The Cowboys lead the game, the defense shines in the first home win of the season against the Giants: The most important findings

By Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf, Charlotte Carroll and Cale Clinton

The Dallas Cowboys produced an outstanding defensive performance and Rico Dowdle’s first 100-yard rushing game of his career in a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys (5-7) ended a six-game home losing streak, while the Giants (2-10) found no offensive momentum after another quarterback change.

The Giants’ offense continued to struggle under its third quarterback in three weeks. After a 13-play, 70-yard opening touchdown led to the Giants’ first first-quarter touchdown since Week 3, only two of New York’s next 11 drives were longer than 20 yards.

After last week’s starting quarterback, Tommy DeVito, was ruled out of Thursday’s contest due to a sore throwing forearm, Drew Lock was named the next man up. The result was largely the same for New York. Lock finished his first career start with the Giants 21-for-32 for 178 yards, one interception and six sacks, along with another 57 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. The Giants recorded their fourth straight game with fewer than 200 passing yards, the longest active streak in the league. New York orchestrated only two plays all afternoon that were longer than 20 yards – both of which came on scrambles by Lock.

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Giants’ Drew Lock starts at QB vs. Cowboys

The star of the game was Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. Overshown was responsible for securing both of Dallas’ turnovers – recovering a fumble forced by Eric Kendricks on a Tyrone Tracy carry and catching his own batted pass to give the Cowboys their first defensive touchdown of the season.

Dallas celebrates with a pick-six 🍗

🎥 @NFL pic.twitter.com/VNBbp2U8tr

– The Athlete (@TheAthletic) November 28, 2024

The Cowboys revitalized their ground game and secured their fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Dowdle led the way with a career-high 112 yards on 22 carries, his first 100-yard game as a pro and the first by a Cowboys player since Tony Pollard in Week 3 of 2023. Dowdle also led the way for the team’s first rushing attempt Cowboys accounted for at least 20 yards this year. Dallas entered Week 13 with just 18 explosive rushing plays, the fewest in the NFL. The Cowboys’ fifth-year running back was responsible for four such runs today.

With the Cowboys’ win, Dallas lost several players throughout the game. Starting rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton left with a knee injury after just 13 snaps. He was listed as questionable to return but never did. Safety Juanyeh Thomas was carried off the field with a knee injury, while cornerback Josh Butler was helped off the field after suffering a non-contact knee injury. Dexter Lawrence, the Giants’ star defensive tackle, left the game with an elbow injury.

Cooper Rush looks like himself

In a battle of backup quarterbacks, Cooper outlasted Rush Lock on Thanksgiving. Rush didn’t have a spectacular game, finishing 21 for 36 for 195 yards and a touchdown to Brandin Cooks. He benefited greatly from a strong running game, but after a difficult start as Dak Prescott’s backup, Rush seemed more comfortable in recent weeks, on the road against the Washington Commanders and at home against the Giants on Thursday.

This version of Rush looks a lot more like the guy who helped the Cowboys to a 4-1 record in five games without Prescott in 2022. Rush doesn’t make many spectacular plays, but he’s pretty efficient, doesn’t throw many dangerous passes, and usually avoids the big mistake. His play was particularly highlighted on a day when Lock had a good game but made a fatal error in the first half by throwing a pick six on a script.

These are the types of plays that Rush has been good at avoiding, at least in the passing game. On Thursday, he also overcame some nasty setbacks from his top target CeeDee Lamb and found Cooks in some crucial moments. — Saad Yousuf, Dallas Cowboys beat writer

Dallas turns the page and ends his losing streak in Jerry World

The home defeat is finally over. With the help of arguably the worst team in the NFL, Dallas has now won two straight. The playoff talks still aren’t worth discussing, but it’s clear the Cowboys are still fighting. Biggest positives: Overshown looks like a star, KaVontae Turpin has more offensive tactics, and Dowdle continues to play like he deserves to be part of the future.

Overall, the team did a good job of taking the ball away on defense and taking care of it on offense. There’s still a lot of ugliness, but it gives them another week where the window for the season hasn’t completely closed yet. — Jon MachotaDallas Cowboys beat author

The Giants’ revolving door at QB continues

With three different starting quarterbacks in three straight games, the Giants’ offense was unable to achieve enough sustained success under Lock. The Giants backup started after DeVito was injured in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers. It seemed like Lock would provide a little spark after a 28-yard rush near the end zone and a touchdown soon after, but the Giants’ offense faltered. Penalties also proved overwhelming, with the Giants totaling 12 penalties.

After totaling 70 offensive yards on that possession, the Giants totaled 247 offensive yards thanks to a late drive in the final minutes. Lock faced a lot of pressure, threw an interception and then fumbled and turned the ball over on another possession. He was fired six times. — Charlotte Carroll, New York Giants Beat author

Giants lose star DT Dexter Lawrence

The bigger news from the game, however, will be the status of Lawrence, who left with an elbow injury. Rakeem Nunez-Roches also later exited with a stinger, and the defensive line was already thin when DJ Davidson suffered a shoulder injury. That left Elijah Chatman and Jordon Riley as the only healthy defensive linemen. Lawrence is one of the Giants’ five captains and has taken on a leadership role this season. — Carroll

Required reading

(Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images)