There’s something clearly wrong with the Dallas Cowboys. For as much talent as they have, and yes, that phrase has been used so often over the last decade that it’s become cliché, it still rings true. The Cowboys’ front office made a concerted effort to field a better defense, and some of those additions didn’t come cheap.
Yet the results continue to be underwhelming. The squandered opportunity against the Arizona Cardinals is simply the latest chapter in what has become a disappointing 2026 season.
The Cowboys had every opportunity to win this game and failed to capitalize.
So where did things go wrong? Here are five reasons the Cowboys lost.
Javonte Williams never got going
After last week’s performance in Philadelphia, it felt like Javonte Williams and the run game might be turning a corner. Williams set a career high in rushing yards, and there was reason to believe Dallas could ride that momentum into this week’s matchup. That never happened. Williams was given very little room to operate behind the offensive line, and whenever Dallas needed a tough yard, Arizona seemed to have an answer.
He was stopped short on a critical fourth-down attempt in the first quarter on Dallas’ side of the field. Later, he was stuffed near the goal line in another key situation. Simply put, it wasn’t his day, nor the offensive line’s, who was just as much at fault.
Williams finished with 24 carries for 56 yards, averaging just 2.3 yards per carry. While the running game was certainly a factor in the loss, it wasn’t nearly as damaging as some of the other issues that plagued Dallas throughout the afternoon.
They couldn’t stop Tyler Allgeier
Tyler Allgeier is a solid running back, but the Cowboys made him look like an All-Pro. Allgeier finished with 191 yards from scrimmage after stepping into a larger role due to injuries in Arizona’s backfield. Once Dallas built its lead, it looked as though the Cardinals would struggle to generate offense consistently.
Instead, Allgeier took over the game in the second half. His 63-yard touchdown run perfectly encapsulated everything that’s been wrong with Dallas defensively this season. Missed tackles. Poor pursuit angles. Failure to shed blocks. At no point did it feel like the Cowboys were playing with the urgency necessary to stop him.
He followed that up with another explosive run of 52 yards, highlighted by Arizona center Hjalte Froholdt flattening Caleb Downs twice on the same play. More than anything, though, this speaks to a larger issue. The Cowboys simply do not tackle well. They haven’t all season, and they continue to allow explosive plays because of it.
Allgeier’s touchdown reception was another example. Multiple defenders converged on him near the goal line, but instead of wrapping up and finishing the play, they allowed him to extend the football across the plane.It’s not that Allgeier is some unstoppable force. It’s that Arizona played with a level of effort and physicality that Dallas failed to match.
Mishandling the Double Dip
No matter what happens, it’s almost always preferable to receive the second-half kickoff. Whether you’re playing from ahead or behind, having the first possession after halftime gives you a chance to either extend your lead or cut into a deficit.
Dallas found themselves in an ideal situation entering halftime. The Cowboys led 14-3 and had multiple opportunities to completely take control of the game if only they hadn’t squandered them.
The first opportunity came with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter. Dallas got the ball looking to add points before the break, but the drive quickly went nowhere after a Dak Prescott sack helped force a three-and-out. Then came a second chance.
After forcing a fumble, the Cowboys got the ball back with another opportunity to put points on the board before halftime. Unfortunately, Brandon Aubrey missed the field goal attempt, and Dallas headed into the locker room still leading by just 11.
The missed opportunities didn’t stop there. Dallas opened the second half with the football and put together an impressive drive that marched deep into Cardinals territory while taking more than eight minutes off the clock. It looked like the exact response a good football team should have after halftime. Instead, Ryan Flournoy mishandled a pass from Prescott and stalled the drive. The Cowboys settled for three points.
Had Dallas converted before halftime and punched in a touchdown to open the third quarter, this game likely looks very different. Arizona probably never feels the need to shake things up at quarterback, and the comeback attempt may never materialize in the first place.
The Cowboys had multiple opportunities to put the game away and failed every time. They cracked the door open for Arizona and the Cardinals kicked it down.
