Dec. 1, 1963 - A disorganized Giant team, outscored four touchdowns to two in the first half at the Cotton Bowl today, came back to beat the Cowboys, 34-27, with a 13-point final period. The win kept the Giants in a deadlock with the Browns atop the NFL’s Eastern Division, with two games to go. It was a shaky victory, but when the chips were down and the Browns’ decision over the Cardinals already in, three old pros — Don Chandler, Y.A. Tittle, and Del Shofner — got the job done. Chandler knotted the score at 27-27 on a 53-yard kick at 5:16 of the fourth period in what was the longest field goal ever registered by a Giant. Then, five minutes later, Tittle threw the winning points to Shofner. That pass gave the Bald Eagle the record as the NFL’s all-time touchdown tosser. He started today’s action with 195 TD passes, one behind the record held by Bobby Layne. When Y.A. hit Shofner with this vital fourth-period pitch it was No. 197, for he connected with Frank Gifford in the second period to tie the Layne mark. Tittle didn’t see the completion of his record-breaking pass — he was flat on his back at the time. It was a position he had been forced to assume often before 29,653 fans during an afternoon on which the Cowboys had treated him most shamefully by stealing three of his aerials. There were times when Y.A.’s pass-blocking was virtually nonexistent and times when the same held true for the Giant front-line defense, which was clobbered for 226 yards and four on-the-ground touchdowns. But all that was bad — or most of it — took place in the first half. The Giants came back in the second to make up the deficit and then some, as they had done earlier in the season against Dallas at Yankee Stadium. “We just had to do better. We couldn’t have done much worse,” said Allie Sherman, coach of the Giants. Chandler conceded that a strong wind had helped his 53-yard kick. “I could have kicked a field goal for 60 yards today,” he said in the dressing room. “The wind was that strong.” To Sherman, the victory was a great relief. “We’ve been ragged,” he said. “We set a tremendous pace earlier this year. It’s hard to stay at that pace. Today’s comeback made us all right again.”
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