The Cowboys have spent nearly two decades trying to solve a problem that keeps staring them in the face every time Arizona comes to town.
Since 2008, Dallas is 1-8 against the Cardinals, a stretch that has somehow included a long list of Arizona quarterbacks the Cowboys still haven’t figured out: Kurt Warner, John Skelton, Kevin Kolb, Carson Palmer, Kyler Murray, Joshua Dobbs and Jacoby Brissett. The last home win over Arizona came in 2005, back when the games were still being played at Texas Stadium. Drew Bledsoe was under center then, and Bill Parcells was coaching the team.
That’s the backdrop for Sunday, when the Cowboys again get a shot at ending the drought. And while the Cardinals may not look dramatically different from the group Dallas saw in last year’s Monday Night Football meeting, there are still enough familiar names to make this feel like the same old challenge.
Mike LaFleur is the new head coach, but Brissett remains at quarterback for now. Trey McBride is still the tight end.
Michael Wilson is still the No. 1 receiver. On defense, Josh Sweat is still there for now, and he has a habit of turning in a career night against Dallas.
Safety Budda Baker has done the same.
CeeDee Lamb said this week he has yet to beat the Cardinals since entering the league, and he pointed to the edge Arizona has brought into these matchups.
“They’ve always had more energy,” Lamb said via Todd Archer on X. “Just coming out in the game, they’re more excited regardless of if it was at 12 o’clock, Sunday night, Monday night.
We played them in primetime, they beat us there. So just coming in, treating them as if they are a Super Bowl contending team, which they may be, you know what I’m saying?
So hats off to them in their prep and we just got to go match them, if not overpower them.”
Dallas is also trying to build its first winning streak of the season after handling a Philadelphia Eagles team that looks a long way from the one it was even a year ago. With the New York Giants sitting two games ahead of the Cowboys in the loss column, Sunday matters in the NFC East race.
The Cowboys opened the season talking about how different things would be. Beating Arizona at home would be a strong way to back that up, especially with a 20-year-old problem still hanging over them.
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 🡒]
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 🡒]
Cowboys Offense Has 3 Signs Of Hope That Must Hold Up
The Cowboys left their win over the Eagles with a few offensive markers worth watching, and the biggest one was a noticeably more committed, more creative approach on the ground. Dallas paired that with a willingness to push the ball downfield more often than it had in some recent stretches, a combination that made the unit look a little less predictable and a little more dangerous as it heads into the next phase of the schedule.
Another development worth tracking is the growing presence of Brevyn Spann-Ford, whose work as a blocker and after the catch has given the offense a different kind of edge. His expanded role adds another layer to how Dallas can build its game plan, especially with Arizona coming next, and it raises the question of how the Cowboys will keep these promising signs in place once opponents start adjusting. [Read more 🡒]