Escape From New York: Cowboys' Top 10 All-Time Ugly Wins

In the wake of Thursday night's performance in New York, no one remotely associated with the Dallas Cowboys is popping champagne, planning parade routes or even feeling confident that, suddenly, all is right in the world.

The 20-15 win was better than a loss. The end. Right, Mike McCarthy?

"A road win is always good, especially against a division opponent," the coach said. "But like we've said the last four weeks, we still have a lot of areas we need to improve on."

But on Friday morning the TV talking heads were in full throat with their same ol' straw man argument. Chastising Cowboys fans that - despite the win - their team still isn't a Super Bowl contender.

Seriously, show us one person who had that reaction Thursday night.

"The Cowboys didn't look good," former NFL receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson said on Shannon Sharpe's podcast. "They played decent. But if it was any other team outside of the Giants they probably lose that game."

Added former Cowboys' and Giants' defensive lineman Chris Canty on ESPN, "The only thing I'm confident about after watching that game is that the NFC East is going to a be a one-playoff division, and it ain't gonna be either one of the teams we had to watch last night. The Cowboys still have foundational issues."

Again, Jerry Jones isn't busy this morning designing the sixth Super Bowl banner to hang in AT&T Stadium. There aren't disillusioned masses saying unison "We're back on track!"

To spend time and energy shooting those sentiments down, therefore, it's simply disingenuous.

After what we saw against the Saints and Ravens, Thursday night was a Mona Lisa. Short week. On the road. Within the division. More points than the opponent.

It was a win. An ugly win. But we've seen worse. Much, much worse.

The Top 10 Ugly Losses in Cowboys History:

10. 1978 - Cowboys 27 vs. Broncos 10: Despite allowing five sacks of Roger Staubach and fumbling six times, Dallas slogs its way to Super Bowl XII.

9. 2024 - Cowboys 20, at Giants 15: 11 penalties, 0 touchdowns in the final 40 minutes, injuries to Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, and even superhuman kicker Brandon Aubrey missed a field goal as Dallas survives on Thursday Night Football.

8. 2008 - at Cowboys 13, Buccaneers 9: Only touchdown is a Roy Williams alley-oop thrown by, yuck, Brad Johnson.

7. 1976 - Cowboys 9, at Giants 3: Kicker Efren Herrera saves the day as 7-1 Dallas escapes 0-8 New York despite being outgained and outplayed by a team led by Craig Morton.

6. 1981 - at Cowboys 10, Bears 9: 9-3 Dallas survives 3-9 Chicago on Thanksgiving when Ron Springs scores in the final two minutes.

Related: Cowboys Hang On For Ugly Win Over Giants: Top 10 Whitty Observations

5. 2010 - Cowboys 14, at Eagles 13: You know it's hideous when the only offensive touchdown is a touchdown pass by third-stringer Stephen McGee that helps Dallas finish at 6-10.

4. 1970 - Cowboys 6, at Browns 2: Dallas wins despite only two Mike Clarke field goals and 174 yards of offense against a mediocre Cleveland team.

3. 2001 - at C owboys 9, Redskins 7: In a "battle" of 0-4 teams on Monday Night Football , Dallas wins without a touchdown.

2. 2017 - Cowboys 6, at Eagles 0: On a frigid, blustery New Year's Eve in Philly, Brice Butler's TD catch supplies the only points in a yawner that features 14 penalties, five turnovers and Nate Sudfeld playing quarterback for the Eagles.

1. 1970 - Cowboys 5, at Lions 0: Granted it was a playoff game, but winning with only a field goal and a safety makes for a tense eyesore.