An absolutely thrilling matchup so far...to see who is screwing up the least.

And at this time, that would surprisingly be the Giants. Not too many instances of Manning Face yet, but it's still early.

Next movie: Peyton Manning in a Ken Berry Production of Luther the Geek. -- hollywood wags

Eventually, we'll be hating seeing Peyton on TV as much as we hate hearing Mellencamp on TV. Book it.

I suspect Eddie Guns loves calling personal fouls because they always show off the AK-47s he's rocking on those arms of his. Anyway, cut block personal foul on the Giants, and it's 2nd and 12.

A 3rd down pass is dropped, and Dallas has the ball after a punt. I am hearing horrible things on Deadspin about Britney's "comeback" at the VMAs, as if the lip-sync job was much, much more horrible than expected. Anyone flipping back and forth to check the Redneck Train Wreck?

Yeah, I don't know about Tony Romo as a Pepsi pitchman, although I bet Jerry Jones loved getting in on it.

Marion Barber rips off a 24 yard run. Witten catches yet another ball -- hey, Giants, you know, there's a tight end there, you might want to put a body on him. Wade is looking like he'll go for it.

Britney Spears just made her "comeback" at the MTV Video Music Awards. It was not impressive. Yes, I'm being forced to watch the VMAs instead of Sunday Night Football. Please pray for me, or light a candle, or something. - OMDQ

C'mon, details! How crappy was the lip-sync?

4th and 1...and Barber not only gets the 1st down, but powers his way to the end zone. Kick is up and good, 10-6 DAL.

was there a memo sent out today about going for it on 4th down? Even Norvell did it today. -mcoale

Everyone's got a brass pair the first week, even NORV! (whom I thought was totally going to cough it today, and then the Bears screwed up enough to give the game over to the Chargers.)

Ugh, God -- can't NBC create a sitcom that someone would actually want to watch this season?

also, i give the new series Chuck three episodes before it's off the air. four tops. - lozo

I'll take the over, but barely. Make it six.

Eli Manning throws a pick on 3rd and 7, and WE HAVE MANNING FACE!

Romo gets one out to Crayton on 2nd down, and they've got a first at the Giants' 11. Jones gets about 3 on the rush. Flag after the rush by Romo on 2nd down, and Eddie Guns flexes some offensive holding while thinking, "Damn, I look good doing this, don't I?"

Again, Giants -- there's this tight end dude you might want to cover sometime. Touchdown, Romo to Witten. Kick is good, 17-6 Dallas.

A special report from OMDQ:

I'm watching the VMAs with two women right now. I just asked for comments on her performance, and the claws started flying.

Her hair: My wife - "Her white trash hair extensions were splendiferous." Splendiferous, for those of you who don't know, is not a synonym for "good".

Lip syncing: It's always nice when you can hear the words being sung, but the "artist's" mouth is closed. At one point, I'm pretty sure she put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to disguise the awfulness of it all.

Body: She looks like she's had work done on her entire body...except for her "flabby underarms."

The dancing: My wife - "She was a limp fish." My friend Allison - "She danced like a beached whale." Seriously, she had no rhythm at all. It was like she got there ten minutes before the show, ran through the routine once, then went on the air.

Sounds more entertaining than parts of this game, though. Giants take the kickoff back to the 24. Brandon Jacobs just suffered a sprained knee. Guess there is some karma for being a touchdown vulture last year.

Eli's gunslinging now, knowing that Darrell Ward and Reuben Droughns are his running backs now, and he's got the Giants in Cowboy territory. Two minute warning.

Say what you want, but I like Jeremy Shockey. No one looks more pissed off if he gets tackled well before the first down marker.

And, a couple minutes after I write that, Shockey fights for a 1st down with some yards after the catch. I knew this injury to Jacobs would happen somewhere down the line and Droughns would become useful come someone's bye week.

"The air just doesn't circulate inside this stadium." - AM. Maybe because there's a giant frickin' hole in the top, Al? Hmmm? First and goal for the G-men.

zombie movie + Mad Max + Matrix = P.U. - mcoale

Milla Jovovich is still hot, though.

I didn't fully appreciate the awfulness when the story broke awhile back, but after just seeing Adam Levine on MTV, the mere thought of him sharing a bed with Maria Sharapova makes me want to punch myself in the face. - OMDQ

I bet Maria thought the exact same thing mid-way through the relationship; why do you think she dumped him? (And we all know she dumped him.)

Plaxico Burress decides to hold on this time, and gets another touchdown pass. Hopefully the Giants can execute a point after -- yes, they can. 17-13, Dallas -- and the Cowboys fumbled the kickoff. Giants ball inside the Dallas 20.

Did Madden say that the Giants would welcome Tiki back after their RB injuries? "I'm thinking no" on that one. - mcoale

You can't Awkward Turtle your way out of that situation in the locker room if that happened.

Ed Jockuli's biceps have whistles surgically implanted in them, to give him more stopping power. - Hollywood Wags. To quote AA: "I don't care who you are, that's just funny." Well played, HW.

Giants kick a field goal, and it's 17-16, Dallas -- and it's halftime. Leave your comments on the halftime show in this thread, and I'll see you for the third quarter....oh, fuck, Bionic Wednesday, someone gag me with a spoon. Jesus, NBC.

3rd quarter thread above. Join me!