Well, it finally happened: the Cowboys got a streak going. It’s just the wrong kind of streak.
For the first time this season, the Cowboys lost consecutive games, falling 27-17 to the Cardinals. It also
marked their first home loss of the year. And the final score doesn’t reflect how truly embarrassing this was for America’s Team.
Dallas started with the ball, and their offense looked to have their mojo back after being stifled last week in Denver. Javonte Williams was running hard and Dak Prescott was hitting chunk plays to both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and before long they were looking at first and goal.
Then Williams got stuffed for a loss. A quick pass to Jake Ferguson made it third and goal before a Ferguson drop brought up fourth down. In a correction from last week, when Brian Schottenheimer settled for a field goal on the opening drive, the Cowboys went for it. It didn’t work, largely because both Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele were reduced to human turnstiles as Prescott was sacked.
The Cardinals, who have struggled offensively all year and especially in the run game, suddenly looked like they had all the answers. Jacoby Brissett was finding wide open receivers and the Cardinals running backs had plenty of open room to run. Somehow, Dallas held them to a field goal, but the Cardinals ate up nearly seven minutes on the drive.
They were quicker the next time out. After a Cowboys three-and-out, the Cardinals engineered a drive that lasted nearly five minutes and ended with Marvin Harrison Jr. running a route so crisp that DaRon Bland fell to the ground, leaving Harrison wide open for a touchdown.
That seemed to jolt the Cowboys offense awake again, because Prescott and Williams started moving the ball down the field. A hold on Ferguson backed things up, though, and two plays later Ferguson fumbled in field goal range to hand the ball back to Arizona. It felt like a moment where the game effectively ended, sucking the life out of the stadium.
To quote Michael Corleone, though, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
Not long after the turnover, the defense forced a punt and Sam Williams, of all people, broke through to block the punt with his face. That sent the ball ricocheting back into the endzone, and Marshawn Kneeland fell on it for a touchdown. Just like that, the Cowboys had life again.
However, to quote the manager from South Park, “Aaaaaand it’s gone.”
It took the Cardinals 11 plays and just over three minutes to get back into the endzone, with Brissett sneaking in for the score and putting the Cardinals up 17-7. The Cowboys got in range for a 68-yard field goal, giving Brandon Aubrey a chance to tie Jaguars kicker Cam Little’s brand new record, but Aubrey missed wide as the first half expired.
It was that kind of game: even the most automatic member of this team was missing. Things got even worse to start the third quarter, as the Cardinals scored a touchdown on just three plays to go up 24-7. The two teams traded a field goal after that, and Dallas briefly “made it interesting” with a touchdown at the top of the fourth quarter, but this game was effectively over on that first drive of the second half.
Simply put, this team played with no heart. The defense just gave up first down after first down, whether by penalty or blown coverage or missed tackle. The pass blocking, especially on the perimeter, was abysmal; Steele was benched for Nate Thomas in the fourth quarter, and things got a little better. Pickens and Williams both fumbled too, with Williams’ fumble being recovered by Arizona.
The Cowboys now fall to 3-5-1 and enter their bye week. Earlier in the day, Jerry Jones promised a trade to come on Tuesday, and possibly two more. But why bother? No one player is fixing what ails this team, and three new players aren’t likely to do the job either. Two straight weeks this team has laid an egg, and they’ve got serious work to do if they have any plans on contending for a playoff spot.
Oh, and the road gets significantly harder from here. They come out of the bye against a bad Raiders team, but after that they face the Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, and Chargers. The worst of those by record is the Vikings, but they just upset the Lions.
Schottenheimer and his staff have some soul searching to do during the bye week. They certainly haven’t figured anything out on the fly, and if anything, the team has regressed as the season has gone along. Right now, the Cowboys’ 2025 season is on life support, and there are very few supporting arguments against pulling the plug.
