchdown passes, and Dallas opened a two-game lead in the division by ending the Giants’ six-game winning streak with a 31-20 victory.

Romo and Owens broke open the showdown in the second half by combining on scoring passes of 25 and 50 yards to help Dallas (8-1) match its best start since the 1995 season, the last time it won the Super Bowl.

Romo, who was 20 of 28 for 247 yards, also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tony Curtis and a 20-yarder to Patrick Crayton in helping the Cowboys sweep their season series with the Giants (6-3).

Eli Manning threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, who tied his career high with 12 catches for 129 yards.

Quoteworthy: “If you want to call it swagger, yes we have the confidence that we know we can go out and beat teams.” -- Terrell Owens, Cowboys receiver