Cowboys halt skid with victory over Giants / Photo: Luke Hales - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Cowboys halt skid with victory over Giants
The Dallas Cowboys snapped a two-game skid with a 20-15 victory over NFC East rivals the New York Giants on Thursday to improve to 2-2 early in the NFL season.
A trip to the Giants proved just what Dak Prescott and the Cowboys needed, with the quarterback guiding Dallas to a 13th straight win against their division foes.
Prescott threw for two touchdowns, connecting with running back Rico Dowdle on a 15-yard screen pass that put Dallas up 7-3 in the first quarter before hitting receiver CeeDee Lamb for a 55-yard catch and run TD in the second.
Lamb, who had apologized this week for a poor attitude in Sunday's loss to Baltimore, beat two defenders and coasted into the end zone, flexing his muscles in a celebration that drew a penalty for taunting.
Prescott connected on 22 of 27 passes, Lamb had seven catches for 98 yards and the Cowboys defense -- who surrendered three rushing touchdowns in their last two games and came into the contest in last place in rushing yards allowed per game -- didn't allow a touchdown.
Greg Joseph's five field goals accounted for all of New York's scoring as the Giants saw their five scoring drives stall within the Cowboys' 35-yard line.
The Cowboys defense held the Giants to 26 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Brandon Aubrey booted two field goals for Dallas, including a 60-yarder in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 17-12.
He added a 40-yard field goal in the fourth to make it 20-15 but missed a 51-yard attempt in the final minute.
That gave the Giants a final chance with 28 seconds remaining, but Dallas defender Amani Oruwariye picked off a pass from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in the waning seconds to end it.
Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards. New York's rookie receiver Malik Nabers caught 12 passes for 115 yards but departed with less than four minutes remaining, reportedly due to a concussion.
The Cowboys saw defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons exit early with injuries.
Lamb said the Cowboys had taken a hard look at themselves after dropping back-to-back home games.
"It went around the room, to be honest," he said. "Everybody had their moment, if you will. It was felt throughout the team."
He said one key to turning things around was to "play with that chip on our shoulder."
"We can't really get too content with who we are and who we have on this roster.
"Obviously, you look from top to bottom, we can go toe-to-toe with anybody," Lamb said, but added the Cowboys must "stand true to who we are, making our right plays, being what we've got to be and this will be the result."
K.Marshall--EWJ
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