EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – It felt like the Cowboys players and coach could breathe a little easier heading into the three-day weekend.

A 20-15 win Thursday night over the Giants ended a two-game losing streak and ended discussions about a lack of professionalism, poor chemistry between star quarterback and receiver and maybe people can talk about the Cowboys' inability to to stop the run.

“We have to continue to be professionals,” Dak Prescott said. “It’s not done when you win.”

Prescott was great on Thursday night. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 221 yards with two touchdowns. He compiled a quarterback rating of 125.5 and restored power with receiver CeeDee Lamb.

He caught seven passes on eight targets for 98 yards and a 55-yard touchdown reception. If you want to ignore Lamb's one catch for four yards in the second half, that's fine, because the running game did something that was missing: becoming effective.

Overall, the running game gained 80 yards on 23 attempts, and although the average was just 3.5, the final scoring drive of the contest proved that coach Mike McCarthy could rely on it. The Cowboys extended their lead to five points thanks to a 40-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey, capping a 10-play, 48-yard drive. There were four running plays, two of which ended in gains that led to first downs. The only negative play was a Lamb run for a loss of one yard.

McCarthy wants more broadcasts because that means turning off games, which was the case Thursday night.

Speaking of the running game, the Cowboys defense showed up against the run.

Finally.

The Giants finished the game with 26 rushing yards.

The 1.08 yards per carry was the sixth-lowest allowed in Cowboys history. The last time the Cowboys allowed less than a yard per carry was in 2015, when they held the Eagles to just 20 rushing yards (0.58 average) on nine carries.

“We cleaned up a few things on film,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “We changed some things and had to look in the mirror, play physically and of course we have a long season ahead of us. “That was one game and we were able to bring it every game. That was a great win. We will enjoy it in the next few days.”

With improved communication and good play on the field, the Cowboys said they weren't satisfied.

“Winning is important,” linebacker Micah Parsons said. “That's hard to do in this league, so getting a 20-15 win wasn't perfect. I'm tired of scraping by. I don't want to come over anymore. I want real victories and winning consistently.”

There are issues on defense as both DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) and Parsons (ankle) did not finish the game with injuries.

McCarthy had to bench cornerback Andrew Booth in the second half for poor performance, but was rewarded by Amani Oruwariye, whose interception ended the game with five seconds left.

The Cowboys were penalized 11 times for 89 yards, the second time this season they reached double digits in flagging.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” McCarthy said of the penalties.

They also hope there's nothing wrong with Aubrey, who missed a 51-yard field goal kick late in the fourth quarter that would have given the Cowboys a 23-15 lead and forced the Giants to take a two-pointer -Aim for conversion to equalize the game. Aubrey had made all 12 of his field goal attempts this season and was six for six from 50 or more yards before the miss.

It was an ugly win, but a win was needed for a McCarthy team that hadn't lost three games in a row under him since 2020. A loss would have been terrible heading into the next game, in Pittsburgh in 10 days.

The Cowboys are clear – regardless of what the NFC East looks like this weekend – that they can't be embarrassed again with the same problems that occurred during the losing streak.

“It’s an everyday thing,” Lawrence said. “You just can’t come in for a week and take responsibility, you have to come in every day. I feel like we’re on the right track with that and we need to get back in next week and do that.”

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.