Cardinals 19, Cowboys 16: Game-Winning FG Tops Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys continued the preseason on Friday with a 19-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Dak Prescott and Kyler Murray, the standout quarterbacks for each of these two teams, did not record a single snap in this game. Plenty of key players from both teams were on the sidelines instead of playing on the field.
It was a struggle early on for either offense to get going. The Cowboys began the game with a three-and-out on the opening drive. The Cardinals did not fare much better.
After Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy connected with tight end Maxx Williams on a quick four-yard throw, Cowboys linebacker Keanu Neal made a play on the ball and forced a fumble.
The preseason is all about meaningful takeaways from the game that is played within the game. Seeing Neal come away with a forced fumble after making the transition to linebacker earlier in the offseason is intriguing, to say the least.
“I felt like we were playing fast; executing their calls; everyone was rallying to the ball getting the turnovers that we needed," Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs said of the team's defensive execution. "We were just playing fast and the defense looked really good.”
Despite taking over at the Cardinals' 49-yard-line, the Cowboys failed to capitalize on the favorable field possession Arizona's fumble had afforded them.
Facing a fourth-and-3 on the Cardinals' 20-yard-line, Cowboys quarterback Garrett Gilbert was unable to convert on his throw to Malik Turner in the middle of the field. Dallas had squandered a prime scoring opportunity with this drive.
There was another big play from the Cowboys' defense after it appeared as though the Cardinals were on track to find the end-zone. On a pivotal third-and-7 from the Cowboys' 9-yard-line, Dorance Armstrong came away with a sack.
The Cardinals came away with a 33-yard field goal from kicker Matt Prater after Armstrong's sack resulted in fourth down. However, the Cowboys answered back with a made field goal of their own on the following drive.
Dallas' field goal was the result of a theme throughout the opening half -- the offense just couldn't seem to execute on third down when it needed to the most.
On a third-and-5 from the Cardinals' 18-yard-line, Gilbert was unable to convert on his pass to Cedrick Wilson on the right side of the field. The Cowboys came up empty on a second red-zone possession to this point as a result.
“It was tough sledding tonight," said Cowboys quarterback Garrett Gilbert on the team's offensive execution in the opening half. "[The Cardinals] made some things hard on us with some of their pressures. I thought we did a nice job moving the ball a little bit, but again, we’ve got to finish drives. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot again tonight.”
More positive impact from the Cowboys' pass rush proved to be pivotal in forcing the Cardinals to punt. Ron'Dell Carter brought down McCoy for what was Dallas' third sack of the game to this point -- forcing a third-and-18 for Arizona.
There was more letdown from the Cowboys' offense after the team's pass-rush proved to be impactful in a key moment.
Cooper Rush took over the Cowboys' quarterback duties as the opening half winded down. His first drive came to an early conclusion after Rico Dowdle lost the ball -- giving the Cardinals possession of the football on the Dallas 36-yard-line.
It wasn't until the 4:18 mark of the second quarter that either team managed to find the end zone. To take a 10-3 lead, Cardinals running back Eno Benjamin bounced to the outside and found enough space to record a six-yard touchdown.
In an attempt to answer the Cardinals' touchdown drive, the Cowboys came up short yet again near the red-zone. Rush failed to connect on a pass to Jeremy Sprinkle on the left side of the field on a third-and-4 from the Cardinals' 20-yard-line.
Cowboys kicker Hunter Niswander converted on his second made field goal of the opening half to cut Dallas' deficit to 10-6 entering halftime.
It was more of the same coming out of halftime with each team failing to turn a red-zone possession into a touchdown. The Cowboys and Cardinals each converted on a made field goal to bring the score to 13-9.
The Cowboys turned the quarterback duties over to Ben DiNucci toward the end of the third quarter. He proved to have the most success of all of the Dallas signal-callers who took a snap in this outing.
DiNucci's first drive of the game lasted for 14 plays and traveled 80 yards, ultimately ended with a one-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Brandon Smith. Dallas took a 16-13 lead as a result.
Where DiNucci differed from the other Cowboys quarterbacks was his execution on third down near the 20-yard-line. Instead of forcing a tough pass, DiNucci scrambled for a 10-yard gain to move the chain.
The Cowboys' defense came up with a pivotal stop on the following possession. Arizona failed to move the chains even once before punting the ball. However, Dallas failed to capitalize.
After taking over at their own 18-yard-line, the Cowboys leaned on running back JaQuan Hardy in the ground gain on five consecutive plays. DiNucci was unable to convert on third-down when Dallas turned to the passing game.
Dallas' failure to put together a scoring drive afforded the Cardinals with prime opportunity to pull off a go-ahead scoring opportunity. Arizona proved unable to capitalize.
The Cowboys' defense committed various infractions with one being potentially quite costly, in particular. A neutral zone infraction by Carter set the Cardinals up with a 1st & 5 just inside the red-zone.
A pivotal tackle for a seven-yard loss from Cowboys safety Tyler Coyle put a damper on the Cardinals' momentum. Arizona faced a second-and-12 to which they then came up empty on consecutive pass attempts.
The Cardinals lined up in pass formation on fourth-and-12 with 1:55 left in regulation but a false-start penalty made it too risky to go for it. Prater connected on a 48-yard field goal attempt to tie it up 16-16.
A classic two-minute drill opportunity faced DiNucci and the Cowboys' offense, but the group came up short. A failure to convert on three consecutive pass attempts prompted Dallas to punt with 1:07 left to play in the fourth quarter.
Arizona's offense managed to seize the moment taking over at their own 31-yard-line with 51-seconds left to play. The Cardinals moved the ball through the air to cross the 50-yard-line but a pivotal mistake by Dallas aided their efforts.
An encroachment penalty by the Cowboys' defense on a third-and-3 at the 36-yard-line was the final nail in the coffin before Prater went on to drill the game-winning 48-yard field goal for the Cardinals.
The ending of this game was a microcosm of what held the Cowboys back throughout Proving unable to come up with results in pivotal moments was too costly to overcome in the end.
Throughout the remainder of the preseason, the Cowboys will seek to continue to build on the identity they want to establish. The wins and losses may not matter too much, but the execution does. And so do the injuries. Dallas' list there: Cowboys injuries tonight through three quarters: DT Neville Gallimore (elbow), Sean McKeon (ankle), Ty Nsekhe (knee), Anthony Hines (elbow) and Turner (foot).
"We’ll have some stuff to look at this week, but we’ve got to continue to build on our play style and become more physical as a team – run the ball when we want do; be able to impose our will," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. "So I think we’ll have to continue to work on those things.”
The Dallas Cowboys (0-2) will take on the Houston Texans (0-0) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, during the team's next preseason matchup.
