Takeaways from Cowboys’ ugly ‘TNF’ win over Giants: Dallas looks mediocre, N.Y. star rookie injured

It wasn’t pretty, but the Dallas Cowboys broke a two-game losing skid, defeating the New York Giants (1-3) for the seventh straight time in a 20-15 win on “Thursday Night Football.”

Here are five takeaways from the action:

Cowboys don’t look like a playoff team 

After coming out guns blazing in a Week 1, 33-17, victory over the Cleveland Browns, the Cowboys look mediocre at best through four games. On Thursday, Dallas ultimately came away with a much-needed win but didn’t instill much confidence while doing so.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was efficient (22-of-27), but the offense lacked explosiveness, managing only 293 yards (5.7 yards per play). Likewise, the defense allowed five scoring drives and didn’t force a Giants offense devoid of weapons to punt for the first time until 3:04 left in the third quarter.

It’s still early, but the Cowboys don’t look like much of a threat in the NFC.

Daniel Jones is what he is 

Jones wasn’t bad, finishing 29-of-40 for 281 yards and an interception thrown on the desperation heave late. But this was a game the six-year veteran had to find a way to win.

While it’s true that Jones helped orchestrate five scoring drives, none of them ended in the end zone. The Giants QB took what the Cowboys gave him for the most part, but when push came to shove, he came up small, missing targets and underthrowing receivers far too often to be successful.

With WR Malik Nabers’ emergence there was hope that Jones’ career could still have some life. However, Thursday’s performance was more of the same from the former first-round pick.

Cowboys need a change in the backfield

The Cowboys’ lack of identity in the backfield continued to rear its ugly head on Thursday, and it’s quickly becoming a concern the team can no longer afford to ignore. 

Entering Week 4 ranked 30th in rushing yards, Dallas’ struggles in that department continued against the Giants. The group of Rico Dowdle (46 yards), Ezekiel Elliott (19 yards) and Hunter Luepke (8 yards) combined for 73 yards and averaged only 4.0 YPC in the loss.

No quick fix is coming unless calling up veteran Dalvin Cook from the practice squad is the answer, but whatever the Cowboys are doing isn’t working.

Malik Nabers’ injury could derail Giants’ lackluster offense

The breakout rookie left the game late in the fourth quarter and was later diagnosed with a concussion. Its severity is unclear, but the Giants can likely count on being without Nabers for the foreseeable future, which could spell doom for an already-struggling offense.

On Thursday night, Nabers was the Giants offense, grabbing 12 of 15 targets for 115 yards (9.6 YPR). With Nabers, the Giants managed only 15 points against the Cowboys. It’s hard to imagine what the offense will look like without him.  

Cowboys defense is on notice 

On the surface, keeping your opponent to 15 points looks pretty good. Furthermore, the bend-don’t-break approach worked for the Cowboys versus the Giants.

However, against a team whose biggest threat offensively is a rookie wideout, the Cowboys were lucky to escape with a victory. Likewise, they made Jones look serviceable, and a more seasoned quarterback would have picked them apart — as Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr have already proved.

Meanwhile, the unit could have rough times ahead if Micah Parsons misses time. The two-time All-Pro left the game on a cart after suffering a left foot injury late.