ARLINGTON – The series is over.

The Cowboys finally won a home game at AT&T Stadium.

All it took was for DeMarvion Overshowed and Micah Parsons — basically the defense — taking care of business on Thanksgiving Day.

Dallas earned its first home win of the season with one 27:20 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday. The Cowboys started the season 0-5 at home, lost a playoff game to Green Bay and finished last season at Jerry’s World.

It’s over now.

The Cowboys have won their last two games overall and have 10 days off before hosting Cincinnati at AT&T Stadium on Monday, December 9th.

This home defeat was something different. The Cowboys entered the game with a home margin of minus-118 points, the third-worst in a team’s first five home games in league history.

Yes, it was that bad. Well, the Cowboys won a home game and posted their second winning streak of the season.

Here are our five takeaways from the game:

Home in the third quarter

The Cowboys had won 16 straight home games before the losing streak, but some good things happened on Thursday. Rico Dowdle scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, Brandin Cooks caught a receiving touchdown and the Cowboys outscored someone at home in the third quarter. Dallas won the third quarter for only the third time this season. The home crowd, quiet at the start of the game, erupted in boos when coach Mike McCarthy called for a run play on a third-and-long, but when country singers Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll took the stage at halftime, The crowd got loud and loud continued to make noise on some key plays in the third quarter. For a change, the Cowboys scored the decisive point with a 14-0 point lead in the third quarter.

Lamb drops and health

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had three drops and Giants receiver Malik Nabers had one. Lamb’s three drops came in the first half, and towards the end of the first 30 minutes he was seen doing push-ups on the sideline as a penalty. Lamb had four dropped passes to start the game and six in 2023. Lamb briefly left the game with a right shoulder issue. He came into the game with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder and appeared to have taken a hit to the shoulder late in the third quarter when he was blocked. Lamb said this was the worst accident he had experienced in his entire career and it’s clear that the shoulder is bothering him. Despite health issues, Lamb led the NFL in catches. He finished Thursday with two catches for 39 yards.

Using Turpin works

KaVontae Turpin is the Cowboys’ fastest man. Some would say cornerback Josh Butler can keep up with him. But Turpin needs to be used more on offense. On Thursday, Turpin caught four passes for 53 yards in victory. The Cowboys even attempted an end-around play with Turpin that gained 2 yards. But if the Cowboys want to show some versatility on offense, it would be nice to see more from Turpin.

The defense is on point

The Cowboys finished the game with five sacks and 14 quarterback hits. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown had one of the best plays of the day, a tipped pass that he returned 23 yards for a touchdown. Micah Parsons shared a sack with Mazi Smith and it appears that this Mike Zimmer defense is only getting better as the Cowboys enter December. Yes, it was against the Giants, one of the worst offenses in the NFL, but that’s how you’re supposed to beat an offense, and that’s exactly what happened on Thursday. The Cowboys’ defense was able to play without starting cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin), who could return in 10 days against the Bengals. There’s also a chance that defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) will return sometime in December. Zimmer has talked about not having all of his pieces for his defense, but he could have them all back soon.

How did special teams perform?

Remember what happened last week in Landover, Maryland, between the Cowboys and the Commanders, with a missed point-after attempt, a blocked punt, a kick return for a score, an onside kick return for a score and all sorts of drama? Well, special teams play was quiet on Thanksgiving. Very quiet. Maybe this is progress for the Cowboys. Kicker Brandon Aubrey made two field goals of 23 and 33 yards and Turpin had no kick returns in this game, but because the Cowboys took control of the game by running the ball and had a strong defensive performance, there was no need for special teams.

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