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Let us focus our attention on the First Reading from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception taken from the Book of Genesis. In the reading we hear these words:

“The Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” (Genesis 3: 14 – 15).

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most dramatic appearances of Mary in history, when Mary, in the guise of an Aztec princess, appeared to Saint Juan Diego (his pre-conversion name of Cuauhtlatoatzin translates as “Talking Eagle”), a Mexican convert, on December 9, 1531 as he strode to Mass and was passing by the base of Tepeyac hill. She spoke to him in Nahuatl, his native tongue, and told him to go to Archbishop Juan de Zumarraga, the primate of Mexico

“We have a great quarterback,” running back Brandon Jacobs said. “If you ask me he’s the best in the business when our backs are against the wall and we need a score. He’s never let me down.

“I believe in him. I believe in our offense, I believe in our coaches and they got it done.”

Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard touchdown in the final minute and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a field goal attempt on Dallas’s final play as the Giants held off the Cowboys, 37-34, on Sunday night.

With their season on the line, the Giants erased a 12-point deficit in the final 3 minutes 14 seconds as Eli Manning led two late scoring drives. Manning passed for 400 yards with 2 touchdowns, and Jacobs finished with 101 yards rushing and 2 scores. Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes for the Cowboys, but he overthrew an open receiver behind the defense with 2:20 remaining — a throw on which even a first down most likely would have sealed a victory.

Instead the Cowboys were forced to punt, and Manning coolly led the Giants 78 yards in just over a minute for a 37-34 lead. Manning had thrown an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ballard on the Giants’ previous possession to begin the comeback. The game featured eight lead changes.

The victory, which ended a four-game losing streak, pushed the Giants (7-6) into a first-place tie with the Cowboys (7-6) atop the N.F.C. East. But more important, it left the Giants in control of their playoff hopes heading into three season-ending games at MetLife Stadium — against the Redskins, the Jets and the Cowboys. Winning all three will assure them the division title and a playoff spot.

Manning has 14 passing touchdowns in the fourth quarter this season, tying an NFL record that his brother Peyton shares, and has also led six fourth quarter comebacks. The only season in which Eli has had three fourth quarter comebacks? 2007. And three of those comebacks in the Giants’ Super Bowl season came in the playoffs.