Not Enough Pickens
If Dallas truly wanted to establish the run, it would help to feature the one receiver on the roster most capable of forcing defenses to respect the deep ball. For the second straight week, George Pickens was largely an afterthought.
Ten targets over the last two weeks simply isn’t enough for a player with his skill set. Pickens finished with two catches for 48 yards, including a 37-yard reception, and appeared to have a 59-yard touchdown wiped off the board by a holding penalty. Even after proving he could challenge Arizona vertically, Dallas never made a concerted effort to get him more involved.
That’s been one of the more frustrating parts of the offense lately. There are stretches where Pickens completely disappears for an entire half. While CeeDee Lamb was heavily featured and Ryan Flournoy made some important plays, the Cowboys needed an offensive spark and rarely looked to one of their most explosive weapons.
That became even more puzzling as the game wore on. Particularly late in regulation and into overtime, Pickens should have been a focal point. There’s simply too much talent invested in him for Dallas to go extended stretches without throwing him the football. The Cowboys can point to several reasons why the offense came up short. Not utilizing one of their most dangerous playmakers enough belongs near the top of the list.
Coaching
There’s no easy way around it. Coaching is the biggest reason the Cowboys lost. The defense giving up points is unfortunately nothing new. Allowing 33 points feels almost routine at this stage. It’s disappointing, but it isn’t surprising. What’s becoming increasingly concerning is how the offense is being managed. The questionable decision-making started early.
Backed up deep in their own territory, Brian Schottenheimer opened a drive with a quarterback sneak. He followed it with an incomplete pass before calling a halfback draw on third down, effectively waving the white flag and choosing to punt from deep in his own territory.
The frustrating part is that we’ve seen this before. The Cowboys are paying significant money to Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. Yet time and again their head coach removes the game from their hands by calling conservatively in situations where aggression is warranted.
It’s reminiscent of the decision-making that has followed Schottenheimer throughout the season. Rather than trust his playmakers to create an advantage, he routinely defaults to the safest possible option. The most damning example came late in the game.
Holding a 27-24 lead with just over two minutes left, Schottenheimer had an opportunity to put the game away. Instead of remaining aggressive and forcing Arizona to defend the entire field, the Cowboys became conservative. He effectively challenged a backup quarterback to march the length of the field despite watching Arizona move the ball successfully on multiple consecutive possessions.
Again, he trusted his defense over Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. At best, that’s negligent game management. At worst, it’s coaching scared. Too often this season, Schottenheimer has coached not to lose rather than coached to win. That mindset has shown itself repeatedly and goes a long way toward explaining why Dallas sits at 3-5 despite possessing far more talent than its record suggests.
For all the talk about being an elite play-caller, the results simply haven’t matched the confidence. That’s not to absolve Christian Parker and the defense from criticism. They deserve plenty of it. But Parker is at least relatively inexperienced in his current role.
Schottenheimer doesn’t have that excuse. He has decades of NFL experience, and throughout this season he has repeatedly shown an inability to maximize the talent available to him. His game management, play design, and in-game adjustments have often left the Cowboys playing uphill when they should be dictating the action. Simply put, he’s not giving Dallas an advantage on Sundays.
This situation feels different than the Jason Garrett years. Back then, you could at least argue the front office wasn’t fully committed to maximizing the roster. They rarely pursued major free agents and were hesitant to make splashy moves.
That’s no longer the case. The Cowboys invested in this team. They spent money on defense. They added talent offensively. They made aggressive moves and trades with the expectation of competing now. Yet for all of Schottenheimer’s confidence at the podium, the performance on the field hasn’t backed it up.
Look around the roster. Count the first-round picks. Look at the money invested in star players on both sides of the ball. This team has far too much talent to be sitting at 3-5 and watching a once-winnable division begin to slip away. At this point, the Cowboys appear to be in over their heads, and much of that falls on the head coach.
The roster has flaws. The defense has flaws. The players deserve criticism. But the biggest problem facing the Cowboys right now is that their head coach doesn’t appear capable of elevating the talent around him. And until that changes, losses like this one are going to keep happening.
