8 Winners and Losers From Cardinals' Ugly Loss to Cowboys

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals put another preseason game in the books, and it was one to forget.

The Dallas Cowboys marched into State Farm Stadium and easily handled the Cardinals in 34-13 fashion. The two sides mostly rested their starters as one more preseason game looms before final roster cuts arrive.

In spite of the loss, there were still some noticeable winners to pair with some forgettable performances from Saturday.

Eight winners/losers from the Cardinals' loss against Dallas:

Winner: Eku Leota

Leota has climbed up the Cardinals' outside linebacker depth chart during training camp and very well could have earned himself a roster spot last night. Leota registered a sack with two tackles for a loss and five total tackles — second-highest on the team.

"I thought from my eyes—I have to go back and watch this tape obviously (but) I thought from my eyes (that) this was the most productive he was through the three preseason games," Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said after the game.

Leota has been a consistent winner for the Cardinals in the last few weeks. Last night only drove that home further.

Loser: Darius Robinson

The Cardinals only played a select group of starters against Dallas with majority resting — so anybody who got some run last night, it wasn't exactly for good reason.

Robinson was in that mix, and it's a fairly glaring endorsement on how the Cardinals' coaching staff views him at this moment in time.

"You can get a lot done in practice, but sometimes the live bullets, not having a script and all that kind of stuff (helps players grow). There are a few guys on the defensive side that we want to get out there in that kind of heightened competitive environment and see what they can do. Not ruling out anything for next week either," LaFleur said on playing Robinson.

Robinson logged one tackle, and the former first-round pick has again yet to make an impact during live action football.

Winner: Bam Knight

Perhaps one of last night's biggest winners was a player who didn't even suit up.

Knight did not play, as the Cardinals opted to rest their running back — a player who is on the bubble of making the team's final 53-man roster, and his nonparticipation is a great sign of him making the team.

"I think you guys saw that in the first game when we were in Canton, and even last year knowing his running style. (We) just wanted to make sure that we were taking care of him at this point and kind of where we're at in the running back room," LaFleur said when asked about Knight not playing.

Knight feels like a good bet to make the team.

Loser: BJ Ojulari

The Cardinals have been begging for somebody in their outside linebacker room to step up, with hopes of Ojulari fully bouncing back from an injury suffered ahead of the 2024 season.

That's yet to happen, and Ojulari has been getting consistently heavy run during preseason games. The combination of extensive looks with minimal production against third-string players simply has not mixed well for Ojulari's chances of making the team – especially with Leota's rise.

Ojulari did have three tackles last night, though he's still unable to reach the quarterback.

Winner: Simi Fehoko

The race for Arizona's final receiver spot has been highly competitive through camp and preseason with things mostly being a two-man sprint to the finish between Jalen Brooks and Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Fehoko didn't leapfrog anybody, though his team-leading 42 receiving yards on two catches was indeed a bright spot for a Cardinals squad that didn't see much of that.

This catch by Simi Fehoko 🔥

DALvsAZ on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mhgVNDjpUr
— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2026

Fehoko's special teams prowess should also keep him heavily in the mix for a roster spot. On a night where somebody needed to step up, Fehoko certainly did.

Loser: Nick Rallis

It's only preseason, but Rallis is being picked apart by people online after another forgettable outing on the defensive side of the ball.

While a mix of starters played, mostly role players and backups took the field — and fans have simply not been happy with the overall defensive product, which has been copy-and-paste this entire preseason.

The Cardinals' defense was expected to be different after Jonathan Gannon was fired. Thus far, it's been anything but a polished product under Rallis' watch in either run or pass defense.

Winner: Karson Sharar

Sharar's chances of making the roster, thanks to his status as a late-round pick and depth in the inside linebacker's room, will mostly come on special teams and his ability to make an impact there.

Sharar, a specialist at Iowa with over 500 snaps in that phase, has proved to be a playmaker on special teams, and last night was no different after setting the tone on the opening kickoff.

karson sharar is a special teams DEMON 👀 pic.twitter.com/LbF4goVkOX
— Justin  Mythic AZ (@ImMythicAZ) August 23, 2026

That's exactly how you make an NFL roster as a Day 3 pick.

Loser: Cardinals' Penalties Problems

The Cardinals, consistently, have had issues with pre-snap penalties this preseason. Officials told reporters they'd be calling games more tightly to prepare teams for the regular season, which is fine, though Arizona's mishaps are mostly happening before the ball is even snapped.

Last night, the Cardinals had eight penalties for 63 yards, and LaFleur clearly was not happy with the operation.

"It’s sometimes a lack of focus. Sometimes (it’s) just other guys being in there that haven't been put in these situations. There are no excuses for it," LaFleur said.

"You guys are going to talk about it more because I'm always going to talk about it. Obviously, you guys are going to be looking for it a little bit more too. I wasn't happy with how we did against Las Vegas. You look at the totality of it, most people would say we were pretty clean that game. Well, not to our standard. If we have one, that's one too many.”

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