The Dallas Cowboys finally produced the performance they needed on Monday night, beating Philadelphia 38-21 to move to 3-4. Now Dallas comes home to face a 2-5 Arizona Cardinals team that has lost five of its last six games. This is a real opportunity for the Cowboys to finally put consecutive wins together.
The biggest positive from Philadelphia was the way Dallas ran the football. Javonte Williams exploded for a career-high 155 rushing yards and a touchdown, while the Cowboys finished with 204 rushing yards at
5.4 yards per carry. That balance made life much easier for Dak Prescott. If Dallas can carry that approach into Sunday, Arizona won’t be able to simply attack Prescott on every down.
After two difficult weeks, Prescott responded exactly the way fans expected and gave Dallas the performance it needed thanks to a balanced offense. He threw for 212 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, finishing with a 118.1 passer rating. Dallas scored on seven of its nine offensive possessions and produced a season-high 416 yards.
On the opposite side, Arizona has allowed 30 or more points in four of its last five games, including 45 against Detroit and 30 against Denver last weekend. What’s even more concerning for Arizona is they rank dead last in points allowed this season at 30 points per game allowed. When it comes to total yards allowed, they rank 29th. This means Prescott and the offense should have plenty of opportunities to take control of the game.
For the Cowboys defense, this may be the biggest matchup for them to gather more confidence. Arizona has moved the football, which looks great on the stat sheet, but it hasn’t finished drives. They rank 10th in the league for total yards per drive on offense, yet rank 26th in points per game, and has scored only 16 and 18 points in its last two games.
The Cardinals are also just 1-for-10 in the red zone over their last two games. Against Denver they reached the red zone four times and managed only one touchdown. That is exactly what this Dallas defense needs to get rolling.
The Cowboys don’t have to completely shut Arizona down, but at least force field goals instead of touchdowns and let Prescott’s offense create the difference. If Dallas gets into the high 20s or 30s, the Cardinals will undoubtedly struggle to keep pace and become one-dimensional allowing them concentrate on constricting Arizona’s passing game.
The Cowboys defense is getting healthier. DeMarvion Overshown finally returned against Philadelphia and immediately reminded everyone what Dallas had been missing. He tied for the team lead with six tackles, added a tackle for loss, broke up two passes and grabbed an interception. Cornerback Cobie Durant also returned from injury which only adds to the help this secondary needs.
So what about the Cowboys defensive line? The Cardinals struggled to protect Jacoby Brissett against Denver. He was under pressure throughout their last game and was sacked three times. Arizona has allowed 15 sacks through seven games, which ranks middle of the league.
As for running the ball, Arizona average 3.7 yards per carry, that ranks 27th in the league and their Run Block Win rate of 70% ranks 30th. That’s an offensive line struggling in pass protection and to get push in the run game.
Dallas’ pass rush desperately needs more production. This gives Quinnen Williams and company a good opportunity to create some after registering two sacks against Philadelphia last week. Despite the sacks coming in slow, the Cowboys defensive line actually rank eighth in the league in Pressure Rate at 34%.
Dallas should enter this game believing it is the better team, especially with the home field advantage added on top. There is every reason to believe Dallas can finally stack victories, move back to 4-4, and start building some genuine momentum.
