The Dallas Cowboys found a new way to make a bad season feel even worse on Sunday.
They carried a 24-10 lead into the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals, looked firmly in control, and still ended up with a stunning Week 8 loss that went all the way to overtime. Arizona only got that far because Chad Ryland missed an extra point, and once the game reached OT, the Cardinals put together the winning drive and finished off one of the most painful collapses in Cowboys history.
The loss also pushed Dallas into some brutal territory with the Cardinals. The Cowboys have now dropped nine of their last 10 meetings with Arizona, and the late-game meltdown snapped a remarkable streak: before Sunday, Dallas was 69-0 when leading by 14 points or more in the fourth quarter, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. That mark is now 69-1.
The most glaring issue was the defense, which looked sharp early and then completely unraveled. Dallas opened with a strong goal-line stand and forced two turnovers in the first half, matching half of its season total at that point. There were even sacks, something that has been rare for this unit.
Then the third quarter hit, and everything changed.
Tyler Allgeier broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run, the kind of play that can flip a game in a hurry. From there, Arizona scored touchdowns on its next three possessions. The final one forced overtime, and if not for Ryland’s missed extra point, the Cardinals would have ended it in regulation.
Instead, the Cowboys got one more chance to save themselves and failed again. Arizona moved the ball in overtime and sealed the win with a field goal, sending Dallas to a loss that lands on the growing pile of ugly finishes this season.
The numbers on Arizona’s side were hard to ignore. Gardner Minshew, after replacing Jacoby Brissett, threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Allgeier averaged 13.4 yards per carry, and the Cardinals finished with 202 rushing yards.
Dallas’ offense, meanwhile, did just enough to keep the scoreboard respectable without ever looking clean. The Cowboys scored 30 points, but the stat line underneath that total was rough.
Dak Prescott didn’t reach 200 passing yards, Javonte Williams managed only 56 rushing yards and averaged fewer than three yards per carry, and the offensive line struggled in obvious ways. The pass protection gave up four sacks along with several pressures, and the run blocking never gave Williams much room to work.
It was the kind of offensive performance that makes a loss feel even stranger: enough production to think the Cowboys should have won, but too much sloppiness to ever feel comfortable.
The injury list added another layer of frustration. Jake Ferguson hurt his ankle in the first quarter, came back, then aggravated it again and was ruled out.
Caleb Downs suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and did not return. Joey Porter Jr. also had an ankle issue and was in and out of the game.
Ferguson’s injury matters because Dallas is already thin at tight end with Luke Schoonmaker dealing with an injury. Downs’ absence could be even more significant, since he has been one of the Cowboys’ better defenders on a unit that has struggled all season.
In Other News...
Cowboys Latest Collapse Drew A Brutal Critique They Couldn't Ignore
Another home loss left the Cowboys staring at a 3-5 record, and the postgame tone around the building was as bleak as the finish. Brian Schottenheimer talked about personal responsibility after the overtime defeat, while Dak Prescott stepped in to defend his coach as the criticism started to pile up around a team that keeps finding new ways to let games slip away.
Mike Tomlin added to that pressure from the Sunday Night Football broadcast, calling out Dallas for a lack of urgency and execution. For a Cowboys team already trying to steady itself after another collapse, hearing that kind of blunt assessment from an opposing coach only sharpened the scrutiny and underscored how little room there is left for excuses. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Lost Their Biggest Trade Hope On Defense
The pass-rush market always gets noisy when a contender starts looking for help, and Maxx Crosby had become one of the bigger names floating around that conversation for Dallas. But ESPNs Adam Schefter reported that Crosby is happy in Las Vegas and is not looking for a trade, which takes one of the Cowboys most intriguing defensive possibilities off the board for now. The Raiders, for their part, are not planning to move him at the 2026 NFL trade deadline.
For a Cowboys team still searching for ways to bolster its edge rush, that leaves the front office back in the familiar position of scanning the market and weighing other options. Dallas has been connected to players such as Josh Sweat, but Crosby was the kind of impact target that could have changed the conversation. Instead, the Cowboys will have to keep looking while the Raiders keep one of their defensive centerpieces right where he is. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Make A Surprising Week 8 Call As Key Help Returns
The Cowboys Week 8 inactive list brought a little surprise before kickoff against the Cardinals, with a recent draft pick among the healthy scratches even as the team got some important help back on the field. Dallas also has several other players unavailable because of injury or roster decisions, but the biggest takeaway from the list is that the roster is getting a boost at a time when every available body matters.
George Pickens and Kenny Clark are both active for the matchup, giving Dallas two notable pieces back in the mix as it tries to manage the early-season grind. The decision on Revel Jr. stands out all the more because of where he sits in the teams long-term plans, and it leaves one of the more interesting questions from the pregame shuffle hanging over how the Cowboys are sorting out their depth. [Read more 🡒]