The Dallas Cowboys won't earn any style points for their victory on "Thursday Night Football," but will take the sloppy win that halted a two-game losing streak.
The Cowboys defeated the New York Giants, 20-15, in a penalty flag-riddled game at MetLife Stadium in which the two teams combined for 15 penalties (11 for the Cowboys).
Firt-half touchdowns by Rico Dowdle and CeeDee Lamb put Dallas up 14-6 in the second quarter, and the advantage proved too large for the Giants to overcome. The Giants offense couldn't reach the end zone, as the team settled for five field goals by kicker Greg Joseph. That wasn't going to cut it against a potent Cowboys offense.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 22 of 27 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Lamb finished with seven receptions for 98 yards and the TD. Prescott has now won 13 consecutive starts against the Giants.
The Giants offense struggled to create any explosive plays. Quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 281 yards on 29 completions. Rookie receiver Malik Nabers had 12 receptions for 115 yards, but was taken to the locker room late in the game with a concussion. Running back Devin Singletary (14 carries, 24 yards) struggled against a Cowboys defense that allowed 274 yards rushing a week ago.
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The win moved the Cowboys' record to 2-2, while the Giants fell to 1-3 and sit alone in last place in the NFC East.
Of concern for the Cowboys moving forward are injuries to defensive stars Micah Parsons — who was carted off the field late in the game — and DeMarcus Lawrence.
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Amani Oruwariye picked off a Daniel Jones pass intended for wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.
Just when it seemed the Cowboys were going to ice the game, kicker Brandon Aubrey has a rare missed field goal.
This attempt came from 51 yards out with 32 seconds remaining, giving the Giants ball back down five but without any timeouts remaining.
Daniel Jones nearly found Malik Nabers for a first down on a fourth-and-6 but the rookie receiver couldn't quite corral it while keeping both of his feet in bounds.
The Cowboys got the ball back near midfield while Nabers remained down on the ground. He was eventually helped to a seated position, got up and walked to the blue medical tent. He was then taken to the locker room.
Micah Parsons has had to come out of the TNF game a couple of times, but he got dinged up again late in the fourth quarter. He was trying to rush Daniel Jones on a third down when he had his left leg rolled up on by Giants right guard Greg Van Roten.
Parsons was able to walk off the field with assistance but he headed straight for the blue medical tent.
Brandon Aubrey's second field goal of the game capped a promising 10-play, 48-yard drive that stalled in Giants territory. Aubrey's 40-yarder extended the Cowboys' lead to five points.
Moving forward, field goals might not cut it for the Giants.
If you're counting as home, that's five field goals for Giants kicker Greg Joseph, whose leg is keep his team in the game.
Joseph's 42-yard field goal with 11 minutes left in the game kept the Giants within field goal striking distance of the Cowboys.
Joseph has made field goals from 52, 41, 38, 22 and now 42 yards in the game.
Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys' top cornerback, was taken to the locker room immediately after making a tackle on Giants running Devin Singletary.
The Cowboys' training staff bypassed the blue tent on the sideline. Diggs (dehydration) was announced as questionable to return, but was back in the game after getting an IV in the locker room. He didn't even miss a Giants possession.
The Cowboys could be without one of their top defensive players as defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) is questionable to return with an injury that occurred on the Giants' first drive of the third quarter.
He was initially examined on the sidelines before being taken to the locker room.
After allowing the Giants to score on their first four non-kneel-down drives, the Cowboys finally got off the field and forced a punt after Jourdan Lewis tackled Wan'Dale Robinson short of the sticks on a third-and-10.
The Cowboys get the ball back at their own 18-yard line, leading by five with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
Another week, another make 60-plus-yard make by Brandon Aubrey. The 2023 All-Pro came onto the field after Dallas' opening drive of the first half stalled out. He split the uprights from 60 yards, making him an incredible 16-of-16 on kicks from 50-plus during his career.
Last week, Aubrey made a 65-yard field goal that was officially the second-longest in NFL history.
The Giants marched 77 yards over 10 plays to open the second half, but the Cowboys once again held them to just a field goal.
Greg Joseph makes the 22-yarder to cut Dallas' lead to 14-12.
Clay Martin's crew was busy during the first half of the Cowboys-Giants "Thursday Night Football" game. The officials called a combined 12 penalties in the first half, much to the disdain of TNF play-by-play man Al Michaels.
