The Cowboys won a game, but Jason Garrett is still losing the war.
What else to make of Cowboys 24, Giants 21?
Sure, there was the clutch drive at the end. Tony Romo hooked up with Dez Bryant on two third downs to keep the drive going. Then Romo found Cole Beasley on another third down to make Dan Bailey's game-winning field goal an easy 35-yarder.
But everything up to that point showed that the Cowboys still haven't turned the corner under Garrett. In his third full season as head coach, Garrett still has a lot of work to do in changing the culture of the team.
The Cowboys finished 8-8 in the two previous seasons under Garrett and appear on another collision course with 8-8. That may be good enough to get them in the playoffs this year in the NFC East, which is at an all-time low.
If the Cowboys do somehow win an inevitable, season-ending showdown with the Eagles for the NFC East title, is that really any evidence of progress under Garrett?
Owner Jerry Jones will say it is, but Jones himself admitted sometimes he says things just to make things sound better.
Earlier in the week, Jones told reporters that Garrett will return in 2014, but then before the game told the radio audience that "it wasn't much" to make that declaration since he really couldn't say anything else at the time.
In other words, it was the dreaded vote of confidence - which usually signals a lack of confidence.
Garrett inherited a team whose best players were selected by Bill Parcells, but the team got sloppy under Wade Phillips. On Sunday in New Jersey, that sloppiness was on full display once again.
A finely-tuned team would have made quick work of the Giants. The Giants came in on a four-game winning streak, but the wins came against a collection of ill-prepared quarterbacks.
The Giants are a bad team. Don't try to argue NFL parity or the intensity of a division rivalry, the Giants are simply awful this year. But in typical fashion the Cowboys played to their level.
It doesn't seem to matter whether it's the high-flying Broncos and Chiefs or the bottom-dwelling Giants and Vikings, the Cowboys make it close.
The fact the Cowboys can hang with the good teams and yet struggle with the bad ones is an indictment of the team's make-up.
As if you needed more proof, all you had to see was linebacker Bruce Carter, followed up by rookie safety Jeff Heath, neglecting to touch down the Giants' Brandon Myers after a reception. Myers simply got up and ran to the end zone for a touchdown.
Not everyone on the roster is as quick to give up as Carter, who pulled the same act in San Diego. But the fact that Carter, a linebacker who lacks will, remains an integral part of the team says much about the organization.
You can put up with the mistakes if there is an indication of overall progress. You never get that from these Cowboys.
Once again, the defense was torched. This time it was on the ground as the Giants rushed for 202 yards. The impact of losing middle linebacker Sean Lee to a hamstring in the last game was felt immediately.
Eli Manning still managed to throw for two touchdowns against a leaky Cowboys secondary. It sprang two more holes during the game with injuries to cornerback Morris Claiborne (hamstring) and safety J.J. Wilcox (head).
Meanwhile, the Cowboys again abandoned their running game, which was working for once with 107 yards on 20 carries. Despite having a lead for all but the first four minutes and the last 4:45, Romo threw 38 passes.
Considering the embarrassing display the Cowboys presented the Sunday night audience in their last game, a 49-17 loss to Saints, they should have dismantled the Giants. But they had a bye week to get over that loss and return to a level of indifference.
The Cowboys are now 6-5 and tied with the Eagles for first place in the NFC East. They have five games left to make a push for the playoffs, but this team has shown no signs of being capable of getting on a hot streak. It was considered an achievement when they merely won back-to-back games against the Redskins and Eagles earlier this season – followed by a flop in Detroit.
Ultimately, the question has to be asked: Have the Cowboys gotten any better under Jason Garrett?
That's a much more difficult question for Jones to answer truthfully than whether Garrett will return next year.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
