Blogging The Boys
The 2025 Dallas Cowboys are in a tough spot at the moment. Their season already feels like a movie the fanbase has seen countless times, and decided it isn’t worth the stay. Even the worst movies can at least have scenes worth watching though, and if each week of the NFL season is a scene, the Cowboys will at least be hoping their Monday Night Football debut under Brian Schottenheimer can be a familiar and worthwhile scene on offense.
The Cowboys are off a deflating road loss in Denver, their eighth straight to the Broncos. That loss has them still searching for their next opportunity to reach a winning record, which even with a win against a Cardinals team that has lost five in a row will have to wait until at least week 11. The Cowboys are getting the Cardinals off of their bye, and then going into the bye themselves aiming for a 4-4-1 record at that point. Doing so against the Cardinals will not come easy, as the Cowboys have lost seven of their last eight to Arizona between 2008 and 2023.
Dallas’ one win against Arizona in this stretch came on the road in 2017, also on a Monday night. The Cowboys came into that game off their now second-to-most-recent loss in Denver, humiliated once again 42-17. The Cowboys bounced back to beat the Cardinals 28-17, getting a similar type of redeeming performance they’ll need this Monday from Dak Prescott.
Prescott ran in the team’s first touchdown of the game in the first half to tie the game at seven, put the Cowboys ahead in the third quarter with a touchdown to Dez Bryant, then threw a fourth quarter touchdown to Brice Butler to give the Cowboys the lead for good. Doing all of this on just 18 attempts – tied for the second lowest in his career still to this day – Prescott completed 13 of them for 183 yards and the two scores. The Cowboys had less first downs, total yards, ran 30 less plays, and had a worse third-down percentage compared to the Cardinals in this game, but still found a way to win.
Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith led the Cowboys defense in tackles against a Carson Palmer-led Cardinals offense, carried by Larry Fitzgerald who dominated with 13 catches on 15 targets for 149 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals only rushed for 49 yards at 2.3 yards per carry though, punting six times and turning the ball over on downs on their final possession.
With so many throwback names littered throughout the box score of this win (Terrance Williams, Ezekiel Elliott, and Jason Witten tied for the lead in targets with four for the Cowboys passing game), the fact it was on a Monday and also came off a road loss to the Broncos is about the end of the relevant ties to this upcoming primetime game. The Cowboys can still be hopeful history will repeat itself in this way, but...
