EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Somehow, someway, Cowboys 20, Giants 15.

Please no sarcastic eye rolling.
Look, the Cowboys started this game without two of their starting cornerbacks. We knew DaRon Bland would miss a fourth game, and there's a good chance he would miss the fifth and sixth games as well.

Then his backup, who has started the last three games, rookie Caelen Carson, suffered a shoulder injury last Sunday and was unable to even participate in the three walk-through practices in preparation for this game Thursday night here at MetLife Stadium. Carson went from doubtful on Wednesday's injury report to inactive Thursday.

And at some point in the second half, Trevon Diggs goes down and immediately limps to the locker room, dehydrated. And for good reason, as the game started at 74 degrees and the humidity dropped to 88 percent two hours before kickoff.

Merciful no. DeMarcus Lawrence had already left the game with a foot injury. Never came back.

And Micah Parsons, who was temporarily sidelined in the first half after suffering what he called a “stinger,” but then returned and then crashed out with a left ankle injury with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter , hobbled off and found X-rays negative, but is due for an MRI on Monday.

So if you're keeping track, that means the Cowboys ended the night without their top three defensive ends, if we count Sam Williams, who goes on IR with his torn ACL in training camp, no Lawrence, and no Micah, who left the game ended.

And if that wasn't bad enough, with Bland AND Carson out, the Cowboys started Andrew Booth at cornerback alongside Diggs, not only his first start with the Cowboys – and possibly his last after struggling in the first half had – but was active in the 48-man squad of the match day in the very first game.

Thankfully, the Cowboys decided to use Amani Oruwariye in his place early in the second half. And get this: Oruwariye, a fifth-year veteran, was called up from the practice squad for depth defense reasons with Carson out, and was told he would play Thursday morning. He played his first snaps with Dallas after being signed on August 29.

But after their unfavorable performances in Games 2 and 3 – losses to the Saints and Ravens – the Cowboys gave up a total of 72 points and 464 yards rushing and touchdowns against New Orleans on their first six possessions and three touchdowns against Baltimore on five full possessions in the first half – did this:

They held the Giants to 15 points. No touchdowns. Five field goals by Greg Joseph in his first five attempts for New York after being released from Detroit's practice squad on September 17.

They held the Giants, who came into the game thinking they would run over the Cowboys with Devin Singletary, their replacement for Saquan Barkley, to 26 total yards on 24 carries. Singletary himself had 24 yards on 14 attempts.

Seriously, after the Saints scored 190 on the ground and the Ravens scored 274, the Cowboys held the Giants to an average of 1.08 yards per carry with their guys rushing to the ground left and right. I wasn't making this up because there were 80,425 witnesses here at MetLife Stadium, a prime streaming audience across the country also watching to confirm this.

No more “Pony League” run defense.

Now the Cowboys' offense is still not running at full speed. Scored just 20 points, two touchdowns, two more field goals from Brandon Aubrey, one another 60-yarder, giving him two this season, only the second NFL kicker with multiple 60-yard field goals in a single season .

And I'm sure some will say it, but it was the Giants, a team the Cowboys have now beaten in 14 of the last 15 games and seven in a row. So what's the big deal?

Well, let me tell you, the Cowboys had lost their last two games and really weren't in the game except for the fourth quarter in the losses to the Ravens. And last Sunday at AT&T Stadium, the fight had started, mostly on the bench, giving new meaning to a side camera. So here's the deal:

A win is a win is a win. Book it.

Because no matter how few style points there are, a 2-2 score looks a hell of a lot better than a 1-3 score at this point, knowing they're traveling to Pittsburgh next Sunday and visiting Detroit the following week AT&T will be maintained.

“Huge, huge, huge. Huge, especially when you compare it to the alternative of what that would have been like. It was huge,” said Dak, a man of his word since he left the locker room on Tuesday without addressing the issue with the media, but promised to speak on Thursday “after we win.”

In fact, he went on and on, continuing to say of the win: “Like you said, a young team, young linemen, I just understand the impact you and your jobs have on young players. I have to turn the story around.”, had to follow the narrative, and that's exactly what this game did, especially over a long weekend.

“This brings us to 2-2 and gives us a few days to get our bodies and minds in order. If guys want to read about themselves and this team, hopefully it's all positive. I ask you to make it positive. Their you know, keep their confidence and allow them to play on a bunch of different teams like you said and we know that when you start it just gets hot and that's what we do “This league is about getting hot at the right time and building, and that’s why I just said it’s about the process and trust in the process, no matter what the results are.”

The biggest plus point in this game: The young players who were forced to play played well. Sure, the Cowboys committed 15 penalties and scored 11. Sure, rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton struggled at times, but damn if he didn't keep fighting. And rookie center Cooper Beebe, with 6-4, 340-pound giant Dexter Lawrence breathing down his neck, limited the nose tackle to two tackles and just one QB hit with a little help from his friends. This is a victory.

We saw fullback Hunter Luepke contribute again, this time in running and receiving, personally accounting for three first downs, two on third-down plays and one on fourth-down, twice the later scoring drives maintained.

Then veteran rookie linebacker DeMarvion made overshown tackles in the open field, nine total. Also rookie linebacker Marist Liufau. And how about Mazi Smith gaining confidence and pointing out the run defense afterward and saying, “I just focused on the details. I just have to keep going.”

Hey, the second-year nose tackle is doing a much better job of holding down the middle and had three tackles for the second straight game, even another for a loss. And how about backup defensive players forced into the fray with Lawrence and Parsons out, Marshawn Kneeland, Chauncey Golston and even veteran Carl Lawson released from the practice squad?

And we're betting Oruwariye will be promoted back to the practice squad next week in Pittsburgh. Should probably start if Carson can't go, although he's been told he might have been able to play through the shoulder problem in a Sunday game. The cornerback finished the game by intercepting Daniel Jones' hail-marry pass at the Cowboys' 4-yard line, but he also had two passes broken up, three tackles and a tackle for a loss. Not bad for a practice player who had no one pay attention to him for almost a month and who actually had to be asked how to pronounce his name.

Here, you hear, according to him it is “Oh-ru-whar-ee-eh”.

Look, at 2-2, the Cowboys aren't out of the woods yet. But maybe, just maybe, that win not only added at least nine days to a season that so many were ready to bury after just four games, but they had lost this one too. But this could be a sign that there is room for improvement.

There is talent. You saw Dak throw two touchdown passes and complete 81 percent of his passes. They saw a resurgent CeeDee Lamb haul in seven catches for 98 yards and that 55-yard touchdown reception, teaching the Giants a lesson about trying to cover for him with hard-burning cornerback Deonte Banks.

And running back Rico Dowdle is starting to show up with 11 carries, 46 yards (4.2 average) and a screen pass of 15 yards for a touchdown.

Most importantly, the defense made timely plays to keep the Giants out of the end zone, including on their final possession after Aubrey likely missed a 51-yard field goal, breaking the start of a career that had previously included 12 consecutive scores Over 50 yarders

So this is at least a step in the right direction, regardless of the injuries sustained.

“No matter who’s up, the level doesn’t go down,” said middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, who led the team in tackles at one point. “We have to play hard and now we have to move on.”

For me, this is not the time to announce the start of the Cowboys' 2024 season. But hey, you just can't downplay a win. No Division 1. No one on the street. Not after what happened in the last two games.

Let's just let this thing breathe.