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Cardinals Top Cowboys: 'Damn Right' We Want 'Em Again, Says Dallas - My Top 10 Whitty Observations

Dallas' frantic rally ends in frustration on mistake-filled day in Arlington

Richie Whitt

10. SILVER-AND-BLUE LINING?: With this 25-22 loss at home to Arizona, the Dallas Cowboys can no longer grab the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs. Which is a ... good thing? 

Dallas is 6-2 on the road; 5-3 at AT&T Stadium.

And yet, in the face of it all, a Cowboys team that talked a good game all week kept talking into the night in Arlington.

Cowboys defensive leader DeMarcus Lawrence on if he wants to play the Cardinals again: “Damn right. …If we see them again, they’re going to get it all from us.”

9. CATCH OF THE YEAR - You know you're in trouble when Arizona Cardinals' safety Chris Banjo has a longer completion in the first half than Dak Prescott. On a second-quarter fake punt, Banjo took a direct snap as the up-back and faked a run before pulling up and lobbing a throw toward teammate Jonathan Ward. The running back then produced a strong contender for NFL Catch of the Year, leaping high in the air and making a one-hand grab he blindly pinned against the shoulder pad and then helmet of Cowboys' defender Nahshon Wright for a dramatic first down that led to a touchdown and a 10-0 Arizona lead. Banjo's completion went for 23 yards; Prescott's longest of the half was a 21-yard touchdown to Michael Gallup.

8. GREG THE LEG? - Greg Zuerlein has one of the strongest legs in the NFL. But ... he hooked a 43-yard field goal in the first half that kept Dallas scoreless. It was his sixth miss of the season and second from 40-49 yards. At this point, we trust Zuerlein more from 53 yards than 43, maybe even 33. In the regular season it leads to frustrating, three-point losses. In the playoffs, it ends your season.

7. CEDRICK THE ENTERTAINER - Forced into more reps by the injury to Gallup, Cedrick Wilson individually sparked Dallas' rally. On the drive that pulled the Cowboys within 25-22, Wilson caught a fourth-down pass to keep the drive alive, then completed a 31-yard pass to Tony Pollard - an homage to recently deceased former Cowboy Dan Reeves? - and finally made a diving catch for a two-point conversion.

Speaking of the Gallup injury: He's done for the year.

6. LATE DEFENSE - The Cowboys' defense has made its name with a league-leading 33 takeaways, but just as important has been its stinginess at the end of the first half. Dallas held Arizona to a 53-yard field goal just before half, for only the second score (six total points) in the first half's final two minutes against it in 17 games.

5. KYLER'S CRIB - Kyler Murray is now 9-0 at AT&T Stadium, highlighted by winning three state titles at Allen High School, a Big 12 Championship at Oklahoma and wins in consecutive seasons over the Cowboys. With Arizona nursing its three-point lead and needing a couple of first downs to run out the clock, Murray scrambled 15 yards, hit tight end Zach Ertz for an 11-yard gain and perfectly executed an option pitch to running back Chase Edmonds for a key first down. In the last month Dallas' defense has feasted on the likes of quarterbacks named Taysom Hill, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm. Murray is a different breed.

4. STEP-BACK DAK - After last week's seemingly slump-busting performance against Washington, Prescott reverted to the form that had Cowboys fans questioning the offense's direction. The quarterback threw for three touchdowns, but missed open receivers, miscommunicated on a couple of routes and had several balls batted down at the line of scrimmage. Still, the Cowboys had momentum and the ball trailing only 22-14 midway through the fourth quarter when Prescott was forced to scramble. Ezekiel Elliott initially picked up blitzer Isaiah Simmons, but the linebacker regrouped and chased down Prescott, punching the ball out for a fumble that resulted in a key Cardinals' field goal.

3. INJURY TO INSULT - For most of the game the Cowboys' lone highlight was a touchdown catch by Gallup. But the receiver landed awkwardly near the front corner of the end zone and left the game with what is likely a season-ending knee injury. The Cowboys have played without the speedy receiver before this season, getting increased production from Wilson and Noah Brown during Gallup's seven-game absence due to a calf injury suffered in the season opener. Dallas went with 6-1 with him out of the lineup.

2. OFFICIAL OOPS - As poorly as they played for most of the game, the Cowboys should have had one final possession and a chance to push this game to overtime. Thanks to a couple of curious non-calls - three mistakes on two consecutive plays - by the referees, they didn't get that opportunity. With Arizona clinging to a 25-22 lead, Edmonds took Murray's option pitch and ran 11 yards before clearly being tackled out-of-bounds by Micah Parsons, with both knees landing on the white boundary. 

The side judge, however, ruled the tackle in-bounds and ordered the clock to keep running, forcing Dallas to call its final timeout with 2:51 remaining. On Arizona's next snap, the play clock clearly hit :00 and should've resulted in a five-yard delay-of-game penalty. Instead, Edmonds took a hand-off and ran nine yards before attempting to slow down and be tackled in-bounds. But his knees never touched the ground, Dallas' DeMarcus Lawrence punched the ball from his arms and Osa Odighizuwa made a clear recovery at the Cowboys' 28 with 2:44 remaining. 

Plenty of time for Prescott to drive the offense for a potential game-tying field goal - or better. 

But officials incorrectly ruled Edmonds down, nullifying the fumble. Since Mike McCarthy was forced to call his final timeout on the errant Edmonds in-bounds call on the previous play, he was unable to challenge this one. Ball game. Commence frustration. The Cowboys didn't play good enough to overcome bad officiating.

1. CRAPPY NEW YEAR! - Yes, the referees missed several key calls on Arizona's clock-killing possession - including two on the same play - but the Cowboys simply made too many mistakes to beat a playoff-bound team. Dropped passes by Elliott and Pollard. A fumbled snap exchange. Prescott's fumble while scrambling. Five passes tipped at the line of scrimmage. Zuerlein's yanked field goal. Zero takeaways by the defense, including a blatant drop of interception by Jayron Kearse that could've held Arizona's lead to 19-7 late in the third quarter. And, of course, the 10 penalties. 

As unfathomably clean as the Cowboys played a week ago against Washington, they were inexplicably messy Sunday against a much better opponent.

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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