NFC Playoffs | Giant step forward for Eli

IRVING, Texas — Peyton Manning has a championship game to be at next weekend after all. He can go watch baby brother Eli guide the New York Giants.

A few hours after the reigning Super Bowl MVP lost his chance to get back to the big game, the less-heralded, often-criticized member of football's most famous family got the biggest victory of his career. Manning led the Giants past Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 on Sunday and into the NFC Championship Game at Green Bay.

"I won't get tired of hearing that this week," Manning said. "No one's given us much credit and probably still won't. But that's OK. We like it that way."

Eli, the Manning who doesn't do many commercials, threw two touchdown passes to Amani Toomer and led another scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. While he wasn't great, he was good enough to lead New York to its ninth consecutive road win and into a 10th road game — at Green Bay, with the winner getting a spot in the Super Bowl. It's the furthest New York has advanced since the 2000 season.

"I was a little nervous," said Eli, who was 12 of 18 for 163 yards. "I know [Peyton] was watching and rooting for me."

Peyton and Romo can commiserate together at the Pro Bowl next month. That's the next game either will be playing.

The elder Manning and the Indianapolis Colts lost at home to the San Diego Chargers in the early game Sunday. Then Romo and the Cowboys blew their chance of advancing, a loss that's even more painful than their exit last January because of an outstanding regular season.

"It hurts," said Romo, who was 18 of 36 for 201 yards and a touchdown. "It's tough right now."

Just 10 days ago, Eli Manning was 0-2 as a playoff quarterback and finishing a season that has had the kind of love-hate relationship with New York fans that Alex Rodriguez knows all too well. Now he has got two plyoff wins, the admiration of teammates — and an unprecedented amount of public support.

"Everybody goes through their ups and downs and he's on the upswing right now," Toomer said. "We're going to ride him as far as we can go."

The Cowboys were thinking the same about their quarterback. Instead, their season ended with Romo throwing a fourth-down pass into the end zone and cornerback R.W. McQuarters stepping in front of Terry Glenn for the interception. It marked Romo's second consecutive disappointing finish to a playoff game, after his flubbed hold of a short field goal in Seattle a year ago.

This one is huge because "America's Team" seemed pointed toward a ninth trip to the Super Bowl, maybe even a sixth championship.

Dallas had 13 wins, but followed it by tying an NFL record with a sixth consecutive playoff loss.

Dallas is the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format in 1990.

And Romo is the man most likely to be blamed, though not by Terrell Owens.

Owens, who made good on his vow to return from a high ankle sprain sustained three weeks ago, cried behind dark sunglasses with a quivering bottom lip while declaring, "You can point the finger at him, you can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really unfair. That's my teammate. ... We lost as a team."