Tyler Allgeier was the last man standing in the Arizona Cardinals backfield, and he turned that pressure into the biggest game of his career.
With Jeremiyah Love out because of an ankle injury and Bam Knight entering concussion protocol, Arizona needed someone to absorb the load against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Allgeier did more than that. He powered the Cardinals to a 33-30 overtime win with a career-high 147 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while also adding five receptions for 44 yards and another score.
“Being able to really just play for them, I think that was my biggest thing,” Allgeier told reporters. “Just having them go down, being able to play for them, that was awesome for me just to be able to do that.”
The former BYU running back, who spent four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before joining Arizona for his first year with the team, had long been used to carrying a heavy rushing workload. On Sunday, that role became even bigger once Knight exited in the third quarter. From that point on, Allgeier was the Cardinals’ only healthy running back, and he made every touch count as Arizona clawed back from a 17-3 deficit midway through the third quarter.
The turning point came late in the third, when Arizona got the ball with 1:30 left while still down 14. Allgeier ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run - the longest of his career - to cut the margin to 17-10.
Dallas answered with a touchdown drive of its own, finished by a 5-yard Dak Prescott run, to push the lead back to 24-10. But Gardner Minshew, who had come on for starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett in the second half, helped keep Arizona alive.
The Cardinals marched 80 yards in seven plays, and Allgeier finished it with a tough 5-yard catch and run to make it 24-17 with 10:47 remaining.
The game turned into a wild finish, with four scores in the final four minutes of regulation. The teams were tied 30-30 at the end of regulation, and Arizona sealed it in overtime on a Chad Ryland 42-yard field goal.
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Kevin Young has not sounded concerned, pointing to Betseys defensive work and saying the shooting will come around. The Cougars will get a better read soon enough, with Ohio State up next in a non-conference game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, where the stakes and the pace should offer a clearer picture of how Betsey fits. [Read more 🡒]