ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott had a message for some teammates in the locker room after Sunday’s 28-25 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“Enjoy your Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, tonight,” the Cowboys quarterback said. “Tomorrow you wake up and it’s Thursday, so let’s get started.”

If the score is 1-2, the Cowboys will play the New York Giants.

They have to. They have just two more practices before they board a plane to New Jersey for Thursday’s game against their NFC East rivals (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

“I mean, that’s just the schedule,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s part of the NFL. It’s the beauty of competition. There’s nothing like Sunday, like game day. So, we know what the schedule is. We have a plan. We’re going to be there (Monday), do what we have to do. Set them up and get them ready to go Thursday night.”

The Cowboys are 1-2 for the first time since 2020, McCarthy’s first year. They would finish that season with a 6-10 record, in part because Prescott was out for the season with a dislocated and broken right ankle. But also because of a defense that allowed a franchise-record 473 points and couldn’t stop the run.

Over the last two games, the Cowboys have allowed 464 rushing yards, the most for Dallas through two games since 2020, when they allowed 476 yards in Weeks 12 and 13 and 469 in Weeks 6 and 7.

“It’s just a matter of, at what point do we just roll with it and make a play?” said edge rusher Micah Parsons, who was a rookie in 2021. “I mean, I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

If there was one positive for the Cowboys, it was the fighting spirit they showed in the fourth quarter. They trailed 28-6 going into the final quarter. After Baltimore’s Justin Tucker missed a 46-yard field goal attempt, the Cowboys scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.

They opened the game with three touchdowns in two weeks. Prescott threw for 187 yards in the final 10:41 of the game with touchdown throws to Jalen Tolbert (15 yards) and KaVontae Turpin (16 yards) after he had a 1-yard touchdown run.

The Cowboys got help from a recoverable onside kick and a three-and-out by the Ravens, enabling them to mount a franchise-best 22-point comeback.

“It’s something that’s not in the script or the schedule: it’s the heart and soul of your football team and the ability to grow emotionally and gain that experience,” McCarthy said.

But when the defense needed one more stop, they couldn’t get it with Lamar Jackson completing a 9-yard pass to receiver Zay Flowers on third-and-6. Two plays later, Jackson finished the game with a 10-yard gain.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that we got beat, and there are parts of the way we got beat that really need to get a lot better,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “But it takes something to come back and put in that much effort at the end of the day. I’m going to hang my hat on that.”

The Cowboys can’t continue to get off to a slow start. In the past two games, they’ve given up eight touchdowns in 10 first-half possessions. The offense hasn’t been able to match that production, allowing one touchdown and five field goals in 11 first-half possessions.

“We just have to do everything cleaner,” tight end Jake Ferguson said.

The Giants are a good opponent for the Cowboys. Prescott hasn’t lost to them since his rookie season (2016), winning 12 in a row. He has 27 touchdown passes and eight interceptions against the Giants.

Like the Cowboys, New York is 1-2, with the lone win coming over the Cleveland Browns.

Jones wasn’t too thrilled with Prescott’s winning streak.

“I just know that, not in the sense of this Giants team, how we’re playing right now. We’re going to go on the road, they’re going to be tough,” Jones said. “So I’m not at all interested in the performance of our individual players against teams that we’re going to play in the future.”

Prescott’s concerns are more about mindset. The Cowboys have lost two games in the past three seasons. Last season’s came in December. In 2021, it was November.

“When guys are stuck and guys are down a loss or two losses in a row, I obviously have to speak up and let them know it’s over,” Prescott said. “We have a chance to come here next Thursday, four days from now, and go 2-2. And when we get that win, you’re going to feel a little bit better.

“And again I have to remind them that it doesn’t matter. It’s about what we can do in (10) days or what we can do tomorrow to build the next game. We just have to understand the process, trust the process and be accountable.”