The Arizona Cardinals took on the high-flying Dallas Cowboys in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football. It is estimated that six million viewers would be watching at home while the stadium was slammed full to the tune of over 100,000 in attendance.
The Cardinals could not afford another loss. Every team in the NFC West Division won this weekend, so Arizona did not want to get further behind.
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There were extra players who made the trip to Arlington, Texas: first-round draft pick DT Walter Nolen and CB Garrett Williams were activated for the big game.
At the final gun, Arizona embarrassed Dallas in their first home loss to the tune of 27-17.
So, who played well for the Cardinals? Who didn’t?
QB Jacoby Brissett - For the third game in a row, Brissett was able to move the ball up and down the field for most of the game. How many third-down throws did he convert in the first half alone? 7-9 in third-down efficiency in the first half. No team does that. Brissett had 10 passing first downs in the first half. Cowboys get a gimme touchdown? No problem for Brissett as he engineered a nifty 11-play drive on 74 yards that pretty ate up the remainder of the second quarter clock. 15-22 for 158 yards in the first half. Sensational game. Finished 21-31 for 261 yards, an 8.4 yards per completion average, two touchdowns, was sacked five times, and had zero interceptions with a 115.1 QB rating.
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
By the way, the Eagles get plenty of ink regarding their QB sneak, but Brissett is known as the “King of the Sneak.” When he was with the Browns, they brought in Brissett all the time without the “Tush Push” fanfare. One thing about Brissett’s game: he did not panic in the pocket. The game plan seemed to be to attack Dallas’ bad defensive backfield, and Brissett just looked comfortable back in the pocket.
First half WR Marvin Harrison - In the first half, Harrison put on a clinic on how to go up and reach the high point of the throw. With 9:02 left in the first quarter, he converted a third-and-eight into a first down to keep the drive alive that ended in the game’s first points. CB DaRon Bland had no strategy for how to stop Harrison. Before the first quarter was over, Harrison had converted three long third-downs into a new set of downs, including a third-and-14. His touchdown catch, he completely juked out CB Trikweze Bridges for an uncontested score. Caught six balls for 80 yards in the first half, and then was the forgotten man in the final two quarters except for when he stiff-armed Bland in the third quarter for another first down conversion. Finished with 10 targets, 7 receptions for 96 yards, a 13.7 yards per reception average, and a touchdown. Had catches of 18, 15, 20, 7 , 4 for the TD, and 16 in the first half. In the final two quarters, caught one ball for 16 yards.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Javonte Williams #33 of the Dallas Cowboys battles Denzel Burke #29 of the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Javonte Williams #33 of the Dallas Cowboys battles Denzel Burke #29 of the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
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Team effort opportunities - All game long, a player here and there came up with a big play. CB Denzel Burke swats the ball away with his right hand out of the waiting grasp of WR CeeDee Lamb. Rookie LB Cody Simon punching the ball loose with less than five minutes to play, and Dallas driving. LB Akeem Davis-Gaither jumped on the fumble after S Budda Baker stood and attempted to pick it up instead. DT Calais Campbell was having a quiet first half, then slammed down two critical sacks on the Cowboys’ final possession. TE Elijah Higgins’ tackle on the kickoff right after Harrison’s TD, in which KR KaVontae Turpin went for 24 yards and was heading upfield. CB Will Johnson held WR George Pickens to one catch in the first half. The Cardinals’ pressure on Dallas QB Dak Prescott on their first drive that ended on Arizona’s four-yard line without any points. Defense created three turnovers, which could have been five if the Pickens fumble hadn’t been recovered by Williams, and Cardinals LB Mack Wilson dropped a pick. And four rookies being key contributors: Denzel Burke, Walter Nolen, Cody Simon, and Will Johnson.
Game plan - Dallas’ defense ranked #32 against the pass, so what did Arizona do? They threw the damn ball. Six players had a reception in this game as Brissett got close to 300 passing yards. Matchups work.
DE Josh Sweat - This dude was everywhere all game long. All night, the TV commentators kept mentioning his name. In the first quarter, with 2:09 left, the Cowboys had a third-and-10. The Cowboys took the opening drive right down the field and set up shop on Arizona’s seven-yard line. After three plays did not result in a score, instead of going for the definite three points, Dallas went for it on fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line.
It was Sweat who plowed past LT Tyler Guyton for the sack and a turnover of downs. Prescott dropped back to throw and saw a wide-open WR George Pickens, except Sweat was able to swat Prescott’s arm for an errant throw instead. He got his second sack with 8:47 left in the third quarter, beating Guyton on Arizona’s five-yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, facing a fourth-and-three, Sweat forced Prescott to throw early which fell short of Lamb and another turnover of downs. Had two tackles and five QB hits.
K Chad Ryland - Converted both field goal attempts and was 3-3 on PATs. Exactly what you want your kicker to do. Was a bit surprised that head coach Jonathan Gannon did not use Ryland when the Cardinals’ last drive stalled at the Dallas 36-yard line with 2:35 left in the game. It was certainly in Ryland’s range and would have given Arizona a 13-point lead, which is still two scores, but would have made it two touchdowns instead of a TD and a field goal to tie the game.
