The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Arizona Cardinals. At just about no point in the game on Monday night were the Cowboys competitive. All the worst fears and speculations were realized in the manners in which we predicted in our worst thoughts and the cruelest part of it all is that none of us are surprised.
The season carries life in a technical sense, but it effectively ended on Monday night. The bye week will force us to dwell on this for a long time which is just great.
Here is our Stock Report from the Cardinals loss.
Stock Down: Jerry Jones
The Cowboys owner, president, and general manager made sure to feed ESPN and their content machine in the lead up to, during, and after this game. He appeared on Stephen A. Smith’s show to tease a trade that we later found out to be Logan Wilson, hosted Smith in his suite that was shown during the game, and continued to insist that the team would be in the mix during his postgame comments. That wound up being true by way of Quinnen Williams.
Is there anyone who enjoys all of this? The Williams trade is exciting, but the circus is exhausting. At one point in time it certainly had a bit of intrigue, but these off-the-field things just weigh everything down and that all starts with Jerry Jones. We all know this. I am not saying anything new.
Do you remember in Space Jam when the Monstars threatened to shackle Michael Jordan for all of his life so that everyone who wanted could play him one-on-one and humiliate him? And that this would be how he would spend all of his days?
That is life for the Dallas Cowboys in modern times.
Stock Down: Matt Eberflus
We are at a point where it is unfair to blame Matt Eberflus entirely, but the defense is so bad and historically inept that we have to keep pointing at least one of the fingers here.
There are debates to be had about whether or not Jacoby Brissett is the best quarterback on the Cardinals roster. Fine. But being so woefully unprepared and unable to do anything mid-game is alarming. Having a fourth defensive coordinator in as many years would not be ideal, but hard conversations have to be had here.
Stock Down: Brian Schottenheimer
Brian Schottenheimer is in a no-win situation. That being said, he had his team incredibly unprepared for a game against a 2-5 team. His squad got bullied and pushed around (and made fun of with Cardinals’ player comments that were heard on microphones).
He preaches toughness and tenacity, but the group seemed more than willing to fold at the first opportunity. For the first time this season the Cowboys looked disinterested. That is a Brian Schottenheimer issue.
Stock Down: Dak Prescott
This was not a good game from Dak Prescott. That is stating the obvious. He certainly seemed to give things his best effort and was on the move thanks to an offensive line that was getting beat, but he is in a position where he has to find a way. That is the request.
Things were looking great for Prescott prior to the Denver game. Unfortunately he has had his worst two-game stretch in some time.
Stock Down: George Pickens
The taunting penalty that he drew was incredibly light. It stinks that the NFL calls that kind of thing. But rules are rules. George Pickens knows them.
For the first eight games of the season he had avoided any kind of discussion like this, but drawing a penalty like that when the team was trying to mount a comeback (an improbable one to be clear) simply cannot happen.
Stock Down: Jake Ferguson
This was a really tough game for Jake Ferguson. At one point in the first half he had a holding penalty that wiped out a big gain and then almost immediately after had a consequential fumble that felt like the moment where things really went sideways for the Cowboys. He had such a stellar run this season for a while, but he will probably want this one back.
Stock Down: DaRon Bland
DaRon Bland was awful against the Cardinals. Awful is not a strong enough word. We all saw him fall down after Marvin Harrison Jr. got the best of him. It was a complete and total disaster. Bland’s overall future with the team is still bullish. But this was rough.
Stock Down: Kenneth Murray
There is not much to add here to the fact that the Cowboys traded for Logan Wilson on Tuesday morning. This marks two linebackers that have been acquired by way of trade in the 2025 NFL season which suggests that the first one (Murray) was a mistake.
Stock Down: Brandon Aubrey
I do not want to blame someone for missing a 68-yard field goal, but he did and that’s why he’s here. That’s all. Blah.
Stock Down: Everything and everyone
Things feel incredibly down with the Cowboys right now. They are still trying to recover from their 2023 Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers. Overall the franchise is in a really dark place. There are eight games left this season, the part of the year that we all collectively enjoy the most, and that feels like a punishment.
When will it be fun again? At what point will this nightmare end? Tuesday’s trades suggest a commitment to the future not being this way, but that doesn’t change the reality of the moment.
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