EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The bad news for Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys is that they have no more trips to Giants Stadium this season. The good news is Parcells has one game left against a former team.
Troy Hambrick tied a career high with 127 rushing yards and scored a touchdown and Quincy Carter threw for a score as the Cowboys kept the New York Jets winless with a 17-6 victory.
Dallas improved to 2-1, with both wins coming at Giants Stadium, where Parcells coached the New York Giants from 1983-90 and the Jets from 1997-99. He returns to New England on November 16 for another nationally televised game.
Parcell's first trip back to his native New Jersey was a thrilling 35-32 Monday night overtime triumph over the Giants on September 15. This one was a little less stressful for the 62-year-old as the Cowboys scored two touchdowns in the second quarter.
"I am happy to get out of here with a win," Parcells said. "I knew it was going to be a good scuffle, and it was."
"Most definitely, they are important," Cowboys receiver Antonio Bryant added. "This is New York. They say you haven't done anything until you've won in New York. Now we've done that two times."
The Jets (0-4) again could not establish a running game and could not stop the run as they continued their worst start since a 1-15 season in 1996.
"We have the bye week and now we have to come together as a football team and figure out what we can do to win a game," New York coach Herman Edwards said. "We turned the ball over twice and they scored on both turnovers. And that is the game."
Edwards' team came in with the AFC's worst rushing defense and surrendered 202 yards to the Cowboys, who averaged nearly five yards per carry.
"I felt we did a good job of running the ball today," Parcells said.
Hambrick did most of the damage, carrying 24 times and matching his best day as a pro, established on November 11, 2001 at Atlanta. His 31-yard touchdown early in the second quarter put Dallas ahead for good, 7-3. It came four plays after linebacker Al Singleton recovered a fumble by receiver Santana Moss at the Jets' 48-yard line.
The Cowboys' rushing attack was so proficient that Edwards passed up a 27-yard field goal that would have gotten New York within eight points with 2 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. On 4th-and-3 at the Dallas 10, Vinny Testaverde hit Wayne Chrebet, who was wrapped up by cornerback Pete Hunter one yard short of a first down.
"At that point, they had already run the ball for 200 yards on us," Edwards explained. "I didn't feel real good about giving them the ball back with two minutes left. We were trying to make a first down and score a touchdown and get some momentum back."
The Jets never had the momentum. After two passes from Testaverde to Moss covered 48 yards late in the second quarter, safety Roy Williams punched the ball out of the arm of running back Curtis Martin and safety Darren Woodson recovered the fumble in the end zone.
"I just came down and Martin had a step on me, so I grabbed the back of his shoulder pads and then I punched for the ball," Williams said. "That was the key right there, stopping the run."
"It just came at the worst time for us," said Martin, who had 64 yards on 21 rushes.
Carter ran the two-minute drill to perfection at the end of the first half, moving the Cowboys 80 in 91 seconds. He hit Joey Galloway for 27 yards on 3rd-and-13 at the New York 36, then found Bryant in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard TD just 11 seconds before halftime.
Officials initially ruled Bryant out of bounds, but replays showed he got his second foot down just in time.
"No (doubt)," said Bryant, whose touchdown was his only reception of the day. "Just when it comes to Antonio Bryant, there's always going to be some drama. I don't know why or what it is. That's just me."
Doug Brien kicked his second field goal of the game, a 38-yarder with 44 seconds to go in the third quarter, as the Jets climbed within 14-6.
But former Jet Richie Anderson broke off a 20-yard run on Dallas' second possession of the final period and Billy Cundiff answered with a 26-yard field goal to restore the Cowboys' 11-point lead.
"We hit a couple of big plays when we had to in that last drive to Richie Anderson and then to Joey Galloway to get some space between us," Parcells said.
Carter completed just 11-of-23 passes for 165 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Galloway was his favorite target with five catches for 100 yards. Testaverde was 21-of-29 for 219 yards.
"It's tough. It couldn't get any tougher than this," he said. "It's tough being 0-4. It is frustrating."
