There was nothing pretty for the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.

Neither team was able to find a rhythm, especially because both kept committing penalties. Not all of the Cowboys’ problems have been fixed. They couldn’t run the ball. They gave up a lot of yards and a lot of long drives. The offense couldn’t shut down the Giants when it had the chance. No one could cover New York Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers. The evening took a bad turn late when Micah Parsons was forced off the field with a left leg injury. Dallas can’t afford to be without him for long.

Parsons’ injury is a major concern, but at least the Cowboys won. After two miserable losses in a row, the Cowboys just wanted to win, and it didn’t matter how it happened. Dallas got back on the winning list with a 20-15 win over the New York Giants in a game they won’t remember fondly.

But there’s a big difference between 2-2 and 1-3, and the Cowboys have avoided the latter.

Dallas hasn’t played well on either side of the ball this season, and it’s not like they’ll be thrilled with how many yards the defense gave up or how zero touchdowns the offense scored in the second half. But imagine the alarm bells that would go off if they suffered three defeats in a row.

The Cowboys start slowly, but take the lead

The Cowboys had to feel the desire to get right back on the field to shake off the stench of Sunday’s game and perhaps carry some of the momentum from their fourth-quarter rally in Week 4. Then Dallas started with a very quick three-out, cornerback Anthony Booth Jr. covering. Nabers had broken his ankles trying to guard NBA star Anthony Edwards in the lane, and no Cowboys defender was even on the television screen when Nabers caught a 39-yard pass. This led to a Giants field goal and a Cowboys penalty on the ensuing kickoff. Not the start Dallas was hoping for.

The Cowboys got going after a slow start. Rico Dowdle scored on a pass on the screen, and then CeeDee Lamb completed a pass 55 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. The Giants moved the ball, including a marathon drive in the second quarter, but scored only field goals and no touchdowns. The Cowboys led 14-9 at the end of a penalty-filled first half.

The second half was somehow even uglier than the first.

Giants and Cowboys don’t get a lot of points

The first and second halves were similar for the Giants. They would move the ball, stop in Cowboys territory and Greg Joseph would come in for a field goal. The Cowboys didn’t do much, but they kept the Giants out of the end zone, and a few more field goals from Joseph made the score 17-15 in Dallas’ favor.

And even though the Giants didn’t have a touchdown with 6:54 left when they got the ball back, they were down by less than a touchdown. The Giants defense, which allowed Lamb the long touchdown catch and not much else, kept the Cowboys from putting the game away. Daniel Jones got the ball back and had a chance for a game-winning drive, although the Giants finally had to score a touchdown to do it.

The Giants immediately faced a four-and-1 and Brian Daboll went for it. Devin Singletary grabbed the ball with a run up the middle. Immediately afterwards they tried again on fourth and sixth place. With 3:21 minutes left, Nabers was unable to hold on to a pass and was injured in the process. The Giants said he suffered a concussion.

In the last minute the Giants had another chance. Brandon Aubrey, who has been almost automatic throughout his NFL career, missed a 51-yarder with less than a minute left. But Jones intercepted a desperation pass and the game was over.

If there was one positive for the Cowboys, it was that the defense was tougher against the run. That was a big problem in the losses to the Saints and Ravens. Dallas shut down the Giants’ running game. It was also a positive for Lamb, rushing for 98 yards on seven catches.

The rest wasn’t pretty. Things get even worse if Parsons’ injury is serious.