EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Running back Rod Smith had an 81-yard touchdown reception and followed that with a 15-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter as the Dallas Cowboys manhandled the hapless New York Giants 30-10 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Dak Prescott completed 20-of-30 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (7-6).
Both teams exchanged field goals on their respective opening drives, with the Cowboys getting a 21-yarder from Dan Bailey and the Giants a 39-yarder from Aldrick Rosas.
The Cowboys had a chance to increase their lead, but Bailey's 53-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter hit the right upright. It was Bailey's first missed attempt of the season and his first of two misses in this game.
The Giants (2-11), meanwhile, turned to their tight ends to help them break the 3-3 deadlock. Eli Manning, back under center after being benched last week for Geno Smith, connected with rookie Evan Engram for a 35-yard reception to the Cowboys' 21-yard line.
Fellow tight end Rhett Ellison finished off the successful drive with a 1-yard reception from Manning.
The Cowboys quickly answered by scoring on a four-play, 75-yard drive, which was capped by Prescott's 50-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. The wideout was wide open after cornerback Brandon Dixon missed the tackle.
The Cowboys had another chance to break the tie and take the lead in the third quarter, but Bailey's second missed field-goal attempt, this one from 50 yards, sailed wide right.
The Cowboys finally broke the tie in the fourth quarter when Prescott connected with tight end Jason Witten on a 20-yard touchdown reception. On their ensuing drive, Prescott found Smith on an 81-yard touchdown to pad the Cowboys lead to 23-10, with Bailey missing the extra-point attempt.
"Rod just did a good job of beating his guy," said Prescott of Smith, who finished with five catches for 113 yards and 47 rushing yards on six carries.
"We know Rod's talent -- that's why we pushed him and have given him the ball so many times in the run game and the pass game and he's great. Check downs are going to get first downs, and in the run game he's been spectacular."
Added Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett: "He's just a good football player. He's taken advantage of his opportunities. Some of them short yardage or third down or at the end of the ball game. Certainly the touchdown was big -- the coverage they were playing dictated the ball would go there and he was ready for his chance and certainly took advantage of it."
Prescott, whose Cowboys have outscored opponents 111-95 in the fourth quarter, said the key was to keep their composure when things weren't clicking early on.
"We were feeling ourselves and staying with it and staying within the game and not getting overwhelmed that we weren't doing things well early," he said.
The Giants' defense, which had held firm through three quarters of the game, had no answers for the Cowboys in the fourth quarter.
In the game's final 15 minutes, Prescott completed 4-of-6 pass attempts for 158 of his 332 passing yards and two of his three touchdowns.
"For some reason we're still looking for answers to the fourth quarter," Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said as he shook his head.
Said Giants interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo, "We do have to figure out a way in the fourth quarter when it gets down to gut wrenching time to make a play or two.
"Now I'm going to put a little bit of that on me -- I didn't like a couple of the calls I had in the fourth quarter that resulted in bad plays for us defensively. I don't want that to all be on the players."
Spagnuolo took over for the ousted Ben McAdoo last week and retained the defensive play-calling duties. He declined to mention which plays he would like to have back.
The Giants' offense didn't exactly help itself either in the second half. Three of Manning's 28 pass attempts in the game's final 30 minutes were dropped by his intended targets: wide receivers Roger Lewis and Sterling Shepard, and tight end Evan Engram. Those three dropped balls cost the Giants easy first-down conversions.
True to form, Manning chose to look at the glass as being half full.
"Obviously, I know those guys," Manning said. "I have a lot of respect for our receivers -- they work hard, they practice hard and they do everything we ask them to do. I understand drops are part of the game. They run the right routes and are in the right spot. I have confidence they'll make the next one and a couple of them made some outstanding plays for us today."
Smith, relieving starting running back Alfred Morris, recorded his 15-yard touchdown run to cap a three-play, 21-yard drive that took just 18 seconds.
NOTES: With the win, Dallas swept the season series with the Giants for the 21st time (the most against any opponent) and for the first time since the 2014 season. The win also snapped a two-game losing streak in games played on the Giants' home turf and improves the Cowboys' overall record this season to 4-1 against NFC East opponents. ... Giants TE Evan Engram's 35-yard reception extended his streak to eight games with at least one catch. ... Cowboys WR Cole Beasley's 54-yard fourth-quarter reception is a career long. ... Giants S Landon Collins suffered a left ankle injury in the fourth quarter. ... The Cowboys became the 12th NFL franchise to reach 500 wins in its history. The Cowboys reached that plateau in the second-fewest games played (879) behind only the Chicago Bears (863). ... The Cowboys visit the Oakland Raiders next Sunday night, while the Giants host the Philadelphia Eagles.
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