Damaging defeat for the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night as the Arizona Cardinals beat Dallas 27-17 inside AT&T Stadium. It’s the second straight loss for the Cowboys as they fall to 3-5-1 heading into their bye week. The Cardinals had lost 5 in a row and were playing with backup QB Jacoby Brissett, although Arizona’s offense has been better with Brissett than with Kyler Murray taking snaps this season. Still, it’s a loss that Dallas could not afford considering the schedule that awaits them after a trip to Las Vegas on Monday, November 17th.
PRIMETIME DUB. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Kt2eclsGpk
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 4, 2025
Story of the game was Dallas’ inability to finish drives. On the first possession of the game, the Cowboys drove to the Cardinals 4 yard line, but an incompletion on third down and a sack on fourth down left Dallas without any points. Two drives later, Jake Ferguson caught a pass and got to the Cardinals’ 32, but he fumbled and Arizona recovered. On the first play of the fourth quarter, trailing 27-10, the Cowboys went for it on 4th and 3 at the Arizona 21, but Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb couldn’t connect, and once again, Dallas failed to score. Dallas cut the deficit to 27-17 when Prescott hit Ryan Flournoy for a 5 yard TD with 10:51 left. After an Arizona punt, the Cowboys had some momentum, but on the 8th play of the next drive, RB Javonte Williams caught a pass in the right flat and fumbled it away at the Arizona 39, ending Dallas’ comeback hopes with 4:46 remaining. That’s four drives that the Cowboys took inside Arizona territory that ended either in giveaways or turnovers on downs. For an offense that has been terrific this season, that was pretty disappointing.
What a play by Cody Simon to force the fumble
AZvsDAL on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/0aM4WaCm97— NFL (@NFL) November 4, 2025
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that there would be changes on defense going into the game, and the changes were easy to see: more blitz looks, more man coverage, and more five man fronts. The Cowboys racked up five sacks and 8 tackles for loss, but when the pressure didn’t get to Brissett, he was often able to make throws that extended drives. Marvin Harrison, Jr. caught 7 passes for 96 yards and a TD, Michael Wilson caught 3 passes for 61 yards, and Trey McBride had 5 receptions for 55 yards and a score. Dallas held Arizona in check on the ground, but Harrison consistently got the better of CB DaRon Bland. Bland had 14 tackles on the night, but a big reason for that was that the Cardinals attacked him over and over. I didn’t mind the changes that the Cowboys made because as atrocious as the defense has been this season, changes were warranted, and Dallas created more pressure on the QB than they have in most of their games this year. Bottom line, the Cowboys’ defense was a little better than it has been, but it wasn’t great, and not good enough if the offense doesn’t cash in on opportunities.
The Cowboys were active at Tuesday’s trade deadline, but there’s varying opinions on what they did. Yes, they addressed the defense. Dallas acquired Cincinnati LB Logan Wilson in exchange for a 7th round pick. Yawn. Doesn’t do much for me. Nothing against him; Wilson has had over 100 tackles each of the last four seasons, but he lost his starting role on a defense that’s every bit as bad as the Cowboys. Forgive me if I don’t jump for joy. Wilson has been dealing with a calf injury this season and he had an injured knee that kept him out of the final six games of last year. If he’s healthy, maybe he can provide a spark, but I’m not holding my breath.
Logan has landed 📍@ljw21 | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/iKNz38tmuS
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2025
The interesting trade is the deal for Jets DT Quinnen Williams. The Cowboys sent a 1st round pick, a 2nd round pick, and DT Mazi Smith to New York for the 3 time Pro Bowler. Williams is one of the best DT’s in the league and is formidable against the run and rushing the passer. He’s under contract through 2027, so Dallas has him for this season and two more. He’ll be reunited with his old DL coach from New York, Aaron Whitecotton. I’m not much on advanced stats; some numbers signal Williams’ play is trending down, while others show that he’s still one of the premiere DT’s in football. You can do what you want with numbers. Williams will help this defense, but a 1st and a 2nd round pick is a steep price to pay, and I don’t think the Cowboys are making a serious run this year because they’ve dug themselves too deep of a hole. I would’ve rather not given up a 1 and a 2, but the fact that he’ll be a Cowboy for another couple years makes this deal more palatable, as long as Williams continues to be the force that he’s been. If Williams’ level of play goes down, Dallas will regret giving up two high round draft picks to get him.
Q is in the building 🤠@QuinnenWilliams | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/rIceXaYJ9F
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2025
More on the matchup with the Raiders next week.
Rest in peace Marshawn Kneeland. Unimaginable tragedy. May God keep you.
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Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 6, 2025
