When Stevie Brown signed with the New York Giants, his third NFL team in as many years, he was looking for the right fit.

Eight games into the season, Brown looks as if the defense was custom-tailored to his 5-foot-11, 221-pound frame.

The safety recorded his team-high fourth and fifth interceptions of the year against the Dallas Cowboys, and led the team with eight tackles in Sunday's 29-24 victory on the road.

"I was just in the position that the coaches put me in," Brown said. "The ball came up there, and I was just able to make plays on it."

That seems to be happening a lot lately.

After spending the first quarter of the season primarily on special teams, Brown took over for the injured Kenny Phillips (knee) at the beginning of October. Sunday was his fourth straight start opposite Antrel Rolle, and Brown has now recorded interceptions in three of the last four games (and four in the last six).

It came on a night when Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw four of them on 62 attempts. Brown grabbed the first one midway through the first quarter and returned it 37 yards, setting up Lawrence Tynes' second field goal of the game. Brown's second (and Romo's fourth) came on a toe-tapper down the right sideline with 1:14 remaining in the game, when Dallas had driven inside the Giants' 20-yard line trailing by five points.

The play helped avoid a potentially disastrous loss, given that the Giants were ahead 23-0 before giving up 24 unanswered points.

"We're an optimistic defense," Brown said. "We can never let our heads get down. We just have to keep fighting."

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