FRISCO, Texas — This year has, thus far, been a roller coaster that the Dallas Cowboys are desperately trying to escape. They've been unable to string together consecutive wins through their first seven games of the 2026 season and, as a result, they find themselves trying to climb back to .500 when the Arizona Cardinals fly into town.
Their convincing win over the Eagles in Philadelphia on Monday Night Football was a welcome breath of fresh air for a team that lost two straight going into that matchup, and rookie first-round pick Caleb Downs is making it clear the time is now — every week, actually — to start making sure the train stays on the tracks.
"Yeah, I think every week — we're trying to win every week," he said on Friday. "We're trying to improve to get better. That's what the focus is, and not trying to do anything specific, just trying to improve and get better and play our best game this Sunday."
Fortunately for the Cowboys, their offense came alive with the activation of their rushing attack and, now, it's a matter of sticking to that formula so that Dak Prescott can more easily make teams pay with his fellow All-Pros, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
And, for the defense, it's about continuing to make strides, as they have the past several weeks in holding opponents to just under 23 points per game.
"I think it's always the mindset: continue to improve," Downs explained. "And that's always what it's gonna be, no matter what happens. So, whoever's on the field just has to continue to up our level, play up to our standard, and that's what we're gonna do."
This is a chance for rookies like Downs, Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham to start their NFL career with a win over the Cardinals, something not many in a Cowboys uniform can boast — Lamb pointing out recently that he's never beaten them in his seven-year career.
To get the victory and break the ongoing curse that's allowed Arizona to haunt Dallas for years, Downs and his defensive compatriots will have to focus on shutting down all-world tight end Trey McBride and rookie first-round pick Jeremiyah Love, the latter returning from injury to take on the Cowboys and, in the process, to put their run defense to the test.
"I think they do a good job with their motions. and they run the ball well." said Downs. "They have a lot of different personnel groupings, like the Rams did a couple years ago. I think, all of that combined, they have a good offense, and we're gonna have to do our jobs."
