The Dallas Cowboys finally put together a complete offensive performance in Philadelphia, and now they will try to carry that momentum into their matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Javonte Williams delivered a career night against the Eagles, CeeDee Lamb found the end zone twice, and the Cowboys’ rushing attack finally looked like the unit it was supposed to be at the start of the season.
The Cardinals have struggled defensively against the run, their offensive line is dealing with injuries, and
the Cowboys are beginning to show some improvement against opposing rushing attacks. Concerns remain, particularly about Dallas’ tight end production and third-down defense.
Here are some buy/sells for Week 8.
Buy: Javonte Williams
After waiting six weeks for Dallas to give him a substantial workload, Javonte Williams finally showed what he can do when the coaching staff commits to the ground game. His career performance against Philadelphia should earn him another healthy workload against Arizona.
Williams rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the Eagles, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt. It was his best performance of the season and the most rushing yards by a Cowboys running back in nearly a decade. More importantly, it helped Dallas establish an offensive identity that had been missing during its consecutive losses to Tampa Bay and Green Bay.
Through seven games, Williams has recorded 472 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 110 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt with eight rushing touchdowns so far in 2026. Arizona should provide another favorable opportunity. The Cardinals have allowed 126.4 rushing yards per game, ranking 24th in the league.
Dallas finally showed what its offensive line can do when it moves downhill, and Williams should have opportunities to exploit that matchup. The biggest takeaway from Philadelphia was that Williams needs to be a focal point of this offense, not an afterthought. Schottenheimer should keep feeding him to achieve the balance he always talks about.
Buy: CeeDee Lamb
This is getting easy; this conversation comes up, and putting CeeDee Lamb in the mix is a no-brainer with how he’s performed so far this season. Lamb continues to remind everyone why he is the centerpiece of Dallas’ passing attack.
Against Philadelphia, Lamb caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, giving Prescott another dependable option in the red zone. Over seven games, Lamb has caught 53 passes for 651 yards and six touchdowns. He leads the Cowboys in receiving yards and has been one of the team’s most consistent offensive weapons throughout the season.
The Cardinals have struggled to consistently contain opposing offenses, and their secondary will have to account for both Lamb and George Pickens. That creates opportunities for Lamb to find favorable coverage, particularly if Dallas continues to establish Williams and force Arizona to respect the run.
Lamb has six touchdowns through seven games, and his yardage production, second only to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, has become a Cowboys staple as Dallas looks to build consistency. Expect him to remain a major part of the offensive game plan against Arizona.
Buy: The Cowboys’ run defense
This might be the most surprising buy of the week, but the Cowboys’ run defense deserves some credit for its recent improvement. It is far from a finished product, but after being gashed by Tampa Bay, Dallas has shown signs that it can finally, at the very least, slow down opposing rushing attacks.
The Cowboys allowed Tampa Bay 241 rushing yards in Week 5, a performance that exposed how vulnerable the defense can be against a physical ground game. Since then, however, Dallas has allowed just 57 rushing yards to Green Bay and 121 to Philadelphia. Yes, the Saquon Barkley injury did play a role here.
That averages 89 rushing yards allowed per game over the last two weeks, a significant improvement from the problems Dallas faced earlier in the season. The defensive front has started creating more disruption, and the return of key second-level contributors has helped the unit play with more consistency.
Arizona’s backfield presents an interesting test. Rookie Jeremiyah Love is expected to return after missing two games with an ankle injury, but the Cardinals will be without right guard Jon Gaines II, while center Hjalte Froholdt is questionable. Tyler Allgeier has also been dealing with a toe injury. Even with Love returning, the uncertainty along the offensive line could make it difficult for Arizona to establish the ground game, and Love hasn’t exactly set the world on fire when healthy.
If the defensive front controls the line of scrimmage and prevents Love from finding room to operate, it will force Jacoby Brissett to shoulder more of the offensive workload. The Cowboys have not suddenly become an elite run defense, but the last two games have been encouraging. Another decent performance against Arizona would go a long way toward showing that the improvement is real rather than a temporary stretch.
Sell: The Cowboys’ tight end position
Man, there was a time the tight end position in Dallas was a lock. Now the position has increasingly disappeared from Dallas’ passing attack, and it is becoming difficult to view the group as a difference-maker. Jake Ferguson’s production has fallen off sharply, while Brevyn Spann-Ford hasn’t received enough opportunities in the passing game to become a consistent contributor.
Ferguson has struggled to establish himself as any sort of contributor. Drops have been an issue, and against Philadelphia, Ferguson finished with no receptions on his lone target and played fewer than 56% of the offensive snaps for the second straight week.
Spann-Ford has seen more opportunities recently, including a season-high 52.9% snap share against Philadelphia. He caught both of his targets for 11 yards, but his overall production remains limited. Through seven games, he has recorded just nine receptions for 79 yards on 13 targets, leaving plenty to be desired from a position that was supposed to provide another reliable option for Prescott.
The Cowboys have talented receivers in Lamb and Pickens, and the emergence of Williams as a consistent rushing threat has helped diversify the offense. But the tight end position should still be contributing more than it has.
Whether it is Ferguson struggling to regain his confidence or Spann-Ford being used primarily as a blocker, Dallas is not getting much production from the group. For now, the Cowboys should continue leaning on their receivers and running backs while searching for more answers at tight end.
