Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys just can’t beat the Arizona Cardinals. Even when the Cardinals are having a rough year, the Cowboys can’t seem to figure them out, as they have now lost four straight to those redbirds. Monday night’s 27-17 loss marks the first time this season the Cowboys have lost two in a row, suffering their first loss of the year at AT&T Stadium. It’s been a rough season for the Cowboys as they now sit with a 3-5-1 record heading into the bye week with the slow realization that this team isn’t going to amount to much in 2025. Here are 10 thoughts on another disappointing showing by the Cowboys.
For the second-straight game, the Cowboys’ offense took the opening kickoff and drove all the way down inside the five-yard line, only to not be able to finish the job. Last week against the Broncos, they got all the way down near the goal line, but had to settle for a field goal when the playcalling fizzled. Against the Cardinals, they didn’t want to start in the same fashion and decided to go for it on fourth down. Unfortunately, Dak Prescott was sacked, and they came away with nothing.
Brian Schottenheimer will be scrutinized for his fourth-down decisions in this game. Not only did they not come away with points on their opening drive, but they came away empty on their first drive in the fourth quarter as well. The Cowboys were down by 17 points, and it might have seemed like they should have taken the points (especially if you listened to Troy Aikman and Joe Buck) to make it a two-score game. While that’s all and good in hindsight, we have to remember that the Cowboys’ defense hadn’t been making stops in this game. The Cardinals’ offense had scored points in five of their last six possessions, so being assertive and going for the touchdown was the right thing to do.
Whenever we bring up fourth-year edge rusher Sam Williams’ name, it’s usually because he’s either made a big splash play or caught making a bonehead penalty. On this night, Williams used his head, but in a good way. On the Cardinals’ first punt of the game, the Cowboys’ special teams bull-rushed the blockers and raced right into the face of punter Pat O’Donnell. The punt deflected off the helmet of Williams and bounced into the end zone where Marshawn Kneeland carefully landed on it for the touchdown. It was a great play by the Cowboys’ special teams and the lone bright spot of the first half.
It’s no secret that the Cowboys’ defense is bad. The Cardinals scored 27 points during five of their first six possessions. It was pretty clear that this was going to be another game where the defense wouldn’t give the team a chance. But this one can’t be pinned on...