4:46 - That is how much time was left in the fourth quarter after Davis-Gaither jumped on that last fumble. Four minutes and 46 seconds. The Cardinals now had the ball on their own 37-yard line and had dodged a bullet. But what was the meaning of 4:46? Because in the last five games, Arizona has had the lead with similar times remaining to the 4:46 displayed on that huge stadium clock. With the lead. And at 4:46, the Cardinals were winning 27-17. They have been in this situation so many times and yet have lost the game when it seemed there was no way they could lose. 4:46. It shone like a beacon, taunting Arizona fans. Every Cardinals fan looked at this possession as the one to put the game away, or once again fail. And even though they didn’t score or run out the clock, Dallas only had 1:12 left in the game when they got the ball back, needing two scores, and all of their timeouts were extinguished. That jinx is officially over.
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Denzel Burke (29) breaks up a pass against Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) in the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Denzel Burke (29) breaks up a pass against Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) in the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
CB Denzel Burke - Made several dramatic plays. Had a quiet first half after he came in for the injured Max Melton, and then was suddenly everywhere around the ball in the final two quarters. In the third quarter, he made a great open-field tackle on Turpin for a six-yard gain on a third-and-14. Poked that pass away from Lamb on a fourth-down play may have saved the game. In the third stanza, Prescott hit Lamb on a short route with the intention of the receiver grabbing some yards on his own on a third-and-nine. Burke did his job and took Lamb down after only gaining six on the Cardinals’ 27-yard line. Then, going for it on fourth down, it was Burke who swatted away that jump ball to Lamb. He saved a touchdown when Williams went up the middle for 19 yards as Burke got a hand on his foot to trip him up, or he would have scored. Then the pick at the end of the game. Led all Arizona defenders with seven tackles.
RT Kelvin Beachum - Both sacks in the first half were both drive killers. Beachum just could not get wide on both attempted blocks. The first one was at the end of the first quarter. Beachum barely touched rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku, who had a direct line to Brissett. Then DE Jadeveon Clowney just leaned onto Beachum until he got free and then the QB Brissett on a second-and-10 in the second quarter. In the second half, a tight end was lined up on just about every play to chip.
LB Owen Pappoe - If you are on the punt coverage team, you are a good tackler, but first you must be a good blocker. Pappoe did nothing to stop DE Sam Williams on the punt as Williams was able to block the kick, which gave Dallas their first touchdown. Williams dominated Pappoe so badly, the ball didn’t nip his fingertips but hit him in the upper chest. Yeah, that’s how deep he got. Take away this one play, and this game isn’t close. Aren’t offensive linemen supposed to be the punt block team?
BIRDSEED - My life feels like a test I didn’t study for
DT Walter Nolen - Hey, this kid can play. Had some good plays all game long. His first official tackle was with 11:57 in the first quarter when he nailed RB Javonte Williams for a two-yard loss on a first-and-goal. Batted a pass in the third quarter, and on the following play, hit Williams for no gain.
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams (33) runs against Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Walter Nolen III (97) in the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams (33) runs against Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Walter Nolen III (97) in the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
He beat OT Tyler Smith badly with 5:18 left in the game for his first career sack. He had a good pass-rushing presence and appears to keep his gap on run plays. Finished with four tackles.
Punt coverage team - This group kept the returns low on every punt. WR Simi Fehoko, LB Jordan Burch, Simon, Higgins, LB Baron Browning, CB Kei-Trel Clark.
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (42) sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) in the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (42) sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) in the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Offensive line - The key to this game was going to be to keep Dallas’ pass rush down so that Brissett could survey the field. For the most part, this happened. Both sacks in the first half were because Beachum let his man go without much of an effort. The Brissett sneak for the touchdown was all C Hjalte Froholdt and LG Evan Brown. OT Jonah Williams looked good on running plays, but had issues with faster pass rushers. When the Cowboys rushed four guys, the pocket did pretty good. Any additional bodies, and it was close to jailbreak. Opened a few good holes and then would be stumped for no gain. Three sacks in the second half did not look pretty as the passing game suffered a bit in the final two quarters.
Passing defense - The Cowboys were averaging almost 38 points a game at home this year. They haven’t lost a game at home this year. But the Cardinals’ defensive backfield kept them in check. The fourth quarter was a bit shaky, but in the end, the pass breakup by CB Denzel Burke was critical, and so were jumping on two fumbles. Great job by CB Johnson to keep Pickens in check with the majority of his 79 yards late in the game. This #2-ranked Cowboys passing game got just 250 yards in the air. They ranked #2 in total points scored and #6 in passing yards, yet in the first half, they barely cracked over 100. In this game, the Dallas high-flying offense just looked average at best. Kudos.
Helmet logo - How cool was the Cardinal on the side of the helmets for this game? It had its own sheen to it and really stood out. Went well with the red unies. The red had a pearl essence that is seen on a lot of new cars these days. This is the fourth time they wore all-reds and are now 2-2. This will be featured in Week 12 against Jacksonville and Week 14 against the Rams.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Jake Ferguson #87 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes against Mack Wilson #2 of the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Jake Ferguson #87 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes against Mack Wilson #2 of the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
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LB Mack Wilson - Lamb caught a 10-yard pass early in the third quarter, with Wilson the only man left. On the next play, Wilson nailed Williams for no gain. Missed a tackle with 17 seconds before the final period began. He dropped a sure interception. Left the game with a rib injury. Seven tackles.