Five plays later, Brandon Jacobs scored a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Giants a 21–17 lead. After an exchange of punts, Dallas got the ball on their own 44-yard line with seven minutes left in the game. But following several penalties, the Cowboys could only move the ball to their 49 and had to punt. Their defense managed to force New York to punt again after only three plays and Patrick Crayton returned it eight yards, giving them a first down with 1:50 left to play, one timeout, and the ball on the New York 48-yard line. Romo threw a 9-yard pass to Barber and an 18-yard completion to Jason Witten at the 27-yard line. The Cowboys, however, only managed to gain four more yards and on fourth down Romo threw an interception to McQuarters in the end zone to clinch the victory for the Giants, who ran out the clock from there. Despite three interceptions from Tom Brady, the Patriots still managed to defeat San Diego, holding them to four field goals while Laurence Maroney rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown for the second game in a row. With this win, the Patriots became the first NFL team to start with an 18–0 record and advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance in seven years. With just over five minutes left in the first quarter, Chargers defensive back Quentin Jammer intercepted a pass from Brady on the Patriots 40-yard line, setting up a 26-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding. New England responded by driving 65 yards and scoring with a 1-yard Maroney touchdown run to take a 7–3 lead. Kaeding kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter to cut the score to 7–6, but after a punt, Patriots defensive back Asante Samuel intercepted a pass from Philip Rivers and returned it 10 yards to the Chargers 24-yard line. One play later, Brady's 12-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney increased their lead to 14–6. Later on, a 26-yard run by Darren Sproles moved the ball to the New England 34-yard line. But once again, the Patriots defense kept San Diego out of the end zone, stopping them on third and 1 and forcing them to settle for another Kaeding field goal, making the score 14–9 at halftime. On the opening drive of the second half, Brady threw his second interception of the game, this one to Drayton Florence at the New England 49-yard line.