Dallas Deflated: Cowboys Fall From Unbeaten in Stunning Loss at Cardinals

The Dallas Cowboys' quest for an undefeated season came to an unceremonious end with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys looked like arguably the best team in the NFL through two weeks, but they did not look the part at all in Sunday's 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at StateFarm Stadium.

There was a lot that went wrong in this game, but perhaps the most concerning was the Cowboys' inability to finish drives. They made it to the red zone five times, but only came away with a touchdown once. They settled for field goals twice, turned it over on downs once and most back-breaking of all, threw an interception in the end zone late in the game.

In terms of total yardage, the Cowboys actually outperformed the Cardinals in a lot of ways. Dallas had 416 total yards and 26 first downs, compared to 380 yards and 17 first downs for Arizona. However, all the yards in the world don't matter if a team doesn't take advantage of its opportunities, and the Cowboys - who have oddly lost six of the last seven meetings with Arizona - learned that the hard way.

Dak Prescott completed 25 of 40 passes for 249 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also added 24 rushing yards on three carries and lost 18 yards on two sacks. Not a horrendous game, but certainly not his best either.

Tony Pollard had a good day running the ball, racking up 122 yards on six carries. Michael Gallup led the team in receiving with six catches for 92 yards, while CeeDee Lamb had a relatively quiet game with just four receptions for 53 yards. Running back Rico Dowdle scored Dallas' lone touchdown on the day, taking a screen pass 15 yards to the house.

No stopping @ricodowdle on his way to paydirt 💰

📺: FOX & NFL+ ➡️ https://t.co/yLMhJNTZjs pic.twitter.com/8Q5TRFMuk8

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 24, 2023

Also concerning was the fact that the Cowboys' vaunted defense, which allowed just 10 points over the first two games, looked very mortal against the Cardinals. It was particularly noticeable on the ground, as Arizona rushed for 222 yards on 7.4 yards per carry. Running back James Conner and receiver Rondale Moore each had rushing touchdowns on the day.

The Cardinals' passing game wasn't great, with quarterback Josh Dobbs completing 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, but it didn't really need to be. 

With Arizona entering this game as 11-point underdogs, the Cardinals' win is one of the biggest upsets in this young season.

The Cowboys will look to rebound when they host the 1-2 New England Patriots on Oct. 1.