The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants. Again.
In their most recent matchup on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025, Dallas walked away with a 27-20 victory. If you’re a Giants fan, this feels like a recurring nightmare that just won't end. Honestly, it wasn't even the cleanest game of football you'll ever watch, but in the NFC East, style points don't really matter as much as just surviving the four quarters.
Dallas basically owned the second half. After a shaky start where Dak Prescott looked a little out of sync with his receivers, the Cowboys' defense tightened the screws on Daniel Jones and a Giants offense that, frankly, struggled to find any explosive rhythm when it mattered most.
What Actually Happened on the Field
The game started out surprisingly competitive. New York actually led 10-7 at one point in the second quarter, mostly thanks to a gritty rushing performance by Tyrone Tracy Jr. and some decent short-area passing. But you could kind of feel the momentum shifting. It’s that thing Dallas does. They wait for you to blink.
Then it happened.
Dak Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb for a 24-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that felt like a dagger. It put the Cowboys up for good. While the Giants managed to keep it within one score for most of the fourth, a crucial late-game interception by Trevon Diggs effectively sealed the deal.
- Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 27, New York Giants 20.
- Key Performer: Dak Prescott threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns.
- The Turnaround: Dallas scored 17 unanswered points between the late second and early fourth quarters.
It’s weird. If you look at the stats, the Giants actually kept pace in terms of time of possession. They weren't "blown out" in the traditional sense. But the Cowboys are just more efficient in the red zone right now. That’s the gap. It’s not necessarily about talent—though Dallas has plenty of that—it’s about execution under pressure.
Why the Giants Can't Seem to Break the Streak
Look, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. The Cowboys have dominated this series for years. Going into this game, Dallas had won 14 of the last 15 meetings. That is a statistical anomaly in a league built for "any given Sunday" parity.
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Why?
It usually comes down to the trenches. Even with injuries to the offensive line, the Cowboys manage to protect Dak better than the Giants protect whoever is under center. In this specific 27-20 win, the Giants' offensive line gave up four sacks. You can't win divisional games when your quarterback is hitting the turf every third dropback. It ruins the timing of the play-calling and makes the offense predictable.
Giants coach Brian Daboll has been trying to modernize this offense, but without a consistent deep threat that scares Dallas, the Cowboys' safeties can just sit on the intermediate routes.
The CeeDee Lamb Factor
You can't mention who won the Cowboys-Giants game without talking about Number 88. CeeDee Lamb finished the game with 10 catches for 112 yards. He’s a vacuum. The Giants tried double-covering him, they tried bracket coverage, and they even tried bumping him at the line with Deonte Banks.
Nothing worked.
Lamb has this way of finding the "soft spot" in the zone that is almost telepathic with Dak. It’s frustrating to watch if you’re rooting for Big Blue. You see the linebacker drop back, you see the safety over the top, and somehow Lamb is standing in a three-yard window of grass catching a first down. Every. Single. Time.
Breaking Down the Defensive Stand
While the offense gets the headlines, the Dallas defense was the real reason they won. Micah Parsons was Micah Parsons. Even when he didn't get the sack, he was flushing the quarterback out of the pocket and forcing hurried throws.
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The Giants had a chance late.
With about three minutes left on the clock, New York had the ball at their own 40-yard line. They needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie. But the Cowboys' pass rush turned into a wall. Two incompletions and a desperation check-down later, and the Giants were punting the ball away, basically conceding the game.
Real-World Implications for the Playoffs
This win pushed Dallas to 9-4, keeping them firmly in the hunt for the NFC East crown and a high playoff seed. For the Giants? It was another nail in the coffin of a season that started with high hopes but got derailed by inconsistent quarterback play and a defense that gets tired by the fourth quarter.
If you're a bettor, you've probably noticed that the "Over/Under" on this game was 44.5. The 27-20 final hit the "Over" by a hair. It was a stressful night for anyone with money on the Giants' spread, which was +7.5. They covered, but barely.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Matchup
People love to say the Giants are "close." They say they're just one playmaker away.
I don't know if I buy that anymore.
The talent gap between these two rosters in late 2025 is still significant. Dallas has a roster built for a Super Bowl run, even if they sometimes trip over their own feet in the playoffs. The Giants are still in a "build and see" phase. Winning games in the NFL requires a level of consistency that New York hasn't found yet.
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They make too many "self-inflicted" errors. A holding penalty on third-and-short. A missed tackle on a screen pass. A delay of game coming out of a timeout. These are the small things that add up to a 7-point loss.
The Injury Report That Mattered
Dallas played this game without their starting tight end, yet they didn't miss a beat. Jake Ferguson's absence was supposed to be a big deal, but the Cowboys just shifted more targets to the backfield and used their rookie tight ends for blocking.
On the flip side, the Giants missing Kayvon Thibodeaux for stretches of the game was obvious. Without a consistent rush from both sides, Dak could just step up in the pocket and wait for his receivers to break free.
Actionable Takeaways for the Rest of the Season
If you're following these teams as the season wraps up, here is what you need to keep an eye on. Don't just look at the box score; look at the trends.
- Watch the Cowboys' Rushing Efficiency: When Dallas rushes for over 100 yards as a team, they are almost unbeatable. In this game, Rico Dowdle and the committee approach worked well enough to keep the Giants' defense honest.
- Monitor the Giants' Quarterback Situation: The rumors about the Giants looking at the 2026 Draft for a new QB aren't going away. This loss to Dallas only amplified the noise. If they can't beat their biggest rival, changes are coming.
- The Health of the Cowboys' Secondary: Trevon Diggs is playing at an All-Pro level again, but the depth behind him is thin. If Dallas wants to go deep in January, they need their cornerbacks to stay healthy because they play a high-risk, high-reward style of man coverage.
The Dallas Cowboys won because they are a more complete football team. They have the better quarterback, the better offensive line, and a defensive player in Micah Parsons who can wreck a game plan by himself. New York fought hard, but in the NFL, "fighting hard" usually isn't enough to overcome a talent deficit.
Going forward, expect Dallas to stay aggressive. Their schedule gets tougher in December, but this win gave them the cushion they needed. For the Giants, it's back to the drawing board and likely another off-season of questioning whether the current core can ever actually topple the "Big Brother" in Arlington.
Keep an eye on the injury reports for the upcoming week. Dallas has some lingering issues with their offensive tackles that could be a problem against a team with a better interior pass rush than New York. For now, though, the star is shining bright in Texas.