The Cowboys finally looked like the offense they were supposed to be in Philadelphia, and that changes the conversation heading into Week 8 against the Cardinals. Javonte Williams had the kind of night that can reshape a game plan, CeeDee Lamb did what CeeDee Lamb does, and Dallas’ ground attack gave the whole operation a different feel.
Now the question is whether that carries over. Arizona has had issues holding up against the run, and the Cowboys are starting to show real signs of life on that side of the ball, too. At the same time, there are still soft spots in Dallas’ profile, especially when it comes to tight end production and third-down defense.
Here’s where the smart money sits for this matchup.
Buy: Javonte Williams
It took six weeks, but Dallas finally gave Williams the kind of workload that lets him take over a game. He answered with a career performance against Philadelphia and should be in line for another heavy dose against Arizona.
Williams piled up 155 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the Eagles, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt. That was his best outing of the season and the most rushing yards by a Cowboys running back in nearly a decade. Even more important, it gave Dallas something it had been missing during back-to-back losses to Tampa Bay and Green Bay: a clear offensive identity.
Through seven games, Williams has 472 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 110 carries, with a 4.3 yards-per-carry average in 2026. Arizona has been vulnerable on the ground, allowing 126.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks 24th in the league.
The Cowboys’ line looked far more comfortable when it was allowed to move downhill, and Williams was the biggest beneficiary. The message out of Philadelphia was obvious: he can’t be treated like a side piece in this offense. He needs to stay central to what Dallas is doing.
Buy: CeeDee Lamb
This one is pretty straightforward. Lamb has been the engine of the passing game all season, and he kept rolling against the Eagles with five catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns.
That pushed him to 53 receptions for 651 yards and six touchdowns through seven games. He leads the Cowboys in receiving yards and has been one of the most dependable pieces in the offense from the jump.
Arizona’s defense will have its hands full trying to sort out both Lamb and George Pickens, and that should open some windows for Lamb if Dallas keeps leaning into the run. If the Cardinals have to respect Williams, the coverage opportunities for Lamb only get better.
With six touchdowns already and yardage production that trails only Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Lamb has become a weekly fixture in Dallas’ offensive plan. That doesn’t figure to change here.
Buy: The Cowboys’ run defense
This is the sneaky one, but the Cowboys’ run defense has earned a little trust lately.
After getting hammered for 241 rushing yards by Tampa Bay in Week 5, Dallas has looked much sturdier. The Cowboys held Green Bay to 57 rushing yards and Philadelphia to 121. Yes, the Saquon Barkley injury played a part in that second number.
Still, that works out to 89 rushing yards allowed per game over the last two weeks, which is a big step forward from the early-season issues. The front has started to create more disruption, and the return of key second-level players has helped the unit settle in.
Arizona brings a tricky test. Rookie Jeremiyah Love is expected back after missing two games with an ankle injury, but the Cardinals are dealing with issues up front. Right guard Jon Gaines II is out, center Hjalte Froholdt is questionable, and Tyler Allgeier has been dealing with a toe injury.
Even with Love returning, the line uncertainty could make it hard for Arizona to get the run game going. And Love hasn’t exactly been lighting it up when healthy. If Dallas can control the line of scrimmage and keep Love from finding room, it could force Jacoby Brissett into a heavier load.
The Cowboys are not suddenly a finished product on defense. But the last two games have pointed in the right direction, and another solid showing would make that progress look real.
Sell: The Cowboys’ tight end position
There was a time when tight end looked like a dependable part of Dallas’ offense. That time feels a lot further away now.
The position has faded badly from the passing game, and it’s getting harder to see it as a real difference-maker. Jake Ferguson’s production has dropped off, while Brevyn Spann-Ford still hasn’t been featured enough as a receiver to become a steady option.
Ferguson has had a rough stretch. Drops have been part of the problem, and against Philadelphia he finished with no catches on one target while playing fewer than 56% of the offensive snaps for the second straight week.
Spann-Ford has gotten a little more run lately, including a season-high 52.9% snap share against the Eagles. He caught both of his targets for 11 yards, but the overall numbers are still thin. Through seven games, he has nine receptions for 79 yards on 13 targets.
Dallas has enough firepower at receiver with Lamb and Pickens, and Williams has given the offense another reliable way to move the ball. But the tight end group still needs to do more.
For now, the Cowboys are better off leaning on their wideouts and backs while they keep looking for answers at tight end.
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 🡒]