FRISCO, Texas – By now, you've heard all about how the Cowboys have lost eight of their last nine, and four straight, against the Arizona Cardinals despite their struggles over the last few years.
This game serves as one of the reminders that the NFL is a league where anything can happen at any time. You can't overlook any opponent, regardless of record or the previous success that season.
So throw out the 2-5 record that Arizona has to start the season, because there are still things the Cardinals do well that Dallas has struggled with earlier this season.
Let's get into some of those and see where the Cowboys can find their spots to get to .500, and end their four game losing streak to Arizona in this week's Here We Goooo:
Find ways to take Trey McBride out of the game
The Cowboys defense is still figuring themselves out and trying to improve across the board seven games into the year. The good news is they're getting healthier, which could help spark some change as a whole if their players are able to stay healthy throughout the rest of the year. On Sunday, they'll have maybe their toughest assignment of the year in Cardinals TE Trey McBride.
McBride leads in the NFL in receptions with 59, going for 472 yards and four touchdowns this season. Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett has the most passing attempts in the NFL this year with 282. It's no secret where Arizona is trying to go with the football, and for good reason. McBride can line up in-line, out wide, make contested catches, pick up yards after the catch on screen passes, etc.
Here's the biggest question for Dallas: Who is going to cover him? Conventionally, you see your nickel cornerbacks covering tight ends, which would mean Caleb Downs is the primary matchup. But McBride is far from a conventional tight end, and Downs has struggled at times in coverage. There will still likely be matchups between the two, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Cowboys have outside cornerbacks like Cobie Durant or even Joey Porter Jr. matched up against McBride.
Stay balanced on offense, and hit the explosive plays
As shown in a 38-21 win over the Eagles, the Cowboys offense is at its best when it's balanced. Is that something that every team can do week in and week out? Not necessarily, but with the weaponry that Dallas has on offense, this appears to be a game where they can find that success once more.
Arizona's run defense has been okay, but not great this season (23rd in rushing yards allowed) and the Cardinals do not have the front seven presence that the Eagles do. So, Dallas' offensive line has a chance to replicate their performance from a week ago in terms of getting push up front, especially with the Cardinals looking to be without Walter Nolen, who I think is their best defensive tackle.
With setting up the run game comes the opportunity for explosive plays in the passing game, and Dallas will have their shots downfield in this game against a banged up secondary. Budda Baker is the do-it-all man for the Cardinals, and we'll get to him in a moment, but CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens match up well on the outside against Denzel Burke and Garrett Williams.
Show improvement against disguised pressure
In order to be able to get the ball to Lamb and Pickens, the Cowboys are going to need to do a better job of handling the disguised pressure looks that gave them some trouble against the Buccaneers and Packers. Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis worked under Jonathan Gannon, the now Packers DC and former Cardinals HC, and uses a lot of similar packages that the Cowboys saw back in Week 7.
Hearing from Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer this week, the Cowboys are confident that they've made the proper adjustments to be able to handle the pressure that Arizona will look to bring. Keep an eye on Budda Baker throughout the day, who as shown in the clip above, can line up anywhere on the line and bring the heat. He's incredibly versatile, and can handle everything the Cardinals put on his plate.
On third-and-long situations this season, Dak Prescott has been pressured on 16 of his 27 dropbacks, the third-highest rate in the league. The good news for Prescott is the Cardinals defense is generating a 31.4% pressure rate in those situations, the second-lowest rate in the league, and are allowing 10.9 yards per attempt on those plays. Of course, Dallas will look to have success on early downs, but if they get caught in third and longs, the Cardinals defense has been susceptible to giving up plays that can move the chains (somewhat similarly to the Cowboys defense.)
