This past Sunday should leave the Dallas Cowboys with many concerns. The Offense was lifeless all first half until Dak Prescott and Michael Gallup connected for a score. Most of the first half the Cowboys were unable to run the ball successfully. With 2:47 left in the second quarter, Ezekiel Elliott broke out with a huge run that was called back because of a holding penalty. This was a common theme all game as the Cowboys had 4 holding calls with 9 minutes remaining in the third quarter. These holding calls were drive killers for the Dallas Cowboys. Before halftime the defense had two defensive pass interferences on a single drive that led the Cardinals to another score. The Cowboys generated very few pressures, it seemed Kyler Murray had plenty of time to read the field and make a play. Dak Prescott, however, was under a lot of pressure. The Cardinal’s defense did an amazing job of batting Dak Prescott’s passes down at the line of scrimmage. When Dak was able to get the ball out of his hand, passes were inaccurate and sometimes dropped.

Greg Zuerlein’s play is very unreliable. Greg “The Leg”, missed his only field goal attempt of the afternoon which could have been a difference maker in the football game. On the season, Greg Zuerlein has now missed 6 field goals and 5 extra points. This is frightening heading into the playoffs for the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys front office need to have a serious conversation about finding a replacement for the inconsistent kicker.

The first three quarters of this football game gave shades of the Cowboys VS. Broncos game, the Cowboys were only able to score 7 points and went into the fourth quarter trailing 22 to 7. As the third quarter came to an end, the Arizona Cardinals were able to generate 4 consecutive scoring drives. The Cowboys defense, which has been the light of their team was suddenly struggling to stop a depleted Cardinals offense.

Early fourth quarter Dak Prescott had a costly turnover when he attempted to rush for a first down. Following the turnover, the defense once again was flagged for a penalty giving the Cardinals great field position. This brought the Cowboys penalty total to 10 with 10 minutes left in the ball game. As the game came close to an end the Dallas Cowboys found themselves within 3 points to tie the football game. The defense was unable to generate pressure on Kyler Murray and the misuse of timeouts by Mike McCarthy proved to be costly at the end of the game. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the football game the Dallas Cowboys were unable to challenge a clear fumble and recovery because of their head coach. Mike McCarthy called the Cowboys last timeout moments before the fumble, after the Cardinals picked up a first down. This was an illogical move by McCarthy and led to Kyler Murray picking up a first down which ultimately ended the football game.

The Cowboys are now 4-4 against teams with .500 records or better (current records). Those losses include Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and now Arizona. The common denominator between these teams is that they are all tough playoff teams. The Cowboys have shown all season that they are unable to beat Superbowl contenders. The path the Cowboys will face in the playoffs is an incredibly tough one. If the Cowboys would like to make a Superbowl appearance, their opponents would most likely be Arizona, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay. Dallas has not shown much promise that they can defeat these opponents. There needs to be an immediate change in Dallas if they hope to contend for a title.