EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – There was a sense of relief in a somewhat subdued Dallas Cowboys locker room after a hard-fought victory over the New York Giants. There was little celebration.
What was important Thursday night were the numbers on the scoreboard at MetLife Stadium. Dallas Cowboys 20, New York Giants 15.
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The two-game losing streak was over and those who have been criticizing Dallas (2-2) and coach Mike McCarthy and predicting a disappointing season had been quieted for one night. The Cowboys were back to being the Cowboys, a good offense and a solid defense.
Dak Prescott threw one of his two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys beat the Giants for the seventh straight time and 14th in 15 games.
“We got to change the narrative. That’s what this game did, especially over a long weekend,” said Prescott, who completed 22 of 27 for 221 yards. “It puts us at 2-and-2. It allows us a couple of days to get our mind right, to get our body right.”
Prescott hit running back Rico Dowdle on a 15-yard screen pass for a touchdown to put Dallas ahead in the first quarter. He then found Lamb for a 55-yard catch-and-run TD on a play that ended with the receiver being called for taunting.
“I lost my first two games to them,” said Prescott, who has won his last 13 starts against New York. “It could have been a remarkable rookie year had that not happened. It’s a good matchup for us. The offensive line always sets the tone. I love playing here in New York. Cowboy fans travel well.”
Lamb slipped past two defenders and trotted into the end zone. He then fired the ball in their direction and flexed his muscles, drawing an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
“I think it was the only 1-on-1 I got all game and we exploited it,” said Lamb, who hadh seven catches for 98 yards. He still has not had a 100-yard game this season.
Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 60 and 40 yards for Dallas, which came into the game with major concerns after being thoroughly beaten at home by New Orleans and Baltimore. A new issue for the Cowboys is an apparent leg injury to star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter. Parsons said he is getting X-rays on Friday.
Greg Joseph made field goals of 52, 41, 38, 22 and 42 for the Giants (1-3), who controlled the ball for 35:37 but failed to score a touchdown at home for the second straight game. They had two field goals in a 28-6 loss to Minnesota in their opener.
What hurt New York was its inability to run against the league's worst rush defense. Dallas been giving up an average of 185.7 yards, but it held the Giants to 26 yards on 24 carries, a 1.1-yard average.
“I would say we’ve got to do a better job in the run game, and that starts with me,” coach Brian Daboll said. “But we tried a variety of things, we couldn’t really get much going.”
Daniel Jones' arm kept this one close. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards, finding sensational rookie Malik Nabers 12 times for 115 yards and Wan'Dale Robinson 11 times for 71 yards. But the one thing he could not find was the end zone.
“We don't feel good about losing,” said Jones, who has has three straight solid performance. "We didn’t didn’t do enough to win. We’re frustrated. We’re not discouraged. I think we’re still confident in our team and what we can do well, but we don't feel good about this.”
Nabers left late in the game with a concussion. Jones threw an interception on the Giants' final series after Aubrey missed a 51-yard field goal try — his first career miss from over 50 yards — to give New York one slim last shot.
If there was a bright spot for the Giants, they were at least competitive against a bitter rival. They lost last year's two games by an 89-17 margin.
The Cowboys got just what they wanted on Thursday night.
“You lose two in a row, you go through a phase where everybody is kind of uptight,” Lamb said. “Was good for us to come out 1-and-0 this week. It’s one we needed. It’s a division game. It put us in the right place.”
Injuries
Cowboys: DE DeMarcus Lawrence, who had a sack in the first half to run his career total to 61 1/2, left in the second half with a foot injury. ... Rookie starting CB Caelen Carson and backup S Markquese Bell (ankle) were inactive after being listed as doubtful. Andrew Booth started for Carson and was relieved by Amani Oruwariye at the start of the second half.
Giants: Nabers, the No. 6 overall draft pick and a breakout star, suffered the concussion on New York's next-to-last series.
Up next
Cowboys: At Pittsburgh for a Sunday night game on Oct. 6, the second of their five scheduled prime-time appearances.
Giants: At Seattle on Oct. 6.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl