ARLINGTON, Texas – In another game where the Cowboys defense struggled to get stops, the offense didn't provide any help this time. Had it not been for special teams, the 27-17 loss would've looked much worse.
Here are a handful of plays that might be forgotten but likely changed the course of the game Monday night.
Williams dropped for loss – On the Cowboys' first drive of the game, the offense was rolling through Arizona's defense, getting a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line. But while Javonte Williams had been knifing through the Cardinals up the middle, the Cowboys ran him outside, where he was dropped for a 2-yard loss. That put Dallas behind the chains and eventually a fourth-down attempt failed due to a sack, resulting in no points for the Cowboys on what looked like a sure touchdown.
Ferguson's hold before the fumble – While Jake Ferguson's open-field fumble likely erased three points off the board, his holding call two plays earlier could've been a bigger setback. Ferguson was called for a hold on a completed pass to George Pickens for first-down yardage to the 20-yard line. But the penalty pushed the Cowboys back to second-and-17 and eventually third-and-17, where Ferguson caught a short pass and fought for extra yards before coughing up the ball, wasting another scoring chance for the offense.
Ferguson pushed backwards – At the end of the first half, the Cowboys were looking to get a field goal from Brandon Aubrey. A completion to Ferguson near the sideline was supposed to give the team the ball at midfield and stop the clock with about 13 seconds left. But since he was knocked backwards by the Cardinals defenders in bounds, the NFL rules state the clock remains running if a player goes out of bounds moving backwards. So the clock kept ticking, forcing the Cowboys to hurry to the line and spike the ball. That prevented the offense from getting another play off, possibly adding more yards to help Aubrey's attempt. The 68-yard kick, which would've tied the recently-set NFL record for longest field goal, sailed wide to the left, no good.
Prescott sacked in the red zone – The Cowboys were down 24-7 early in the third quarter but managed to get a first-and-goal at the Cardinals' 5-yard line. The first-down run to Williams was stopped for no gain, which was a big play in itself. But on second down, Prescott was sacked by Josh Sweat for a 9-yard loss back to the 14. That wiped out any chance to make it four-down territory. The Cowboys had to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 14 and kept the Cardinals with a sizeable lead. Not that the four-point difference likely would've made a big difference, but cutting into the lead could've put more pressure on the Cardinals, who were rather conservative in the fourth quarter as it was.
Another fourth-down decision – Trailing 27-10, the Cowboys decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Cardinals' 21-yard line instead of kicking a field goal. Once again, the offense failed to convert as Prescott's pass to CeeDee Lamb was too high, and the ball was deflected for an incomplete pass. The Cowboys actually stopped the Cardinals on a three-and-out on their next possession and got the ball back quickly. Dallas then drove the field and finally scored an offensive touchdown to cut the lead to 10. Not that the game is always played out the same, but had the Cowboys kicked the field goal earlier, and scored the touchdown, perhaps it's a seven-point game with 11 minutes left. The Cowboys were able to drive down the field trailing by 10, but had it only been a seven-point game, they could've used less hurry-up offense and played it straight up for a game-tying score.
Bonus: Williams' fumble – Had the running back not fumbled the ball inside of the five-minute mark, there was a chance Aubrey could've cut the Arizona lead to seven. It would've been a 57-yard attempt, but that's easily in Aubrey's range. A field goal there makes the score 27-20 and who knows how the Cardinals handle the next drive with the pressure on of a one-score game.
