ARLINGTON, Texas – Getting trounced by the Denver Broncos last week was bad. Real bad.
This was worse. Much worse.
The Cowboys were at home here Monday night at AT&T Stadium, where they had been 2-0-1 so far this season and averaging 41 points a game.
Coming in at 3-4-1, they were desperate for a win, needing to keep themselves alive for the unofficial second half of the season by staying at least at .500 heading into this week's bye.
They were playing a 2-5 Cardinals team, though warned on Friday do not take Arizona for granted.
These Cards were muddled in a five-game losing streak, not having won a game since Sept. 14. On top of all that, the Cards were being forced to play a third consecutive game with their backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett instead of starter Kyler Murray, who had been undefeated during his football career at AT&T Stadium.
And I'll be …
Cardinals 27, Cowboys 17.
Their first two-game losing streak of the season.
The NFL's erstwhile No. 1 offense and No. 2 scoring offense scores just one touchdown, and that didn't occur until 10:51 was left in the fourth quarter. And for the first time in 70 games, having to go back to the 2021 season, the Cowboys failed to score a touchdown in a first half.
Bad enough the Cowboys have been struggling mightily on defense, having already given up 37 points, 31, 40, 30 and 44 points, three of those losses and one an overtime tie. But now the offense is mired in quicksand, the No. 1 group scored just 17 points last week against Denver and now only 10 against the Cardinals.
"Very disappointing, very frustrating," Dak Prescott said, "Know you're better than that."
Then Dak got down to the nitty-gritty, as hard as it must have been to say, "They kicked our ass."
That the now 3-5 Cardinals did. On offense, on defense, and if not for one lapse on special teams when the Cowboys' Sam Williams blocked a punt, Marshawn Kneeland recovering the backward rolling ball in the end zone for Dallas' only touchdown in three quarters, the Cowboys really got beat on special teams, too. Poor blocking on Cowboys' kickoff returns rendered KaVontae Turpin normal, and they allowed the Cardinals to average 25.5 yards on their kickoff returns.
Once again, in consecutive games, this one, too, is hard to swallow. Why, Dak was sacked a season-high five times. He was hit another nine times, with no doubt suffering double-digit pressures. Forced to run four more times to avoid sacks. The protection got so bad, with Terence Steele struggling to deal with Josh Sweat (two sacks, two tackles for loss, five QB hits, one pass defensed), the Cowboys removed him from the game for Nate Thomas, knowing Steele nearly did not play, suffering from migraine headaches before the game.
Now, sure doesn't help once again the Cowboys were playing without their starting safeties, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson, and even the rookie safety who started against Denver Alijah Clark missed the game with a rib injury. Plus, they must play another two games without starting cornerback Trevon Diggs on IR, if he even plays again this season. The inexperience in the secondary is glaring.
Guessing once again the Cowboys created another NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the much-criticized wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. finishing with a career-high seven receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 13.7 yards a catch from Brissett, who at one point in the game was averaging 9 yards per attempt.
Most troubling is the offensive brownout, turning the ball over three times, two of those lost fumbles inside Arizona territory. The third was a Dak interception, though near the bitter end when he just heaved one on a fourth-and-28 with but 1:29 left in what already was a lost cause.
And for the fourth consecutive game, the Cowboys squandered two more first-and-goal opportunities inside the 10-yard line. This time they ended up turning the ball over on downs from the 4-yard line on the opening drive of the game, as they did last Sunday against Denver, and they then kicked a field goal after a first-and-goal from the 6.
Why, even Mr. Perfect Brandon Aubrey, having gone 16 for 16 on field goals in the first eight games, missed his first of the season, though, OK, I exaggerate some, the miss wide left but plenty long enough from 68 yards. That's how desperate the Cowboys were to score points, that and finishing 0 for 3 on fourth downs.
"I'm disappointed, I am," a visibly exasperated Brian Schottenheimer said. "I'm disappointed. I thought we would have played better, coached better. But again, it's the inconsistency, and that keeps getting us. There's flashes, there's things that are good, but when you're an inconsistent football team, you're going to find yourself in these situations."
And the situation is this going into the bye: There are 10 NFC teams with better records than the Cowboys' 3-5-1, and only seven qualify for the playoffs. The 10th team is Carolina at 5-4, and the Panthers already have beaten Dallas, the Cowboys now having lost three of their past four games. And at this point, the seventh team, or third wild-card team, would be Detroit at 5-3.
Plus, the trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. Tuesday and wondering if with the Cowboys falling back these past four games – thought just the clocks were supposed to "fall back" this time of year – what incentive have they given Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to go forward with the multiple trades he had been insisting on Monday that are in the works.
Well, they did make one minor move Tuesday morning, spending a seventh-round pick to acquire Cincinnati captain and former starting linebacker Logan Wilson, but costing them against the cap but $1.3 million for the remaining nine weeks with two more years of control.
"This is a guy who knows how to fill the gaps," Jerry said, and likened Wilson to Leighton Vander Esch.
And we will allow Troy Aikman and Joe Buck on the Monday Night Football telecast – with like seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Cowboys trailing 24-10 and on the way to trailing 27-10 – comment on blockbuster trade possibilities.
Said Aikman of Jerry possibly making a trade, "He might want to cancel that trade. I don't think one player from what I've seen tonight will make a difference for this group."
Then Joe doubled down, paraphrasing Jerry from last week, saying, "He said I don't think one player will make a difference, and I think they are beyond that defensively."
But ain't that the truth. Been saying would seem hard to believe just one blockbuster trade could help a defense at one point in the game allowing the Cardinals to convert their first 7 of 9 third-down opportunities or open the second half giving up a 50-yard completion, the Cards' longest completion of the season. Of course, the defense did finish with five sacks, 11 QB hits and eight tackles for losses, but it also allowed the Cardinals to score on five of their first six possessions and Brissett to throw three touchdown passes.
And even giving up just 27 points, as if that is an accomplishment, this is the sixth time in nine games the Cowboys have surrendered at least 27. Also, they once again were gashed for 10 plays of at least 16 yards, an example of the inconsistency Schottenheimer is referring to. One step forward, two back.
At this point, would seem frivolous trading for another defensive player in the final year of a contract, like renting the guy for just eight games. And to acquire a serious game-changer with multiple years left on a contract, would that be worth spending one of next year's first-round draft choices, the extra one gained in the Micah Parsons trade? That might be hard to qualify.
So, the Cowboys hit the pause button, and while there is this notion they can spend this bye week practicing hard trying to correct a multitude of problems, the facts are the CBA requires teams in the bye week to give the players four consecutive days off, Thursday-Sunday.
And of late, with the offense springing a leak, what about this offensive line, the inconsistencies there? When they finished the game with Thomas at right tackle, that would mean of the five offensive linemen on the field, including center Cooper Beebe returning from IR, they were out there with one rookie, three second-year players and Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith in his fourth season with one of those second-year players (Thomas) playing tackle in just his third NFL game.
Like what you trading for?
At least following the bye, the Cowboys might get back guys on reserve lists like DeMarvion Overshown and Shavon Revel. But at this point, even that might not be enough to revive this team flailing badly at the break.
Jerry continued to use the word "disappointing" and "frustrating" Monday night after this loss and again Tuesday morning on his 105.3 The Fan radio segment.
With good reason.
Because this loss stings, about as bad as can be.
