With the hands of Cowboys Nation firmly resting on the panic button, the Dallas Cowboys put together a complete performance en route to a 20-13 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night.

The defense put together another masterful display, pressuring Eli Manning early and often while the secondary provided fantastic coverage throughout. The defense bottled up New York's explosive playmakers while controlling the line of scrimmage.

The offense missed some opportunities but was able to control the ball on the ground while Dak Prescott made some timely throws to the short and intermediate parts of the field. Opening the game with a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin didn't hurt, either.

The Cowboys were much more disciplined than the previous week, winning the turnover battle while avoiding costly penalties throughout.

Avoiding the dreaded 0-2 start, the Cowboys (1-1) now are tied for the lead in the NFC East after the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins lost in the early slate of games.

With that in mind, let's take a look at a few things we learned from the Cowboys' win:

This defense continues its stellar play

After putting up a valiant effort against the Carolina Panthers the week before, the Cowboys defense was out to prove that Week 1 wasn't a fluke against New York's high-powered offense.

Mission accomplished, as the Cowboys limited the Giants offense to 13 points while gaining just 255 yards on 67 offensive plays, an average of 3.8 yards per play.

Byron Jones and Chidobe Awuzie were fantastic, limiting Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard under 100 yards receiving combined. The Cowboys cornerbacks were physical in coverage and did an excellent job staying disciplined with their technique, which put them in a good position to be successful against the Giants' explosive weapons.

Up front, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and passing game coordinator Kris Richard did an excellent job of using twists and blitzes to generate pressure on Eli Manning. The Giants' biggest weakness is their offensive line, and Dallas routinely attacked it.

The Cowboys' blitz package confused the New York offensive line, resulting in miscommunications and unblocked players. This play is a great illustration:

Here, the Cowboys are bringing six defenders on the blitz; however, the Giants are seemingly prepared, with seven players in to block. But the Cowboys' double A-gap pressure from Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee occupies the entire left side of the Giants' offensive line along with the running back, leaving Taco Charlton unblocked and giving the second-year defender the easiest sack of his career.

Even when Dallas didn't bring extra defenders, it was able to generate pressure using stunts and twists with the defensive line. Tyrone Crawford's fourth-quarter sack is a great example:

Here, the Cowboys use a "pirate stunt" to generate pressure with the defensive line alone. While Charlton and Maliek Collins pinch inside, occupying as many blockers as possible, Crawford loops all the way around the edge to generate pressure and sack Manning. The Giants offensive line lacked communication against Dallas, resulting in struggles passing off stunts all night.

When you couple the Cowboys' talent with an aggressive defensive game plan, you get a recipe for success.

Don't look now, but this Cowboys defense just might be for real.

Prescott's feet are a huge weapon ...his arm is still inconsistent

After a forgettable Week 1 performance, Prescott looked much improved against the Giants, finishing 16 of 25 for 160 passing yards and a touchdown to go with seven carries for 45 yards.

As a passer, Prescott had an up-and-down game. When he is able to step up in the pocket, Prescott is able to properly transfer his weight and incorporate his hips into his throws, leading to better velocity and precision. Prescott's 64-yard touchdown pass to Austin was a great demonstration of just that:

Dak Prescott DEEP to Tavon Austin for 64 yards and 6 points!



(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/TfyuCUXZNE — PFF (@PFF) September 17, 2018

On this play, the Cowboys are in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end, two wide receivers) against New York's base 3-4 defense. After the snap, Prescott executes play-action, effectively holding the deep middle safety for a moment, and then uncorks a pass to Austin, who makes a couple of defenders miss on his way to the end zone.

Notice how Prescott has the space to step up and make the throw in rhythm. He is able to stay balanced through his throwing motion while effectively incorporating his hips, resulting in a perfectly placed pass to his diminutive speedster on the outside.

However, when Prescott is pressured (or gets lazy), he doesn't effectively transfer his weight, which leads to irregularities in his throwing motion and inaccuracy. Prescott's miss when targeting Rico Gathers in the third quarter is a great example:

Here, the Cowboys are once again in 21 personnel (fullback Jamize Olawale is flexed out to the top of the screen) against the Giants' base defense. After the snap, the Cowboys run a double dig -- two in-breaking routes of various depths -- concept with Cole Beasley and Olawale to the wide side of the field while Gathers runs a "corner route" toward the back pylon of the end zone. Gathers does an excellent job of creating separation at the break point, but Prescott overthrew him, missing an easy touchdown.

The late pressure up the middle forces Prescott to shorten his stride, eliminating the opportunity for him to properly transfer his weight, incorporate his hips and drive on the throw. This results in Prescott overthrowing Gathers by a few yards.

Some quarterbacks can get away with poor mechanics. Prescott canno. He does not have the requisite arm talent to consistently make throws when his mechanics aren't just right. The reality is that Prescott is a totally different quarterback when he is pressured. Across the first two weeks, Prescott is 6 of 17 for 51 yards with a 44.0 NFL passer rating when pressured. When he's kept clean, Prescott is 29 of 37 for 280 yards and a touchdown with a 107.2 NFL passer rating.

While he had some good moments through the air, Prescott was most effective on the ground against the Giants. The Cowboys sliced and diced the Giants defense with the zone read throughout the night. Here's an example:

Here, the Cowboys are in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) with the tight end flexed to the slot against New York's nickel defense (four defensive linemen, two linebackers, five defensive backs). After the ball is snapped, Prescott "reads" the left defensive end.

If the LDE slow-plays the mesh point, Prescott will hand the ball to Ezekiel Elliott. However, if the LDE crashes on the run, as he does in the above play, Prescott keeps the ball and runs to the vacated space -- in this case, resulting in a 15-yard run.

Ultimately, for Prescott to be effective in the Cowboys offense, they must give him a clean pocket and find a way to get him involved in the run game. Sunday night, Dallas' offensive staff did a great job of maximizing its third-year quarterback.

Will this type of effort be good enough to win every week?

No, the Cowboys will need Prescott to be more accurate and better take advantage of the scoring opportunities presented by opposing teams. Yet, he did enough to get the job done Sunday night and will certainly quell the growing concern around Prescott for now, at least.

Cowboys O-line controls line of scrimmage

A week after Carolina stole its lunch money, the Cowboys offensive line was able to control the action against New York's front seven. It kept Prescott clean (zero sacks) and led the way for 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt.

Outside of a false start penalty, Tyron Smith was dominant, yielding little pressure and creating lanes for Elliott in the running game. Zack Martin was his usual self, and La'el Collins looked improved from his Week 1 performance.

Connor Williams was much improved, showing a stronger anchor and effective hand use throughout the game -- this is what happens when he's not lining up against a perennial Pro Bowler on every snap. Joe Looney put together another impressive performance in Travis Frederick's absence, holding his own against -- and even getting the better of -- Damon Harrison all game.

It was tough sledding for the Cowboys on the ground for much of the game, but it paid off on their last series of the game. The Cowboys offensive line took over, resulting in 45 rushing yards and a touchdown on Dallas' last five carries in the game.

John Owning writes about NFL player evaluation for SportsDayDFW.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnOwning.