ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys remembered what it felt like to win at AT&T Stadium again with their 27-20 Thanksgiving Day victory against the New York Giants.
You can forgive some of them if they had forgotten, since 334 days had passed since their most recent home win, against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 30, 2023.
"It was definitely overdue," coach Mike McCarthy said. "It was important to get the win on a lot of fronts, but it was really important to get a home win."
Before January's loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round, the Cowboys had won 16 straight home games, the second-longest streak in franchise history. Before Thursday, the Cowboys had lost six straight games at AT&T Stadium and set an NFL record by trailing by at least 20 points in all six.
With Thursday's win, the Cowboys avoided the third 0-6 home start, happily skipping away from the 1960 team that went 0-11-1 in the first year of the franchise and the 1989 Cowboys who went 1-15 in Jerry Jones' first year as owner and general manager.
"I hate it so much for our fans to have this run of losses when we've been so proud of our home winning streak," Jones said. "So it's good to get this win here at home."
In a span of five days, the Cowboys have won two NFC East games, having beaten the Washington Commanders 34-26 at Northwest Stadium on Sunday. It's the Cowboys' second two-game winning streak of the season. They beat the Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers in Weeks 4 and 5 to improve to 3-2 before losing their next five games.
At 5-7, the Cowboys are outside the playoff chase at the moment, but their next two games come against the 4-7 Cincinnati Bengals on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" on Dec. 9 and the 3-8 Carolina Panthers on Dec. 15.
"We feel a lot differently today than we did Saturday night going into Washington. That's fair and accurate. It's a good feeling," McCarthy said. "This is where we deserve to be. We've had to fight to get here. We're still in the valley of adversity. We've taken two steps forward, but we've still got a long ways to go. We recognize that."
To beat the Giants for the eighth straight time, the Cowboys ran the ball. Rico Dowdle became the first 100-yard rusher for the Cowboys since Tony Pollard last season in Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals. The 26-game drought without a 100-yard rusher was the longest stretch in team history.
Defensively, the Cowboys shut down a limited New York offense that was starting its third quarterback of the season, Drew Lock. The Cowboys tied a season high with six sacks, and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown changed the complexion of the game with an acrobatic pick-six of a Lock pass in the second quarter that gave the Cowboys a lead they would not relinquish.
"I knew a play was coming and I've been told all week that play is coming," Overshown said. "I didn't know when it was coming, but it was coming. I was just playing football. [Saw] the ball, tipped it, and I was just praying the whole time that it stayed up. I was like, 'Man, please let my speed, for once, be fast enough to get to this ball.'"
The defense has slowly improved this season. Micah Parsons had 1.5 sacks Thursday and has 6.5 on the season despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain. With Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins next week, he knows the Bengals will be a different challenge.
"Now my focus is heading to the Bengals, understanding how they're going to attack us, who they got. They got some dudes," Parsons said. "Hopefully we get D-Law [DeMarcus Lawrence] and maybe Trevon [Diggs] hopefully so we're fully loaded, and I know they'll be fully loaded. I'm looking forward to that."
Lawrence has not played since Sept. 26 because of a mid-foot sprain. Diggs has missed the past two games with groin and knee issues. On Thursday, the Cowboys lost safety Juanyeh Thomas and cornerback Josh Butler to knee injuries.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb did not return after aggravating a right shoulder injury in the third quarter. He dropped three passes in the game after dropping just four in the first 11 games of the season.
Lamb suffered a sprained AC joint in the Nov. 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons but has not missed a game despite saying Tuesday this is the most beaten up physically he has been in his career.
With 11 days until the Cincinnati game, the Cowboys' hope is Lamb will be OK.
"The rest might be the most important part of the schedule," McCarthy said. "If you just look at what we've been dealing with, rest and recovery will really help us. The schedule is set up for our players to be on a bye week. They have some responsibility on Monday. We'll do a later start on Wednesday. I do want them to get away, get their batteries charged and be ready to go.
"We are going to have to play our best football, clearly, in front of us."
tag,
giants vs cowboys
cowboys vs giants
cowboys
dallas cowboys
cowboys game
giants
cowboys game today
dallas cowboys game
ny giants
cooper rush
rico dowdle
cowboys schedule
new york giants
new york giants vs dallas cowboys match player stats
cowboys giants
demarvion overshown
giants cowboys
cowboys score
giants game
dallas
where to watch dallas cowboys vs new york giants
dallas cowboys schedule
where to watch new york giants vs dallas cowboys
cowboys thanksgiving game
dallas cowboys game today
nfl score
dallas cowboys games
dallas vs giants
giants vs cowboys channel
giants - cowboys
overshown
giants score
dallas game
cowboys game thanksgiving
what channel is the cowboys game on
nyg
overshown cowboys
giants vs cowboys prediction
giants depth chart
where to watch cowboys game
new york giants vs dallas cowboys
cowboy game
dallas cowboys vs new york giants match player stats
dallas cowboys score
cowboys vs
giants schedule
dallas score
did the cowboys win today
dallas cowboys vs new york giants
cowboys football
giants vs cowboys where to watch
what time do the cowboys play today
how to watch cowboys game today
cowboys vs giants predictions
giants vs cowboys live
where can i watch the cowboys game
giants vs cowboys streaming
what time do the cowboys play
where to watch giants vs cowboys
cowboys giants game
trevon diggs
cowboys game channel
dallas cowboys roster
go.fox sports.com
cowboys game streaming
dowdle cowboys
dowdle
cowboys schedule 2024
what time is the cowboys game today
jalen tolbert
dallas game today
where to watch the cowboys game
where to watch cowboys vs giants
dallas cowboys game today live
what channel is cowboys game on
nyg vs dallas
giants roster
fox sports app
watch cowboys game
how to watch cowboys game
giants game today
new york giants games
how to watch the cowboys game
giants qb depth chart
what channel is the cowboys game on today
giants football
who won the cowboys game
giants vs cowboys what channel
cowboys game where to watch
how to watch giants vs cowboys
dallas cowboys schedule 2024
where to watch cowboys game today
what channel is the giants game on today
where to stream cowboys game
dallas qb
what channel is the dallas cowboys game on
giants cowboys prediction
cowboys stats
giants cowboys channel
drew lock draft
cowboys giants prediction
giants cowboys game
cowboys channel
cowboys vs giants channel
cowboys and giants
giants vs cowboys how to watch
dallas cowboys channel
cowboys overshown
how to stream cowboys game today
how to watch dallas cowboys game
giants stats
how to watch the cowboys game today
giants cowboys streaming
stream cowboys game
cowboys giants channel
what time does the cowboys play today
nfl inactives
dallas cowboy game
where can i watch the cowboys game today
cowboys vs giants streaming
stream cowboys game today
cowboys vs giants where to watch
cowboys giants streaming
cowboys injury report
ny giants schedule
giants vs cowboys stream
what channel is the giants game on
giants and cowboys
cowboys game live
dallas giants game
Comments
Post a Comment