National Football League

NFL Week 3: Cowboys top rival Giants; Sterling Shepard injured

Updated Sep. 26, 2022 11:40 p.m. ET

Week 3 of the NFL season came to a close Monday, as the Dallas Cowboys took down their NFC East rival, the New York Giants, 23-16, on the road — sealing the deal with a last-minute interception.

Both teams are now 2-1 on the season. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush was at the helm for the Cowboys and will continue to be until Dak Prescott returns from a broken thumb, which could be as early as Week 4.

Rush is the first undrafted QB to win each of his first three NFL starts and throw for 750-plus yards in that same time since Kurt Warner did it in 1999 with the then-St. Louis Rams en route to a Super Bowl MVP title.

Here are the top plays from Monday's action.

Dallas Cowboys 23, New York Giants 16

Hot start

N.Y. kept Dallas off the scoreboard on its opening drive, but the Cowboys' defense came up big on the following drive, sacking Giants QB Daniel Jones.

Denied!

The Giants were this close to taking an early lead, but their field goal attempt was blocked after Cowboys DE Dorance Armstrong got two hands on the ball. Things remained scoreless midway though the first quarter.

Budding star

Cowboys receiver Noah Brown, who has been turning heads through two weeks, found a rhythm with Rush early.

Miscue

Dallas came up short on second-and-goal, when Rush didn't tell Ezekiel Elliott the audible at the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys settled for a field goal on the drive, taking a 3-0 lead to close out the first quarter.

On the move

Jones turned on the jets on the ensuing drive, picking up a big first down and pushing N.Y. across midfield.

The Giants knotted things up with a field goal of their own on the drive.

Coming through!

It took four Giants defenders to take down Tony Pollard, who broke off for a 46-yard run to get the Cowboys in the red zone early in the second quarter. Dallas took the lead, 6-3, after snagging its second field goal.

Impact player

Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons got the best of Jones on the Giants' next play, forcing N.Y. to punt.

After another missed field goal, this time by the Cowboys, it remained a three-point game at halftime.

Déjà vu

DeMarcus Lawrence picked up right where he left off in the first half — making big-time sacks.

Tie game

Jones helped move his team down the field, picking up 30 yards on back-to-back scrambles up the middle.

However, Jones was also sacked twice on that same drive, losing 19 yards, and the Giants finished with a 51-yarder to knot things up early in the third quarter.

Giants on top

N.Y. got the ball back quickly after Dallas went three-and-out on the following drive. The Giants took a 13-6 lead when Saquon Barkley broke off for a 36-yard touchdown run that brought MetLife Stadium to its feet.

Answering back

The Giants' lead was short-lived, as Elliott punched one in for the Cowboys to close out the third quarter.

Just like that, it was tied again headed into the final frame.

Dallas in front

CeeDee Lamb only needed one hand to give the Cowboys the fourth-quarter lead, 20-13.

Road win

Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs sealed the deal in this one, coming up with a huge interception with 1:17 to spare.

No. 3 goes down

Giants wideout Sterling Shepard was carted off the field after suffering an apparent non-contact knee injury during that game-sealing play for Dallas.