ARLINGTON, Texas — There was no worry about needing to try and end the 9-0 career football record of Kyler Murray when the Arizona Cardinals took the field in Week 9 for their primetime matchup on Monday Night Football against the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÏÂÔØÈë¿Ú, and that's because the former first-overall pick wasn't the starting quarterback.
That honor went to Jacoby Brissett, and that meant Cowboys' defense would be tested more from the pocket, and that made it paramount they found ways to generate pressure against the veteran QB to keep tight end Trey McBride and former fourth-overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. from making plays.
Conversely, the onus was on Dak Prescott to return to MVP-caliber form with his stable of weapons, following their struggles against the Denver Broncos one week prior. They entered the matchup averaging more than 41 points per game, the most in the league of any team on their own field, and the recipe was obviously to keep those good times rolling.
That did not occur, however, as the Cowboys fell to the 2-5 Cardinals at home, suffering their first home loss of the 2025 season, but those who made my list this week earned the hell out of this nod.
[Note: This list is unranked.]
Javonte Williams, RB
Williams got going in a big way on the opening drive, but things wound up getting away from the Cowboys in a big way and that made it a one-dimensional game for much of the contest. Still, when given his chances, there was Williams doing all he could to try and move the chains. There was simply not much he could do when Dak Prescott was forced to drop back and try to throw the Cowboys back into the game as the defense struggled to get any stops whatsoever. Williams also kept a critical drive going early in the fourth quarter by jumping onto a George Pickens fumble, then rumbling for 19 yards on the subsequent handoff, that drive culminating in a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Ryan Flournoy to make it a 27-10 contest with just under 11 minutes to try and climb back. Oh and by the way, his pass protection should be taught in film sessions everywhere.
Dak Prescott, QB
The difference between this outing and the last is that Prescott avoided multiple turnovers, and his struggles weren't due to the All-Pro pressing, but rather because was being pressed by the Cardinals' defensive front. When Prescott wasn't being hurried, he was being sacked and when he wasn't being sacked, he was scrambling past the line of scrimmage only to see the gain negated by a holding penalty; and then there were the drops. Through it all, there was Prescott continuing to concoct the time necessary, when possible, to find Pickens, Lamb and ultimately Flournoy on the aforementioned fourth-quarter touchdown— fighting desperately for air as the boat was sinking.
Ryan Flournoy, WR
What I'm about to say is something you've not heard about the Cowboys' offense in any of their home games this season: the first offensive touchdown came with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter due mostly to self-inflicted wounds. But when they called his number, there was Flournoy stepping up as he often does, keeping the chains moving on the early fourth-quarter drive before being rewarded for his efforts with a five-yard touchdown on a pure dot from Prescott.
Kenny Clark, DT
Clark flew out of the gates in run defense early in the contest but things cooled a bit there as the game went on, though not entirely because of him. He came alive in the fourth quarter though, that's for damn sure. The three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle was a maniac in the final session, sacking Jacoby Brissett and then delivering a one-yard tackle for loss on third down not long thereafter that forced the Cardinals into 4th-and-solar system — forcing them to punt and giving the Cowboys at least a chance with a 10-point deficit and the ball back in the hands of the offense.
CeeDee Lamb + George Pickens, WR
In a game that saw the offense plagued by drops and drive-killing penalties, not to mention pressure on Dak Prescott that made it difficult for him to have time to do much of anything in the pocket, Lamb and Pickens were the steady, reliable hands of the group. Whenever they were targeted, they made plays, neither dropping the ball a single time and despite catches in traffic that sometimes ended with brutal hits (just ask Lamb). The problem arrived when Pickens was stripped with less than five minutes to play and the Cowboys driving down the field, his second fumble of the night but first one lost; but I'd argue that should've called down by forward progress. Either way, it happened as Pickens was trying to scratch for every inch.
Sam Williams + Marshawn Kneeland, DE
Special teams got involved in trying to contribute outside of the usual hero in Brandon Aubrey, when Williams blocked a punt late in the second quarter that rolled into the end zone before being hunted down and recovered for a touchdown by Marshawn Kneeland, the first of his young NFL career, to make it a 10-7 contest at the time. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Jacoby Brissett and the offense marched the ball right back down the field on 11 plays for a touchdown to negate Williams' and Kneeland's efforts on the prior drive.
Donovan Ezeiruaku + Jadeveon Clowney, DE
Believe it or not, but there were a couple of bright spots on defense, at least in stretches, and two of them were Ezeiruaku and Clowney. The former got a good amount of pressure on Jacoby Brissett, landing his second career sack and forcing some throwaways and bad passes, while Clowney had his best game in a Cowboys' uniform — aided by the fact he (and Ezeiruaku) were the starting defensive ends for the first time this season.
