ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s hard to view the second game of the season as a must-win. But given the anemic state of the Dallas Cowboys offense in Week 1, and the expectations that Jerry Jones has for his quarterback and his team, Sunday night’s matchup between the Cowboys and visiting New York Giants essentially was just that for Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.

The coach and his charges delivered, beating the Giants 20-13 to even their record at 1-1.

Meanwhile, the problems continued for the New York Giants, whose offense struggled mightily and saw Eli Manning get sacked six times.

Here are three things we learned from Sunday night’s game.

1. Cowboys offense shows improvement: Give Jason Garrett and his coaching staff credit for making an improved effort to support young quarterback Dak Prescott with a creative and diverse game plan. Prescott doesn’t have the weapons that he did as a rookie. Jason Witten and Dez Bryant are gone, and the Cowboys have done little to replenish his arsenal. That was very evident as Prescott struggled mightily in the season opener.

On Sunday, Dallas’ offense still didn’t really execute at a high level. But the Cowboys did show improvement. Garrett & Co. utilized a variety of looks to keep the Giants’ defense guessing. Prescott lined up under center. He lined up in the shotgun and the pistol. He handed the ball off. He used the play-action attack. He used run-pass option plays — sometimes keeping the ball and running, other times faking the handoff and zipping the ball to a receiver.

The Cowboys generally got the ball out of Prescott’s hands quickly by dialing up quick-hitters. In the first quarter — the third play of the game — Prescott did go downfield to Tavon Austin (acquired via trade with the Rams this offseason) for a 64-yard touchdown pass. (Austin also ran a reverse in the first half). But for the most part, Prescott’s pass attempts were in the short to intermediate range. The Cowboys also remained patient and committed to balance. (Elliott had 17 carries for 78 yards, some of his best carries coming in the second half.

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2. Offensive line concerns for Giants: The Giants have real problems along their offensive line. Eli Manning scarcely dropped back for a pass attempt without coming under pressure. He routinely had to hurriedly dump the ball off to running back Saquon Barkley rather than look downfield to his receivers.

Multiple times Manning’s best receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., drew downfield coverage from a linebacker. This is a mismatch the Giants would have wanted to exploit — IF Manning had have received enough time to glance downfield and identify the situation. The Giants added three new starters to their line this offseason, but those moves have yet to pay off.

How badly would things be going without those moves? The state of the line only worsened in the third quarter as center Jon Halapio left the game on a cart and with his right leg in an air cast.

Manning has drawn blame for the offensive struggles, and some have questioned whether the Giants erred in not drafting Sam Darnold second overall. But it really doesn’t matter who the quarterback is given the play of this offensive line. Not even Jesus would have had a chance behind that Giants line on Sunday.

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3. Questionable play-calling for Giants: Pat Shurmur came to the Giants as a well-respected offensive mind. But he displayed questionable decision-making Sunday night by opting against trying to establish a rushing attack to help his offensive linemen get into a rhythm, keep the defense off-balance and protect his quarterback.

The Giants drafted the explosive Barkley second overall but handed the ball off to him just twice in the first quarter, and only twice more in a scoreless second quarter. Instead, the Giants used Barkley as Manning’s release valve, and the quarterback targeted him nine times in the first half, completing eight of those passes for 32 yards.

Meanwhile, the half ended with Beckham having only two catches for 20 yards on four targets, and concluded the game with four catches total. Make that two straight games without a touchdown for the Giants’ $95-million wideout.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.

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