The Dallas Cowboys have become accustomed to trailing in the first quarter through four games, thanks to a defense that has been generous. Unlike the past two losses, against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, the Cowboys' offense was able to answer after the New York Giants opened with a field goal drive Thursday night. It wasn't always pretty thanks to some penalties, but the drive ended with a 15-yard screen pass from Dak Prescott to running back Rico Dowdle to give Dallas a 7-3 lead. The Giants might have thought the Cowboys should have had a third penalty on the drive with tight end Jake Ferguson getting away with what could have been called a hold while blocking for Dowdle. Prescott completed all nine passes on the drive to six different players: CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, Ferguson, Brandin Cooks, Hunter Luepke and, ultimately, Dowdle. As a result, the Cowboys have their first first-quarter lead since the opener. After allowing an opening-drive field goal against the Browns, the Cowboys answered with a six-play, 70-yard drive that lasted 6:55. Against the Giants, they went 75 yards on 12 plays and ate up 6:57. In the second quarter, the Cowboys scored again. Admittedly, last week was not a good one for Lamb, who fumbled, dropped a pass and had a penalty while also getting into a brief spat with Prescott. All is well so far Thursday. Lamb and Prescott connected on a 55-yard touchdown in the second quarter as he ran away from cornerback Deonte Banks down the sideline and then saw safety Tyler Nubin slip. Lamb threw the ball toward Banks after he crossed the goal line, which drew a taunting flag, but Brandon Aubrey was able to make the 48-yard extra point. It was Lamb's fifth catch of the game, matching his season high, for 85 yards. The Cowboys have done what they haven’t done since the season opener. They lead the Giants 14-9 at halftime. The Cowboys, who rank 32nd against the run and 30th in points allowed, gave up only 29 rushing yards and three field goals in the first half. They trailed the Saints 35-16 at halftime in Week 2, allowing six consecutive touchdown drives, and fell behind the Ravens 21-6 last week in allowing three touchdown drives in Baltimore’s first five possessions. The Giants scored on all three possessions (aside from a kneel down to end the half) but saw their drives end at the Dallas 34, 22 and 20 with Greg Joseph kicking field goals of 52, 41 and 38 yards. Daniel Jones went 13-of-15 for 142 yards with rookie sensation Malik Nabers catching five for 59. The Cowboys outgained the Giants 185 to 167 as Dak Prescott was 14-of-16 for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Rico Dowdle scored on a 15-yard reception, and CeeDee Lamb had a 55-yard score. Lamb has six catches for 94 yards and a run for 10 yards. The Cowboys had nine penalties for 70 yards in the first half and should have had another for 15 yards. Officials botched a facemask penalty, costing the Giants when Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown grabbed the facemask of Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger. Officials penalized the Giants, denying them a first down and a chance to extend a drive that ended in a field goal after the penalty. Cowboys vs. Giants has become a staple of the early-season prime-time landscape of the NFL, and this year the ancient NFC East rivals play their first matchup on Thursday Night Football to open up Week 4. Both teams enter with 1-2 records, with their lone win coming over the Cleveland Browns. Dallas enters the matchup reeling on its defensive front seven, allowing a league-worst 185.7 rushing yards per game and getting steamrolled on the ground by the Saints and Ravens over the past two weeks. The Cowboys have allowed 464 rushing yards in the past two defeats — only two other teams have given up that many rushing yards in three games. The Giants will likely try to exploit that, even though they're in the middle of the pack in rushing offense. Devin Singletary has gotten going with a couple of rushing touchdowns over the past two weeks and Daniel Jones is 21st among qualified quarterbacks in passer rating. The Giants' secondary was the team's biggest question coming into tonight and that weakness has helped Dallas to its 14-9 lead at halftime. With both Adoree' Jackson and Dru Phillips out with calf injuries, there is a big hole in the cornerback room. Complicating matters is Dallas No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb often lines up in the slot – which Phillips had been lining up in. That weakness and questionable coverage on Lamb showed itself on the first Cowboys drive of the second quarter. After going for it on 4th-and-1 at their own 39-yard line, Dak Prescott took a shot at Lamb and connected. Lamb scored a 55-yard touchdown but earned a penalty for taunting when he threw the ball back at Banks who was in coverage. The Cowboys’ defense had a much better display in the first half than their start to the last two games, at least when it comes to the scoreboard. Although the defense limited the Giants to just nine points and haven’t allowed a touchdown, a lot of that is because of the Giants’ ineptitude on offense. A better throw to Malik Nabers on New York’s first pass attempt could have resulted in an immediate touchdown. The Giants also put together a 15-play drive on their last drive of the first half, which came after an 11-play drive before that. The Cowboys were able to tighten things up on each of those drive, resulting in a total of nine points for the Giants. On the one hand, the Cowboys have only allowed nine points. On the other hand, the Giants have scored on each drive and have not punted. In genuinely good news for the Cowboys, Mazi Smith is playing his best game as a pro. And perhaps the best news for the Dallas defense from the first half is that Micah Parsons and DeMarvion Overshown, both of whom were checked out in the medical tent, returned to play. I’m not sure if the Cowboys are playing any better than the last two weeks. They might just be leading because they’re playing the Giants. It’s clear, though, that getting CeeDee Lamb involved was a major part of the game plan. Coming off Lamb’s struggles against the Ravens, he has been locked in, catching all six of his targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. He also has a 10-yard rush. Dak Prescott has been accurate, completing 14 of 16 passes for 164 yards, two touchdowns and a 149.0 passer rating. The running game still looks bad. Rico Dowdle has four carries for eight yards. Ezekiel Elliott has one touch for five yards. Lamb leads the way with his lone 10-yard carry. There’s no reason the Cowboys should lose this game. With that said, they’ve done nothing to get rid of the taste from their previous two performances. On the Giants offensive side of the ball, Devin Singletary’s tendency to fumble nearly wreaked havoc on the Giants' first drive of the second quarter. Luckily for the Giants, Singletary was ruled down before he fumbled and the eight-minute drive continued before resulting in a 38-yard field goal. While Singletary received some attention on the sidelines from trainers, he returned to the game and later showed some sick spin moves to get a first down on a 4th-and-1 play. The field goal helped the Giants recoup some of the Lamb TD points. Efficient QB play for both sides, but the 2-0 edge in the TD department is the difference. The Cowboys’ defense had a much better display in the first half than their start to the last two games, at least when it comes to the scoreboard. Although the defense limited the Giants to just nine points and haven’t allowed a touchdown, a lot of that is because of the Giants’ ineptitude on offense. A better throw to Malik Nabers on New York’s first pass attempt could have resulted in an immediate touchdown. The Giants also put together a 15-play drive on their last drive of the first half, which came after an 11-play drive before that. The Cowboys were able to tighten things up on each of those drive, resulting in a total of nine points for the Giants. Micah Parsons was checked for a neck injury on the Cowboys' last defensive drive. He's been cleared to return but is not on the field to start the latest Giants drive. On Jim’s point, CeeDee Lamb got out to a relatively slow start this season, but that has changed today with his having scored 20.5 PPR points already. This is the eighth time Lamb has scored 20+ PPR points in the first half. He needs another 14 PPR points to set a new first-half career high, which he set in a Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams last season. CeeDee Lamb continues to roast the New York Giants. He entered the game averaging 6.5 catches for 90.3 yards in eight career games against New York. He is well on his way to surpassing those totals tonight. He already has five catches for 85 yards, and there's still plenty of time left in the first half for him to do damage.