Dallas was called for nine infractions in total and lost 70 yards because of them. The Giants had three for 25 yards.
The most notable flag of the evening from Martin was one his crew picked up. Originally, Rico Dowdle's touchdown was called back because of a hold, but the crew decided not to call it.
The Cowboys couldn't generate momentum on their final possession of the first half, punting it to the Giants with 14 seconds left. New York took a knee to close out the frame, trailing 14-9.
Both offense have moved the ball well as each quarterback has been efficient. Dak Prescott completed 14-of-16 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns while Daniel Jones went 13-of-15 for 142 yards.
The Giants score field goals on all three of their non-kneel-down drives while the Cowboys scored two touchdowns but punted twice. New York will get the ball to start the second half, hoping to reclaim the lead from Dallas.
The Cowboys defense continues to bend but not break. Dallas sacked Daniel Jones on third down despite Micah Parsons being held, and New York settled for a 38-yard field goal.
The kick from Greg Joseph was good, and now, the Cowboys will try to answer the Giants' scoring drive with 1:06 left in the first half.
The Giants decided to go for it on fourth-and-inches from about midfield. Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson came into the backfield unblocked and appeared to have Singletary stopped for a big loss.
Instead, Devin Singletary spun out of the first down to get the stop and keep New York's drive going.
Mike McCarthy challenged whether Giants running back Devin Singletary fumbled the ball on a first-down carry that went for no gain. Singletary appeared to lose control of the ball only after his knee hit the ground, and Clay Martin's crew upheld the call.
The Cowboys now have one challenge remaining for the rest of the game.
One play after Hunter Luepke converted a fourth-and-inches with an outside run, Prescott found Lamb on a downfield route for a big gain. Lamb cut inside after making the catch and waltzed into the end zone untouched from there.
Lamb was whistled for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but the touchdown stood. Brandon Aubrey made the 48-yard extra point to extend Dallas' lead to 14-6.
The officials removed Micah Parsons from the game before the Giants' last third-and-9 after taking an apparent shot to the head while he and his teammates tackled Wan'Dale Robinson on second down.
Parsons left the field under his own power. He was taken to the blue medical tent and is getting treatment there.
Parsons later rejoined his teammates on the bench. He is slated to return to the game after suffering what was announced in the press box as a neck injury.
Daniel Jones completed a short pass to Malik Nabers on a third-and-9, but DeMarvion Overshown made a nice tackle to stop him for a gain of just 3 yards. The Giants sent Greg Joseph on to attempt a 41-yard field goal and he split the uprights to make it 7-6 Cowboys.
Wan'Dale Robinson was a key force in New York's scoring drive, as he turned a catch short of the sticks on an earlier third-and-9 into an 11-yard gain. He has five catches for 34 yards thus far tonight.
The Cowboys hold an early lead over the Giants, but both teams are moving the ball well on offense. Dak Prescott and Daniel Jones have combined to throw just one incompletion while their top playmakers, CeeDee Lamb and Malik Nabers, have racked up 40 yards and 35 yards respectively.
Dallas' defense is looking stronger than the unit that struggled badly over the last couple of weeks, but the Giants are still 2-for-3 on third downs early in the game.
The Cowboys dialed up a screen pass on second-and-goal from the 15 after a penalty on left tackle Tyler Guyton. Running back Rico Dowdle caught the dump-off from Prescott and took it through a maze of Giants defenders untouched for a touchdown.
Officials originally threw a flag on the play, but opted to pick it up. Brandon Aubrey made the extra point to make it 7-3 Cowboys.
CeeDee Lamb played a big role on Dallas' first scoring drive. He caught four passes for 30 yards and had a 10-yard run on pitch play where he lined up in the backfield.
After Wan'Dale Robinson was stopped short of the first-down marker on a third-and-10, Brian Daboll opts to kick the field goal. Greg Joseph splits the uprights from 52 yards away, continuing the trend of kicker success from beyond 50 to start the 2024 NFL season.
The Giants lead 3-0, and Daniel Jones is off to a hot start, completing 3-of-3 passes for 53 yards on the first drive.
The Giants had more success on their first third-down attempt than the Cowboys. Daniel Jones found Nabers wide open down the left sideline for a 39-yard gain. The rookie wide-out put an ankle-breaking move on the cornerback Booth to create the big play.
The Cowboys took just 1:07 to go three-and-out to start the game. Rico Dowdle gained 5 yards on two carries before Dak Prescott through an incompletion to CeeDee Lamb on third down.
