EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Dallas Cowboys–New York Giants game Monday night was interrupted by a black cat just days after Halloween.
The cat made its way onto the MetLife Stadium field in the second quarter. It was on the far side away from the action for one play. It caused a two-minute delay when the cat was recognized by the teams and officials.
Security and police watched as the cat meandered near the south end zone. Police and security eventually made their way toward the feline before it ran off the field and eventually into the tunnel.
The crowd cheered and guffawed as the black cat captured the attention of the entire stadium, as well as some current and former players on social media.
If we didn’t have @saquon, we should sign that cat! The cat was elusive! @Giants
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) November 5, 2019
I’ve been in MetLife and I’m wonder how this Black Cat got in the stadium and did they ever catch em after he ran in the tunnel? Lol We need answers!! 🤣🤣 #MNF
— Tre Boston (@TreBos10) November 5, 2019
The Giants led 9-3 at the time but were outscored by 25 points after the cat made its appearance. The Cowboys ended up winning 37-18.
“I haven’t seen one glaring at me that far away before,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “I know he was looking at me the whole time he was out there. Things did kinda change when that black cat came out.”
The black cat is only part of the strange or memorable things that have gone on between the Cowboys and Giants at MetLife.
In Jason Garrett’s first game as Cowboys interim coach in 2010, the lights went out when a transformer blew in the third quarter, causing a seven-minute delay. In 2014, Odell Beckham Jr. made the ridiculous one-handed catch for a 43-yard touchdown while falling backward.
Black cats also aren’t completely unfamiliar to New York teams. A black cat stared down the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium on Sept. 9, 1969. The Mets would eventually overtake the first-place Cubs and win the World Series to cap a miracle season, and the black cat was credited with putting a hex on the visiting team.
The visiting Cowboys entered Monday night in first place in the NFC East.
ESPN’s Todd Archer contributed to this report.