The Dallas Cowboys got what they needed against a short-handed Philadelphia Eagles team: a win that keeps them alive in the NFC East race. But at 3-4, that’s only the beginning of the conversation.
Arizona comes to town in Week 8, and while the Cardinals are struggling, this matchup is anything but automatic for Dallas. The numbers from the recent past make that clear, too - Arizona has taken eight of the last nine meetings.
So yes, the pressure is real. And it’s not spread evenly. Four Cowboys enter this game with more to prove than anyone else on the roster.
Jake Ferguson is one of the clearest examples of a player losing his grip on a role. His involvement in the offense has shrunk week by week, and Brevyn Spann-Ford has eaten into his snaps by becoming a steadier presence as both a blocker and a receiver.
Ferguson was once a dependable passing-game piece, but he’s barely been a factor lately. He had only one target on Monday, and his season line sits at 17 catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
He hasn’t found the end zone since Week 3, and his 6.8 yards per attempt is a career low. There’s still time for him to change the story, but right now he has to earn back trust with very few chances to do it.
Rashan Gary has his own proving ground ahead of him, and the early returns haven’t been strong. Dallas traded for the veteran EDGE to help fuel its new defense, but seven games in, the move is drawing more questions than praise.
Gary has 16 total tackles and one sack. Even more concerning, the area that was supposed to be his calling card hasn’t held up either.
PFF has him at a 33.9 run defense grade, dead last among 112 qualified EDGE players. With the trade deadline coming, Dallas needs more from him fast, or it could start looking outside for help.
Then there’s DaRon Bland, whose slide has become hard to ignore. After foot injuries in the 2024 season raised concerns, the Cowboys still committed to him with a four-year, $92 million extension in 2025.
Since then, his play has kept trending the wrong way. This season, Bland has a 47.4 overall PFF grade and a 46.2 coverage grade.
That struggles even more in contrast with Joey Porter Jr. on the other side. Dallas has kept giving Bland chances to turn it around, but the margin is getting thinner, and Cobie Durant is waiting if the Cowboys decide they need to make a change.
Dak Prescott got some breathing room in the win over Philadelphia, throwing three touchdowns with no interceptions. Still, Week 8 brings a different kind of pressure.
Prescott’s regular-season résumé is strong, but Arizona has been a problem for him. He’s 1-3 against the Cardinals, and his only win came in 2017, his second season in the league.
The recent losses only sharpen the point. In 2024, the Cowboys fell to the Cardinals with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback.
In 2025, Prescott and Dallas lost to Jacoby Brissett on Monday Night Football. Those defeats can’t all be placed on Prescott alone, but the pattern is there: the Cowboys keep finding a way to lose even when they have the edge under center.
That’s the burden sitting on No. 4 as this one arrives.
In Other News...
Joey Porter Jr. Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Reason To Gloat
The Cowboys added Joey Porter Jr. in a deal that already looks like one of the more interesting moves of the season, sending a 2028 second-round pick to Pittsburgh for the cornerback. Through three games in Dallas, Porter has fit right into a defense that values length, discipline and coverage ability, and his early play has given the secondary a steadier feel.
Porter has also backed up the hype with production, allowing the lowest completion percentage among corners with at least 75 coverage snaps in 2026. Meanwhile, the Steelers are said to be feeling the sting of the move and are shopping for cornerback help at the trade deadline, which only adds to the sense that Dallas may have landed the better end of this one. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Face A Familiar Cardinals Problem At The Worst Time
The Cardinals have turned into one of those opponents the Cowboys never seem to get a clean handle on, and this weeks matchup arrives with Dallas trying to build momentum and climb in the NFC East. CeeDee Lamb pointed to Arizonas consistent energy and competitiveness in these games, which has been part of the problem for a Cowboys team that has not found much comfort in this series, especially when the game is on their own turf.
Dallas is trying to start a winning streak at the right time, but the history here is hard to ignore. The Cowboys have had their issues with Arizona for years, and the longer that pattern hangs around, the more it adds pressure to a game that already carries weight in the division race. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Faces A Cowboys Trade Deadline Problem He Can't Ignore
Jerry Jones has made it clear the Cowboys are at least willing to listen as the trade deadline approaches, but the front office is running into a familiar NFL obstacle: not enough draft capital to make a meaningful move without paying a steep price. Dallas has already spent heavily in previous transactions, and Jones has sounded skeptical about landing a real difference-maker if it means surrendering picks the club would rather keep in reserve.
That leaves the Cowboys in a tricky spot, because the most workable path may be the kind of deal teams almost never pull off in-season. A player-for-player swap would fit the roster math better than a pick-heavy trade, but it would also force Dallas to consider moving a key piece from its own lineup. George Pickens, currently on the franchise tag, is one of the names that naturally comes into that discussion, which is exactly why the deadline feels more complicated than a simple buyer-or-seller decision. [Read more 🡒]