The Giants will now look to open the scoring, starting with the ball on their own 15-yard line.
Prescott has a jersey patch in the shape of the Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy. The NFL instituted the uniform decal in 2017 to honor past winners of the award.
Prescott won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2022 and started wearing the patch during the 2023 NFL season.
The Cowboys and Giants game will kick off Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season with "Thursday Night Football" at 8:15 p.m. ET.
"Thursday Night Football" will be exclusively available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Viewers in the New York market can tune to Fox 5 to watch the matchup. For those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can tune to Fox 4.
Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will be in the broadcast booth for Prime Video, with Kaylee Hartung (sideline) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) providing additional coverage.
The Prime Video pregame, halftime and postgame shows feature Charissa Thompson as host, as well as former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth as analysts.
Taylor Rooks is the feature reporter for Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" coverage. Albert Breer provides reports and analysis.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for the Cowboys-Giants matchup on "Thursday Night Football":
The Cowboys are favorites to defeat the Giants, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024 including the ESPN BET app and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
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Cowboys' inactive players:
Giants' inactive players:
Puka Nacua holds the current record for the most receiving yards by a rookie wide receiver in NFL history, with 1,486 yards in 2023 with the Los Angeles Rams. Nacua exceeded fifth-round expectations: He finished second behind C.J. Stroud for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Before Nacua's historic season, Bill Groman held the rookie receiving yard record for 62 years, reaching 1,473 yards in the AFL. Groman accumulated his rookie stats in just 14 games, while Nacua took 17 games to break the record. Puka passed his fellow active wide receiver, Ja'Marr Chase (1,455 yards, 2021) and Justin Jefferson (1,400 yards, 2020), for the most receiving yards in the Super Bowl era.
Malik Nabers has accumulated 271 receiving yards through the first three weeks of the 2024 season. This terrific start puts him on pace to break Nacua's record.
"Thursday Night Football" will mark the first time that Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs will face off in the NFL, but there's already some beef being grilled between them. Here's why. — Ayrton Ostly
Micah Parsons is tied for 11th in sacks through a player's first 53 games. These are the 10 players ahead of him and their sack totals:
Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was tied for 90th with just 27 sacks in his first 53 career games.
Taylor became a top-tier pass rusher later in his career than Parsons has. Through his first three years (including the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season), Taylor had 26 sacks. He had 98 over the following seven seasons, starting in 1984 with his age-25 year – the same age Parsons is this year.
Parsons has statistically been the better pass rusher to start his career. But it was the middle of Taylor's career that made him one of the best defensive players in NFL history. The next few seasons will decide if Parsons can enter the same conversation.
Brandon Aubrey made the longest kick of his career during Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season. On Dallas' first possession, he attempted a 65-yarder in an effort to cut into the Baltimore Ravens' 7-0 lead.
The kick split the uprights with room to spare. While Aubrey's field goal was among the longest ever kicked, it came up just a yard short short of beating Justin Tucker's record of 66 yards.
Below is the full list of nine kickers to make field goals from at least 63 yards or longer:
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn left Dallas to take the head coaching job with the Washington Commanders in the offseason. In 2024, the Cowboys rank among the worst defenses in the NFL.
According to one former NFL head coach, it didn't have to be this way.
"I could've fixed [the Cowboys' defense] in a New York minute," Rex Ryan told ESPN's DiPietro and Rothenberg. "But, that being said, they couldn't pony up the money, or I would've been there." — Jack McKessy
These teams have a lengthy history as division rivals. The Cowboys and Giants rivalry has been played 124 times (including 1 postseason game), with Dallas winning 75 games and the Giants winning 47 games. They have also tied 2 times.
Daniel Jones is 1-7 in his career against Dallas and Dak Prescott is 12-2 against New York.
Dallas Cowboys injury report
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New York Giants injury report
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The winner of "Thursday Night Football" in Week 4 will move into third behind the Washington Commanders in the NFC East. The loser will be in sole possession of last place with a 1-3 record.
Eagles — 2-1
Commanders — 2-1
Giants — 1-2
Cowboys — 1-2
The weather in East Rutherford, N.J., could affect the Giants and Cowboys "Thursday Night Football" game in the second half. Temperatures are expected to be in the 70s during game time. However, there is a chance of rain from 9-11 p.m. in the MetLife Stadium area.
According to the Weather Channel, winds will max out at 5 mph, but there is a chance of storms later.
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