Storylines to Watch in Cardinals-Cowboys

Here's what to watch when the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys meet in Week 3.

Who: Dallas Cowboys (2-0) at Arizona Cardinals (0-2)
What: NFL regular season, Week 3
When: Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1:25 PM PST
Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Spread: Cowboys -12.5

The Arizona Cardinals are in search of their first win of the regular season, and they've got quite the daunting task ahead of them.

The Dallas Cowboys stroll into the desert as arguably the best team in the NFL at the moment, playing complementary football with an equally balanced dynamic offense and strong defense that features one of the top players in the league in LB Micah Parsons - and that's exactly where we'll start. 

Three Storylines to Watch in Cardinals-Cowboys

1. Can the Cardinals Slow Down Micah Parsons?

The answer to "can the Arizona Cardinals stop Micah Parsons" is a resounding no, but that's every team in the league. Parsons is playing like the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and figures to have another field day at State Farm Stadium.

The Cardinals are well aware of what he can do. 

"So far, I don't think you can [stop Parsons]. But that's our task. I think that's going to be the focus. Obviously he's one of the better defensive players in the entire league. He's earned that respect and certainly we're going to give him that respect in terms of the way that we call the game, put the plan together and go out there and try to execute," said Cardinals OC Drew Petzing.

You can read more on how the Cardinals are prepping for Parsons here

Trying to fully eliminate Parsons is a fool's task, but minimizing the damage he can do will be vital for Arizona to have any offensive success heading into Week 3. If Parsons gets his fingerprints on this game early, hope for the Cardinals offense to get going will be next to nothing. 

2. How Will Star Defenders be Replaced?

Each defense will take the field without their best secondary players, as Cardinals safety Budda Baker (hamstring) and Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs (ACL) were both placed on injured reserve this week. Diggs is done for the season while Arizona HC Jonathan Gannon told reporters earlier this week Baker is expected back.

They're big blows nonetheless - but how successful will each squad be without them?

This will be the second week K'Von Wallace takes Baker's spot alongside fellow safety Jalen Thompson, and to his credit, Wallace has played fine. Yet Baker's absence (along with being an All-Pro talent) also withdraws a pivotal leader on the field and sideline, and we've yet to see that replaced. 

This will be the first game Dallas plays without Diggs, though Stephon Gilmore and a fairly strong safety tandem behind him should be able to manage against a Cardinals offense that doesn't exactly scream "threatening" through the air. 

Especially when you have a front seven as talented as the Cowboys do, life should still be good on that side of the ball - though there will be negatives to Diggs' absence nonetheless, Dallas has enough talent to overcome it. 

Dallas expects to utilize DaRon Bland on the outside, Jourdan Lewis on the inside and Noah Igbinoghene as a depth piece according to Jane Slater. 

3. Can Cardinals (Again) Unexpectedly Hang?

The Cardinals held third quarter leads in each of their first two games before blowing them, and Arizona approaches their Week 3 matchup as the second-largest underdog in sportsbooks. Arizona has managed to somewhat play the role of spoiler before ultimately failing - can they do so again?

Not many gave them a chance on the road against the Commanders in the season opener, and nearly nobody saw them holding a 28-7 lead over the Giants last week. It's tough to find reasons why Arizona can ultimately win this game, but that's why football isn't played on paper, right? 

This will again be another test for Gannon and his staff to not only see where his players are at, but also themselves in terms of preparation and maximizing talent. 

Cardinals fans only wanted to see their team be competitive in 2023 given the state of the team and roster. If they can manage to make this game against one of the hottest teams in football, you can count another win for the moral victory scoreboard.