Domenik Hixon's 79-yard punt return for touchdown a key play of NY Giants' 31-24 victory over Dallas Cowboys

Derek Hagan and Kevin Dockery were so enthused that they tumbled over. Head coach Tom Coughlin delivered a fist pump so hearty it looked more like a golf swing. Defensive end Justin Tuck joyfully flopped his 182-pound teammate over his right shoulder.

Domenik Hixon couldn’t remember all the details of the celebration following his 79-yard punt return for a touchdown Sunday night against Dallas, but there was really only one that mattered.

His score put the Giants up 14 points with just over five minutes to play, one of the decisive moments in their eventual 31-24 victory over the Cowboys.

“I wouldn’t even know how to describe it,” Hixon said of the aftermath of the play. “We knew that a big play on special teams is a momentum changer, and that’s what we tried to do.”
Not that it was easy to pull off. Hixon forged a crafty escape route from the Cowboys coverage team, starting his return left and then cutting back right for a dash to the end zone outside a trusty wall of blockers.

Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick had the first shot at him, sticking out his left arm, but Hixon turned back to his right and ducked safety Patrick Watkins. From the sideline, this was when Coughlin worried he might lose his balance and fall down — but Hixon stayed up.

As he continued to angle right, two Dallas players dove at his ankles and missed chances to tackle him. When he cleared the Giants’ 35-yard line, Chase Blackburn and Dockery started to set up the wall. Terrell Thomas took care of punter Mat McBriar, and Hagan delivered the final block of Cowboys receiver Sam Hurd at the Dallas 15-yard line.

From there, it was clear sailing into the right corner of the end zone for Hixon, who gave the Giants their first punt return for a touchdown since Chad Morton’s against Arizona in September 2005 — and, more importantly, a 31-17 lead with 5:33 to play.

“That was a huge emotional moment, I think, for everybody on that sideline,” Coughlin said. “I just thought that would be the one thing that we needed to allow us to win the game.”

Hixon pointed out that he had more space because the 59-yard punt outshot its coverage. He also, of course, gave the credit to the 10 blockers on the field with him.
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