Blogging The Boys
The 3-4-1 Dallas Cowboys might still be living just on the edge of “must win” territory going into their first Monday Night Football game of the season, but winning the games you’re supposed to is always a hallmark of teams with real playoff viability. The Cowboys upcoming three-week stretch will include two such games they need to win in the worst way, both on Monday nights. Dallas can start to be taken slightly more seriously this season with primetime wins in front of national audiences, not because of the perceived quality of these wins, but because they would have a winning record for the first time in 2025 ahead of tougher spotlight games on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs, a Thursday night in December at the Lions followed by a Sunday night against the Vikings, and Christmas at the Commanders.
In order for this tougher stretch to truly define who this year’s Cowboys are, they will first need to beat the Arizona Cardinals playing without starting QB Kyler Murray. This would set up a Week 11 game at the struggling Las Vegas Raiders.
It would be their first win against the Cardinals since a different Monday night in 2017 under Jason Garrett, that one coming on the road against Carson Palmer starting at QB for Arizona. It will be Jacoby Brissett making his first career start against the Cowboys this time, and also his first on a Monday night.
The Cowboys trying to snap a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals will still be enough of a challenge, but certainly gets a lift in what will now be a Dak Prescott versus Jacoby Brissett game from AT&T Stadium. Kyler Murray was previously 9-0 in this stadium, so the Cowboys not having the burden of trying to finally end this streak with a defense that hardly looked up to the challenge last week against the Broncos is another thing working in their favor.
Brissett is in his first season with the Cardinals, and has started their last two games against the Colts and Packers. The Cardinals had a fourth quarter lead in both games, with Brissett throwing a combined four touchdowns to one interception and completing over 60% of his passes in both. Tight end Trey McBride was Arizona’s leader in targets and catches against both Indianapolis and Green Bay, also catching three of Brissett’s four touchdown passes.
The Cardinals will come into this game off their bye, having lost five games in a row. How much the bye will serve them establishing Brissett into the offense even further will be found out at game time, because early in the week it seemed like Murray would have a chance to practice and play. Another loss for the Cardinals would match their longest losing streak under third-year head coach Jonathan Gannon, who came over from being the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator. The defensive minded coach will have a hard time coming out on top scheming against a Cowboys offense that’s been great at...
