The Giants, with 5-2 win-loss record, won their fourth straight and moved a full game ahead in the division.

Dallas slumped to one win from six matches, its worst start since 1989. That was the year Jerry Jones bought the team, Jimmy Johnson took over as coach and the Cowboys had one win and 15 losses. Everyone knew that team would stink.

This team, however, had Super Bowl hopes.

Coach Wade Phillips acknowledged this is the most frustrating of his 34 seasons in the NFL. He also said he told the team to keep fighting.

“We’ve got some guys I think will step up and make plays,” he said. “They fought hard all the way. It looked like we were way out of it and we still had a chance. We kept fighting.” Any logical chance of turning this season around ended 12:07 before halftime when Romo went down. Recovery time is generally 8 to 10 weeks and, by then, there may not be any reason to rush back. Only one team in NFL history has recovered from 1-5 to make the playoffs.

Phillips said he had no immediate timetable for Romo.

Romo was drilled by blitzing linebacker Michael Boley in the second quarter. It was a clean hit, but certainly a kill shot — Boley was untouched and Romo was vulnerable after having thrown a pass. He went down hard on his left shoulder and remained flat on his back.

X-rays showed the break before halftime, but Romo was back on the sideline for the second half, his arm in a sling and covered by a jacket. He wore a headset and tried to encourage teammates, but there wasn’t much to cheer about.

The Cowboys actually were up only 10-7 when Romo left and stretched it to 20-7. Then New York scored on its next five possessions, a 31-point flurry that sent home much of the crowd by the middle of the third quarter.

Dallas backup Jon Kitna hadn’t played since Oct. 5, 2008, when he was part of Detroit’s winless season. Whether it was the long layoff, being 38 or both, he sure looked rusty.

“It just took him awhile to get going,” Phillips said.

“Once he did, it gave us a chance.” His first and third passes were tipped. The next time he dropped back, he was sacked for a 10-yard loss, forcing Dallas to punt from its own end zone. The Giants took advantage of the short field to score the go-ahead touchdown. His next pass was fumbled by Jason Witten, setting up Tynes’ long field goal. It got so bad that there was a mock cheer when he completed a pass for a first down early in fourth quarter.

Kitna ended up throwing a pair of touchdown passes to rookie Dez Bryant in the final 3:17, but Dallas failed to recover onside kicks after each. New York got another field goal from Tynes after the first, then ran out the clock after the second.

With the Super Bowl coming to Cowboys Stadium, and his club coming off a division title and a playoff victory, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knew he was headed toward a season he’d never forget. Now, he wishes he could — and he still has 10 games left.