Cowboys hold off NFC East rival Giants in defensive battle
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- |A|
Entering Thursday night's game, |B|
the New York Giants |C|
and Dallas Cowboys shared |D|
last place in the |E|
NFC East at 1-2, |F|
a game behind the |G|
2-1 Washington Commanders and |H|
Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys scored |J|
two first-half touchdowns and |K|
limited the Giants to |L|
three field goals to |M|
lead 14-9 at the |O|
half. It was a |P|
defensive battle the rest |Q|
of the way, as |R|
neither team scored a |S|
touchdown in the second |U|
half. Dallas picked up its |V|
second win of the |Y|
season with a final |Z|
score of 20-15, but |A|
star edge rusher Micah |B|
Parsons was carted off |C|
the field late in |D|
the game to get |E|
an X-ray. Dak Prescott did |F|
not speak to the |G|
media prior to Thursday's |H|
game against the Giants. |J|
He said he would |K|
speak "post win." The |L|
Cowboys got the win, |M|
but it wasn't an |O|
artistic beauty. However, after |P|
Dallas was embarrassed in |Q|
back-to-back home losses to |R|
the New Orleans Saints |S|
and Baltimore Ravens, the |U|
only thing that mattered |V|
was getting a win |Y|
on a short week. Being |Z|
2-2 is so much |A|
better than 1-3. Had |B|
the Cowboys lost, it |C|
would have marked the |D|
first time they lost |E|
three September games since |F|
2001, and they would |G|
have been in last |H|
place in the NFC |J|
East. Prescott was sharp, especially |K|
in the first half |L|
with touchdown passes to |M|
CeeDee Lamb (55 yards) |O|
and Rico Dowdle (15 |P|
yards). The defense finally |Q|
stopped the run and |R|
stiffened in the red |S|
zone, holding the Giants |U|
to five field goals. Prescott |V|
has now won 13 |Y|
straight against the Giants. |Z|
His last loss came |A|
in 2016 as a |B|
rookie. He tied the |C|
second-longest win streak by |D|
a quarterback against a |E|
single opponent since quarterback |F|
stats were first tracked |G|
in 1950. Tom Brady |H|
beat the Buffalo Bills |J|
13 straight times from |K|
2003 to 2010, and |L|
Steve Young beat the |M|
Rams 13 straight from |O|
1987 to 1998. Prescott |P|
will get a chance |Q|
for No. 14 on |R|
Thanksgiving. Promising trend: When Lamb |S|
has some sideline issues, |U|
the best seems to |V|
come out of him. |Y|
During last year's loss |Z|
at San Francisco, Lamb |A|
kept to himself on |B|
the sideline and then |C|
followed with six games |D|
with at least 11 |E|
catches and seven games |F|
with more than 100 |G|
yards. In last week's |H|
loss to New Orleans, |J|
Lamb had a spat |K|
with Prescott and did |L|
not speak to the |M|
media after the game. |O|
On Tuesday, Lamb was |P|
apologetic and said he |Q|
would be better. In |R|
the first half alone, |S|
he had six catches |U|
for 94 yards (both |V|
season highs) and a |Y|
touchdown. Eye-popping stat: Brandon Aubrey |Z|
has played 21 games |A|
for the Cowboys. He |B|
has three field goals |C|
of 60 yards in |D|
his career, including a |E|
60-yarder in the third |F|
quarter against the Giants. |G|
That's one off the |H|
NFL record held by |J|
Brett Maher, who made |K|
four with the Cowboys |L|
over two different stints. |M|
Aubrey made a 60-yarder |O|
last week against the |P|
Ravens. He is 2-for-2 |Q|
from 60 yards this |R|
season. The rest of |S|
the league is 0-for-2, |U|
according to ESPN Research. Silver |V|
lining: The Cowboys will have |Y|
10 days to get |Z|
ready for the presently |A|
undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. The |B|
time will help because |C|
there is still a |D|
lot that needs to |E|
be corrected, even with |F|
the win. In the |G|
past three games, opposing |H|
quarterbacks have missed on |J|
only 19 passes. Against |K|
the Saints and Ravens, |L|
that was understandable because |M|
both teams were so |O|
dominant on the run. |P|
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones |Q|
had too much time |R|
to throw for much |S|
of the game after |U|
previously being tormented by |V|
the Cowboys, who sacked |Y|
him 24 times in |Z|
eight games prior to |A|
Thursday. Oh, and they |B|
were penalized nine times |C|
in the first half |D|
alone. --Todd Archer The Giants |E|
kept it close against |F|
the Cowboys, but they |G|
still didn't come away |H|
with a win. After |J|
last season, when the |K|
Giants were outscored 89-17 |L|
in their two meetings |M|
with the Cowboys, this |O|
has to be viewed |P|
as progress, right? Sure, there |Q|
are no moral victories |R|
in the NFL, but |S|
this was the third |U|
straight step in the |V|
right direction for the |Y|
Giants (1-3) after an |Z|
ugly opener. The gap, at |A|
least to some degree, |B|
has narrowed between the |C|
division rivals. Dallas still |D|
owns the Giants. It |E|
has won 14 of |F|
the past 15 matchups, |G|
and Prescott has beaten |H|
them 13 straight times. |J|
New York still isn't |K|
quite there yet, but |L|
this proved it's at |M|
least improving. QB breakdown: Jones |O|
was efficient, completing 29 |P|
of 40 passes (73% |Q|
completion) for 281 yards |R|
with an interception on |S|
a Hail Mary in |U|
the final seconds. But |V|
the Giants were kept |Y|
out of the end |Z|
zone, and Jones was |A|
short on most of |B|
his deep throws. It's |C|
especially notable considering this |D|
was a problem early |E|
in training camp. There |F|
was a lot of |G|
good for Jones, but |H|
it was not quite |J|
enough. Jones is clearly |K|
playing better since the |L|
opener. Having rookie wide |M|
receiver Malik Nabers (12 |O|
catches for 115 yards) |P|
certainly helps. Eye-popping stat: Prior to |Q|
leaving the game in |R|
the fourth quarter with |S|
a concussion, Nabers kept |U|
adding to his records. |V|
He became the first |Y|
player in NFL history |Z|
with at least 25 |A|
receptions and three touchdowns |B|
in his first four |C|
career games when he |D|
caught a 3-yard pass |E|
early in the second |F|
quarter. He now has |G|
35 receptions for 386 |H|
yards and three touchdowns |J|
in four games. Troubling trend: |K|
Giants top cornerback Deonte |L|
Banks has been the |M|
nearest defender on four |O|
touchdown passes already this |P|
season, according to NFL |Q|
Next Gen Stats. Banks |R|
was beat again on |S|
Thursday night, this time |U|
by Lamb for a |V|
55-yard score in the |Y|
second quarter. The Giants |Z|
were hoping Banks would |A|
step into the CB1 |B|
role this season. Instead, |C|
it has been a |D|
struggle so far. Biggest hole |E|
in the game plan: |F|
The Giants weren't able |G|
to get anything going |H|
in the running game |J|
against the league's worst |K|
run defense. Dallas came |L|
into the contest allowing |M|
185.7 yards on the |O|
ground per contest. The |P|
Giants came into the |Q|
game thinking they would |R|
have success but had |S|
only 29 yards rushing |U|
in the first half |V|
-- and they finished |Y|
with 26 yards on |Z|
24 carries. -- Jordan Raanan
