ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and a 10-point lead in the final two minutes in what was yet another unreal finish in this Cowboys-Cardinals series.
Once again, the Cowboys created new ways to lose with too many mishaps in the fourth quarter and overtime. In a game like this, there are several plays throughout the day that could be forgotten but played a role in the outcome:
Porter's penalty and injury – Late in the second quarter, Dallas led 14-0 and had a good chance to get off the field again with the Cardinals driving. On third-and-13, the Cards picked up three yards and likely were about to punt before a flag came in on Joey Porter Jr., calling him for defensive holding. Also on the play, he went down awkwardly and headed straight to the sideline. He tried to give it a go throughout the game, going in and out of the lineup, but he was clearly not the same and eventually didn't return at the end when Arizona was driving for its late scores. As for that possession, the Cardinals were able to not only get a field goal, but they also drained two more minutes off the clock, keeping the Cowboys from having a great chance to score.
Conservative call before halftime – The Cowboys led 14-3 with a timeout after recovering a fumble at the Arizona 47 with 11 seconds left. Instead of calling for a pass to get a lot more yards and help Brandon Aubrey's field goal attempt, the Cowboys ran the ball with Javonte Williams up the middle for a simple four-yard gain. That gave Aubrey a 61-yard field goal, which he missed to the right. Understanding that taking a sack or throwing an interception is taking a field goal completely off the board, the Cowboys seemingly just settled for what still would be one of the longest field goals in team history. How big would an extra field goal have been, considering the game eventually went to overtime?
Allgeier's first TD was too quick – Touchdowns don't usually make this kind of list because they're typically not forgotten. But the fact the Cowboys led 17-3 with 1:35 left in the third and Arizona was taking over at the 30-yard line should've given the Cards a lot of urgency. In fact, they changed quarterbacks from Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew. But on second down, Allgeier ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run just like that to make the score 17-10. While the Cowboys and Cardinals still had plenty of scoring to do, the fact that Arizona scored so quickly allowed them to stick with their offensive plan for the rest of the game. Even if the Cowboys keep everyone in front and the Cardinals drive for a score that takes up four to five minutes of clock, that would've changed everything. So it wasn't just the touchdown, but how quickly it happened allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game.
Gary's penalty gives Cardinals hope – With the Cowboys leading 27-17 with 2:23 to play, it was about to be fourth-and-10 with the game completely on the line for Arizona. A deep pass to the end zone was incomplete on third down, but the Cards got new life when Rashan Gary was flagged for an unnecessary helmet-to-helmet hit on Minshew. Not only did that move the ball to the 14-yard line with a first down, but the Cardinals were able to score on the next play, ahead of the 2:00 warning, with 2:12 remaining. Why does that matter? Well, if the Cowboys had still given up the touchdown, but after the 2:00 warning, then they would've been able to likely take the clock down to about 30 seconds when Arizona eventually took over, instead of 1:09, which was enough time to go score.
Not passing with 2:02 left – The Cowboys had recovered the onside kick. It's second down at the Cardinals' 20-yard line. Dallas lined up for a run-look, only to play-action with Dak Prescott dropping back to pass. He was playing it safe and took the sack. But the entire series was one that Prescott said he wished they could've had back and been more aggressive. At 2:02, they could've spread the offense out and gone into an attack mode, knowing an incomplete pass doesn't hurt them with the 2:00 warning ahead. Instead, they weren't aggressive and continued to run it into a wall that was never opened all day.
Bonus: Miss to BSF before overtime – Not saying it would've been an easy play, but Prescott had Brevyn Spann-Ford open over the middle with six seconds left in the game and a timeout. The score was tied 30-30, and Spann-Ford went low to get the pass but didn't haul it in. Would it have been a great catch? Sure, but the pass was still catchable, and there would have likely still been one second on the clock at the Dallas 49-yard line. From there, we're talking about a 69-yard field goal attempt, maybe even 70 depending on the lineup, but that was something the Cowboys would have definitely tried in order to sneak out with a 33-30 win. Instead, the incomplete pass led to overtime, and we know what happened from there.
