Code Blue: Cowboys hemorrhage self respect vs lowly Cards, self destruct in 27-17 loss – K.D. Drummond, The Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys may have almost singlehandedly forced a QB change for the Cardinals, as Jacoby Brissett looked great in his first win of 2025.
While the defense was once again a total bust, for the second straight game the vaunted Dak Prescott-led offense was missing in action. The Cowboys were shut out in the first half, and it once again started with a stalled opening drive. This time, instead of settling for a field goal like they did against Denver in Week 8, Dallas was stopped on a fourth-down attempt.Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
They’d punt on their net drive and fumble on their third, quickly going down 10-0. The team was able to block a punt and recover for a score, but the defense allowed the Cardinals to march down the field in response and erase the score with a touchdown of their own.
Dallas’ late comeback effort was thwarted when, down 17, they chose to go for it from the Arizona 21 instead of kicking a field goal to cut the deficit to two scores.
What made things even more disappointing is the defense allowed journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett carve them up, as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride got whatever they wanted, repeatedly moving the chains on third down. CB DaRon Bland was targeted over and over and over again by the Arizona attack.
The Cowboys enter their bye week without much hope based on their performance, even if they aren’t technically out of the playoff race. Now the attention will turn to what kind of draft picks they’re going to give up on Tuesday.
The Cowboys’ on-field product is certainly far from noteworthy, and Jerry may compound the error.
“The details are tomorrow,” Jones said. “There’s a good chance that we’ll have some things to talk about tomorrow.”
Defense certainly has been Dallas’ shortcoming through the first eight games of the season, allowing 31.3 points per game (31st in NFL entering Week 9).
Pass rusher, of course, is an area of need following the decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Packers at the end of August. Veteran James Houston currently leads the team with 3.5 sacks, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who was part of the Parsons blockbuster, is the only other defender with more than one sack this year.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Dallas indeed is in the market for a pass rusher.
One of the players possibly on the Cowboys’ radar (Jaelan Phillips) was dealt to the rival Philadelphia Eagles on Monday morning. The Titans’ Arden Key, the Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb and the Raiders’ Malcolm Koonce were other names to monitor, per Rapoport.
We have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to find out what exactly Jones has up his sleeve.
If Cowboys make a trade after loss to Cardinals, it’s just Jerry Jones trying to fool you—and he just told you why – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports
After suffering their first back-to-back losses of the year, is there any possible trade that could turn around this Cowboys season?
“The Dallas Cowboys probably have the kind of interest that we have in no small part because we stay out front and we stay controversial,” Jones said on the show. “When it gets slow, I stir that (expletive) up. Fact. I just want to be relevant. I just want you to be looking at us.”
And by the way, it’s not the first time he makes such a statement, either. You heard him on Netflix. “It’s a soap opera 365 days a year,” he said. He’s admitted it on several interviews before.
With playoff hopes quickly heading for 0% for a Cowboys defense that can’t get off the field and an offense that keeps getting flags and messing up protection, it’s time to make fans buy in. Not the knowledgeable, die-hard ones with deep understanding of the salary cap. Nor the ones who know the backups and practice squad players. Nah, the ones who get asked where did Dak Prescott go to college and they don’t know. Nothing against them, by the way. Heck, sometimes I envy them. For them, hope springs eternal in sports. But those are the fans Jerry wants to get excited through a trade. It’s the most of them, too.
But here’s the thing I learned when I failed Calculus II in college. Despite going to academic counseling twice a week to try to save the semester, it was already too late. I never learned Calculus I and barely got by. Then I spent most of the semester failing midterms and quizzes en route to finals. I was in deep trouble already. No amount of academic counseling would save me. The Cowboys refused build a good team in the offseason, from the early re-signing period to free agency. They prioritized finding discounts instead of impact. They dealt away Micah Parsons because they let feelings get in the way.
No midseason trade will save them at this point.
Cowboys vs. Cardinals recap: Dallas humiliated on Monday night 27-10 as season slips away – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys
The Arizona Cardinals, a team that came into Monday night on a five-game losing streak, was really the better team from start to finish at the Cowboys.
Second Quarter
It took a few moments for matters to turn ugly.
Marvin Harrison Jr. took care of DaRon Bland with relative ease and the Cardinals established a 10-point lead.
SCORE: COWBOYS 0, CARDINALS 10 (Jacoby Brissett to Marvin Harrison Jr. 4-yard touchdown)
The next drive felt critical for the Cowboys given everything to date, and the offense seemed to play as if that was the case.
Dak Prescott was doing all he could and even had a big game on the ground. A few plays later he had a nice conversion to George Pickens that was unfortunately called back thanks to a holding penalty against Jake Ferguson.
Unfortunately that wouldn’t be Ferguson’s lowest point of the drive. On 3rd and 17 the Cowboys were clearly playing for points of any kind by way of a Brandon Aubrey field goal and Prescott dumped it off to Ferg. As Jake was scrambling for more yardage he had the ball popped loose and the Cardinals recovered.
Third Quarter
We all anticipated the Cardinals starting the second half with the ball to be a bad thing. We didn’t anticipate just how bad it would be.
Despite a penalty that pushed them back five yards, the Cardinals scored with about as much ease as you can in the NFL. In total it was a 3-play, 79-yard sequence that ended up with a Trey McBride touchdown.
SCORE: COWBOYS 7, CARDINALS 24 (Jacoby Brissett to Trey McBride 12-yard touchdown)
The Cowboys marched down the field and were very clearly motivated to put forth some type of pride. It seemed like a rather desperate drive.
Ultimately they were able to churn out points by way of a Brandon Aubrey field goal, but it took so much of their energy to do so.
3 takeaways from Dallas Cowboys’ embarrassing loss to Cardinals in Week 9 – Tyler Reed, Sports Illustrated
If the Cowboys offense isn’t going to score touchdowns in the red zone, the losses could really start to pile up this season.
3. Red Zone Woes
It’s strange to be dunking on this offense like this, but nothing went right on Monday night. An offense that has been so crisp all season couldn’t find their way in the end zone when they were in the most important part of the field.
Once again, this also goes back to the woes of the defense. If the Cowboys’ offense can’t score touchdowns in the red zone, it’s going to be a long day at the office for this team.
There are only so many times you can take a loss and throw out the message “We have to get better.” Time is running out for this team.
Dallas Cowboys crumble in 27-17 Week 9 defeat to Arizona Cardinals – Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
The Cowboys not only go into the bye off another loss, but will do so with one of their worst offensive performances on a big stage against the Cardinals.
Offensive Disaster: Mistakes Kill Cowboys In Week 9
You don’t need me to tell you the Cowboys’ offense was ugly for the vast majority of this game. The unit did not score a touchdown until Ryan Flournoy’s 4th-quarter grab.
Arizona gave them chances, even kicking off to start the game, but Dallas turned that possession into a turnover on downs.
From there, they had a negative 12-yard, 3-play drive that resulted in a Bryan Anger punt. It was his only punt of the night, but only because Dallas’s next drive went like this: a turnover, two field goal attempts, and another turnover on downs.
As I mentioned, the young Flournoy got into the end zone to snap that dreadful streak, before the Cowboys got the ball back when 7:11 on the clock, hoping to cut it to a one-score affair.
George Pickens hurt things with a 15-yard penalty before Javonte Williams fumbled away their last chance.
In total, the offense had four drives that ended in either a fumble or a turnover on downs. It was a bad, bad night for the offensive line, and a few of Dak Prescott’s top weapons.
Mistakes killed their chances, just as they did in Denver last week.
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