The Cowboys held off their NFC East rival giants in a defensive battle

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Entering Friday night’s game, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys tied for last place in the NFC East at 1-2, a game behind the 2-1 Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys scored two goals in the first half and limited the Giants to three field goals to lead 14-9 at the half. It was another defensive battle, as neither team scored in the second half.

Dallas won for the second time this season by a final score of 20-15, but star player Micah Parsons was carted off the field late in the game with a left ankle/leg injury. He said the X-rays were negative and he will get an MRI on Friday.

Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers also exited the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a concussion.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott did not speak to the media before Thursday’s game against the Giants. He said he would say “post win.” The Cowboys won, but it wasn’t an artistic beauty. However, after Dallas was embarrassed in back-to-back home losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, the only thing that matters is getting a win in a short week.

So 2-2 is better than 1-3. If the Cowboys lose, it will mark the first time they have lost three September games since 2001, and they have been in last place in the NFC East.

Prescott was clear, especially in the first half with touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb (55 yards) and Rico Dowdle (15 yards). The defense finally stopped the run and stiffened in the red zone, holding the Giants to five field goals.

Prescott has now won 13 straight against the Giants. His last loss came in 2016 as a rookie. He tied the second-longest winning streak by a quarterback against one opponent since quarterback statistics were first tracked in 1950. Tom Brady beat the Buffalo Bills 13 straight times from 2003 to 2010, and Steve Young beat the Rams 13 straight times from 1987 to 1998. No. 14 on Thanksgiving.

Promising trends: While Lamb had some sideline issues, the best seemed to come out of him. During last year’s loss in San Francisco, Lamb kept to himself on the sideline and then followed it up with six games with at least 11 catches and seven games with more than 100 yards. In last week’s loss to New Orleans, Lamb had a spat with Prescott and did not speak to the media after the game. On Tuesday, Lamb apologized and said things would get better. In the first half alone, he had six catches for 94 yards (two season highs) and a touchdown.

Eye stats: Brandon Aubrey has played 21 games for the Cowboys. He has three 60-yard field goals in his career, including a 60-yarder in the third quarter against the Giants. It was one of the NFL records held by Brett Maher, who made four with the Cowboys in two different seasons. Aubrey made a 60-yarder last week against the Ravens. He went 2-for-2 from 60 yards this season. The rest of the league is 0-for-2, according to ESPN Research.

The silver lining: The Cowboys will have 10 days to prepare for the now undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. Time will help as there is still a lot to fix, even with the win. In the past three games, opposing quarterbacks have missed just 19 passes. Against the Saints and Ravens, it was understandable as both teams were dominant on the run. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has too much time to throw for many games after being tormented by the Cowboys, who sacked him 24 times in eight games before Friday. Oh, and they were penalized nine times in the first half alone. —Todd Archer

Next game: at Pittsburgh Steelers (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 6)

New York Giants

The Giants stayed close to the Cowboys, but still did not come away with a win. After last season, when the Giants lost 89-17 in two meetings with the Cowboys, this has to be seen as progress, right?

Sure, there are no moral victories in the NFL, but this is the third straight step in the right direction for the Giants (1-3) after a bad opener.

The gap, at least to some degree, has narrowed between the division rivals. Dallas still has the Giants. They have won 14 of their past 15 games, and Prescott has beaten them 13 straight times. New York still isn’t there yet, but this proves to be at least an improvement.

QB details: Jones was efficient, completing 29 of 40 passes (73% completion) for 281 yards with an interception on a Hail Mary in the final seconds. But the Giants were kept out of the end zone, and Jones was short on most of his deep throws. It is especially important because this is a problem at the beginning of training. There’s a lot going for Jones, but not enough. Jones has clearly played better since the opener. Having rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers (12 catches for 115 yards) certainly helps.

Eye stats: Before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion, Nabers continued to add to his streak. He became the first player in NFL history with at least 25 receptions and three touchdowns in his first four career games when he caught a 3-yard pass early in the second quarter. He now has 35 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

Disturbing trends: Giants cornerback Deonte Banks has been the closest defender to four touchdown passes this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Banks was hit again Friday night, this time by Lamb for a 55-yard score in the second quarter. The Giants hope Banks will step into the CB1 role this season. However, it has been a struggle so far.

The biggest hole in the game plan: The Giants couldn’t get anything going in the running game against the worst defense in the league. Dallas came into the contest allowing 185.7 yards on the ground per game. The Giants came into the game thinking they would be successful but had just 29 yards rushing in the first half – and they finished with 26 yards on 24 carries. — Jordan Raanan

Next game: at Seattle Seahawks (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, October 6)