On paper, the Arizona Cardinals’ Sunday visit looks like a prime opportunity for the Dallas Cowboys to start a winning streak and put some pressure on the NFC East-leading New York Giants.
But Dallas (3-4) has exhibited a tendency to play down to its opposition of late and Arizona (2-5) fits the bill of that kind of team. In fact, the Cardinals haven’t lost in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, going 4-0.
The Cowboys are also coming off a short week, although they did win 38-21 on Monday night in Philadelphia. They saddled up Javonte Williams for a career-high 155 rushing yards, and the Cowboys finished with more than 200 yards rushing and passing.
Can they do it again? Recent history says it’s unlikely. Dallas has won consecutive games just once under coach Brian Schottenheimer, taking three in a row last November.
Quarterback Dak Prescott said the Cowboys’ momentum can pick up quickly if the team can replicate its Monday night effort over time.
“We say the division is right in front of us,” Prescott said. “It is as long as we win, Momentum’s real, especially in this league. … We’ve just got to make sure we have a great week of preparations to make sure that translates into a big win. You get two in a row, you start stacking.”
The schedule would seem to suggest that the Cowboys can do quite a bit of stacking. The win in Philadelphia started a six-game stretch where they will play just one team with a winning record in 6-1 San Francisco. Matchups with 2-5 Indianapolis, 1-6 Tennessee and the 2-5 Eagles are also on the docket before the calendar flips to December.
While Dallas strives for consistency, Arizona aims to bounce back after a 30-16 home loss last week against Denver. The Cardinals moved the ball fairly well against an elite defense but scored just one touchdown on five trips inside the red zone.
That was still an improvement over the previous game, an 18-16 win at the Los Angeles Rams where Arizona went 0-for-5, getting all its points via six field goals.
“We have to finish, and that’s a collective effort,” said first-year coach Mike LaFleur.
The bigger question for some is the status of starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett. With Arizona a long shot to make the playoffs, speculation has started that Brissett could be benched for either veteran backup Gardner Minshew or rookie Carson Beck.
LaFleur did his part to shoot down that theory on Wednesday.
“If the ball was just stagnant for 60 minutes and didn’t cross the 50-yard line, that would be one thing,” LaFleur said. “We’ve been down inside the 10 (yard line) 10 times the last two games, so the ball’s moving.”
The inability to finish drives has put more pressure on a defense that isn’t quite capable of handling it. The Cardinals are permitting a league-worst 29.7 points per game, undone by a lack of impactful defensive plays. They’re tied for 19th in sacks (15) and have only three interceptions.
Nine Arizona players didn’t practice on Wednesday, including the right side of the Cardinals’ offensive line in tackle Elijah Wilkinson (knee) and guard Jon Gaines II (ankle). Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) practiced on a limited basis and could return this week.
Dallas wide receiver George Pickens (shoulder/hamstring) got a limited designation on his team’s injury report, although the team only held a walkthrough.