ARLINGTON – As the New York Giants worked their way down the field, Tony Romo could only sit on the bench, cutting a lonely figure feeling hopeless.

With each Eli Manning completion, each first down, each second that ticked off the clock, Romo's thoughts were on his three interceptions, all of which led to Giants' touchdowns.

And when Lawrence Tynes' 37-yard field goal attempt went through the uprights to hand the Cowboys a 33-31 loss in their new stadium, Romo felt pained.

"We can't win games if I do things like that," said Romo, who completed 13 of 29 attempts for 127 yards and a touchdown.

All off-season Romo's mantra has been ball security and improved decision-making, but in the first quarter rookie free agent cornerback Bruce Johnson stepped in front of a throw to Patrick Crayton and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.

"They changed defense right at the snap," Romo said. "We thought we had a good play there, but the cornerback read it."

Romo's second interception was fluky, bouncing off Jason Witten's heel and into Kenny Phillips arms with 1:21 left in the first half. Three plays later, the Giants had a 20-14 lead with 46 seconds left.

But it was Romo's third interception that was so deflating. On first-and 10 from the New York 47, Romo thought he had Sam Hurd breaking free for a deep pass, but Phillips was lurking back for the interception.

The Giants needed four plays to cover 73 yards to take a 27-24 lead with 13:24 left in the game.

"I threw the ball thinking no one was back there," Romo said. "Without finding him, you can't do that. It's very disappointing, very frustrating that I would make a decision like that."

The Giants scored 24 points off the Cowboys' four turnovers, but what hurt Romo more was sitting on the bench as Manning directed a game-winning drive.

"It hurts right now," Romo said, "and it'll hurt again tomorrow, but I will improve from it."