Arizona Cardinals’ Zaven Collins addresses state of team
At 2-5, the Arizona Cardinals are trying to turn things around and get a much-needed win coming off their Week 8 bye in the 2025 season.
Time/site: 6:15 p.m. MST, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV: ABC/ESPN. Radio: 98.7 FM (local broadcast), 1580 AM (national broadcast).
Last time they played: Back in 2023, the Cardinals faced Dallas as 12-point home underdogs. But behind backup quarterback Josh Dobbs, they stunned the Cowboys, 28-16. It remains head coach Jonathan Gannon’s only win without Kyler Murray. The Cardinals are 1-17 in their last 18 games without Murray, including the game in which he tore his ACL early in the first quarter.
Series history: It’s no surprise that this series is lopsided in favor of the Cowboys, who lead 56-35-1 all-time. Much of the Cowboys’ damage came when the teams both played in the NFC East from 1970 to 2001. From 1990 to 1996, the Cowboys reeled off 14 straight wins against the Cardinals. Arizona, though, has won seven of the past eight, dating back to 2008.
Coaching matchup
The head coaching matchup here features Jonathan Gannon against Brian Schottenheimer, who was promoted from offensive coordinator when Dallas parted ways with Mike McCarthy. The most intriguing part of this matchup, though, is that the Cardinals will face Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who was Arizona’s offensive line coach in 2023 and 2024. The Cardinals’ running game has taken a major hit with Adams gone.
Storyline
There can only be one answer here: The Cardinals quarterback situation. Murray will not start as he continues to recover from his foot injury, but Gannon left open the possibility for him to serve as Jacoby Brissett’s backup. Gannon said the decision to start Brissett is entirely health-related, but it still only amplifies the Cardinals’ growing quarterback controversy. If Brissett leads the Cardinals to a win, their playoff hopes would remain alive, and it would become even more difficult to return to Murray. Even if Brissett plays well in a loss, the noise will be loud on Tuesday morning.
Arizona will win if…Brissett takes advantage of the Cowboys’ secondary: The Cowboys have one of the league’s worst secondaries, allowing 7.7 yards per attempt. Brissett, meanwhile, has excelled in Murray’s absence, averaging 7.4 yards per attempt. He could have a big day.It can run the ball: Could this be the week that the Cardinals’ running game finally gets on track? The Cowboys have allowed a horrendous 5.6 yards per attempt over their past five games. The Cardinals have only hit that mark once all season.It slows down the Cowboys receivers: The Cardinals don’t need to stop CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. That would be impossible, with how well that duo is playing. But they do need to at least slow them down. With Lamb healthy, the Cowboys are 2-0 when that duo combines for over 170 yards and 0-2 when they combine for under 170 yards. That responsibility will mostly fall on cornerbacks Will Johnson and Max Melton.Dallas will win if…It’s able to push the ball downfield: Last week, the Broncos forced Prescott to keep things underneath, taking away the Cowboys’ dangerous deep game. One way the Cardinals can do the same is by getting pressure on Prescott, which could be easier with the potential debut of first-round pick Walter Nolen.The pass rush gets to Brissett: Despite the loss of Micah Parsons, the Cowboys’ pass rushers are a solid group — the only aspect of the defense about which that can be said. Their ability to create pressure on Brissett will be key. Unlike Murray, Brissett is willing to stand in against pressure, but he’s averaging three more yards per attempt from a clean pocket.Jake Ferguson gets back on track: Ferguson has been a key part of the Cowboys’ offense this year by helping take coverage away from the two star receivers. But after putting up 334 yards and six touchdowns through seven games, he was held without a catch against Denver. He saw just one target in that game.They said it
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer on Klayton Adams’ experience with Kyler Murray: “Well, it’s funny when you talk to Klayton, he said the thing about Kyler is that Kyler never really wanted to run. He was really good. But he said he’d go on to start the games, he would be like, ‘Man, I really don’t wanna! I’m not feeling like running this week.’”
Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis on the Cowboys’ receivers: “You’re not gonna go through a whole game of taking away two guys. That’s a really hard thing to do.”
By the numbers
9-0 —Murray’s record at AT&T Stadium, including five high school games, two college games and two NFL games. He will not get a chance to extend that record due to his foot injury.
115 — Combined receiving yards per game with Brissett at quarterback for Michael Wilson and Zay Jones, the Cardinals’ secondary receiving options. With Murray, that duo averaged a mere 17.8 yards per game.
166.8 — Combined receiving yards per game for George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. Pickens ranks fifth in the NFL in that metric, with Lamb eighth. No other team has two wide receivers inside the top 20.
167.4 — The Cowboys’ average rushing yards allowed over their past five games. The Cardinals’ season-high in rushing yards is just 168. This is a golden opportunity for that group.
299 — Brissett’s passing yards per game this season. Murray has averaged just 192.4 passing yards, though he has added 34.6 yards per game on the ground.
Who will win and why
Cardinals 31, Cowboys 28: Unless their defense has its best performance of the season, the Cardinals will need to rely on their offense to beat this Cowboys team. Given the state of the Cowboys’ defense — and how well Brissett has played in his two starts — that’s certainly possible.