The atmosphere in the Dallas Cowboys locker room was calm after their hard-fought win against the New York Giants. There wasn’t much celebration.
What mattered on Thursday night were the final scores at MetLife Stadium: Dallas Cowboys 20, New York Giants 15.
The Cowboys ended their two-game losing streak, silencing critics who had been doubting the team and coach Mike McCarthy. Dallas (2-2) looked like themselves again, showing a strong offense and a solid defense.
Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes, including one to CeeDee Lamb, and led the Cowboys to their seventh straight victory over the Giants, winning 14 of their last 15 matchups.
“We got to change the narrative. That’s what this game did, especially over a long weekend,” Prescott said after completing 22 of 27 passes 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 connected with running back Rico Dowdle for a 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. He then found Lamb for a 55-yard touchdown on a play that ended with Lamb being penalized for taunting.
“I lost my first two games to them,” Prescott noted, reflecting on his success 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 managed to evade two defenders and reached the end zone. After scoring, he tossed the ball in their direction and flexed his muscles, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“I think it was the only 1-on-1 I got all game, and we exploited it,” Lamb said, having recorded seven catches for 98 yards but still searching for his first 100-yard game this season.
Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 60 and 40 yards for Dallas, which faced many worries after being defeated by New Orleans and Baltimore.
Another concern 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 mentioned that he will get X-rays on Friday.
Greg Joseph kicked field goals of 52, 41, 38, 22, and 42 yards for the Giants (1-3), who held the ball for 35:37 but failed to score a touchdown at home for the second game in a row. They only managed two field goals in a 28-6 loss to Minnesota in their first game.
New York struggled because they couldn’t run against the league’s weakest rush defense. Dallas had been allowing an average of 185.7 rushing yards but limited the Giants to just 26 yards on 24 carries, averaging only 1.1 yards per carry.
“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 kept the game close with his passing. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards, connecting with impressive rookie Malik Nabers 12 times for 115 yards and Wan’Dale Robinson 11 times for 71 yards. However, he couldn’t find the end zone.
“We don’t feel good about losing,” said Jones, who has had three strong performances in a row. “We 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 the game late due to a concussion. Jones threw an interception on the Giants’ final drive after Aubrey missed a 51-yard field goal attempt — his first career miss from over 50 yards — which gave New York a slim last chance.
If there was a positive for the Giants, it was that they were competitive against a tough rival. Last year, they lost both games by a total of 89-17.
The Cowboys got what they needed on Thursday night.
“You lose two in a row, you go through a phase where everybody is kind of uptight,” Lamb said. “It 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.”
