In a clash that featured missed chances and some diabolical errors, both sides showed they have some way to go to justify featuring in plenty of pre-season NRL top-eight predictions.
But the Cowboys' grit to fight back from 12-0 down at halftime, and Townsend's composure with two big plays at the death, proved enough to seal a memorable win in Townsville on Saturday.
"I wouldn't say we deserved to win," said Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
"But we found a way and in 10, 12 weeks no one really remembers how you won at the start of the year.
"When it mattered, we got it done but we didn't play well."
Match Highlights 🎥: — NRL (@NRL) #NRLCowboysKnights A Chad Townsend field goal in golden point saw the Cowboys produce a dramatic come-from-behind 21-20 victory over the Knights in Townsville on Saturday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/xVw8pgULHjMarch 16, 2024
Semi-finalists last season, the Knights have now lost their first two games of 2024, both after collapsing in the second half.
But coach Adam O'Brien saw improvement between the troubling round-one loss to Canberra and Saturday.
"I'm really proud of them in terms of turning around a performance in seven days," he said.
"There's no doubt there's some things that we need to get a whole lot better and smarter at.
"We were obviously a bit slow coming out of the blocks in the second half."
North Queensland, meanwhile, remain undefeated as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 campaign.
The Cowboys appeared to have done enough to snatch victory in regulation time when Townsend came up with the first of two clutch plays.
The halfback threaded a kick through the defensive line for Jeremiah Nanai to score with four minutes left and level the scores.
But Valentine Holmes could not ice the conversion from the right edge that could have won the game.
Instead, the match moved to golden point, where Townsend kicked his 19th career field goal after a line break from Tom Dearden put the home side in position for a shot in the 82nd minute.
"I've got to give credit to the lads because they stayed at it and stayed at it and stayed at it. They showed some great belief," Payten said.
Earlier, 12 first-half errors from the Cowboys gifted the Knights all the momentum and the visitors cashed in through a try-scoring double to Adam Elliott.
A try double from Adam Elliott (C) gave Newcastle the edge in the first half. (Scott Radford-Chisholm/AAP PHOTOS)
Both sides struggled to get out of their own way all afternoon.
Townsend twice failed to find the line with kicks for touch, while Holmes had four errors and missed an easy penalty goal early on.
Newcastle weren't blameless either; with the game in the balance as the final 10 minutes approached, Kalyn Ponga spilt the ball cold on a kick return without any pressure from chasers.
The Cowboys had struck back immediately after halftime with two tries in three minutes.
Townsend was the recipient of an offload from Kyle Feldt for their first four-pointer, before veteran winger Feldt grabbed his 130th career try from the next set, equalling Matt Bowen's club record.
Greg Marzhew had the Knights' only try of a tense second half when Jackson Hastings grubber-kicked through the line but Newcastle's lead evaporated after Nanai returned the favour.
Injury-plagued Cowboys second-rower Heilum Luki and Newcastle middle forward Jack Hetherington both left the game with ankle injuries.
Payten was worried for Luki, who finished the game in a moon boot.
"He didn't come back, so that's not a good sign," he said.
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