Dallas Cowboys 'Good, Bad & Ugly' from Dak Prescott 'Humbling' Loss at Cardinals

The Dallas Cowboys succumbed to the Arizona Cardinals in a game in which coach Mike McCarthy's team simply couldn't get out of its own way. ... leading to a "Good, Bad & Ugly'' analysis with lots of the "bad'' and the "ugly.''

From the moment Arizona Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game, it sent an ominous warning to the Dallas Cowboys ... but it was one that wasn't heeded.

The Cowboys fell to a 28-16 loss to the Cardinals in the desert as everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. ... meaning that when we compile our weekly "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'' analysis ... well, we won't waste much time on the "good.'' ..

THE GOOD: Michael Gallup emerged as a major factor in this offense for the first time in a while. 

Gallup finished Sunday with game-highs for catches (six) and receiving yards (92) while looking the No. 2 receiver he's capable of being. The yardage total was his most in a single game since Thanksgiving 2021 against the Las Vegas Raiders while the six receptions were his most since 2020.

And unless we want to say a few nice things about the unheralded emergency trio of O-line starters in Chuma Edoga, Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass? OK. We said a few words. That's it for the "good.''

THE BAD: Twins here: The red zone struggles continued, but perhaps the biggest issue was coordinator Dan Quinn's defense and the 222 rushing yards given up, as Dallas got bullied - plain and simple.

Don't stop the run and offer up self-inflicted wounds - like the 13 penalties for 107 yards? OK, make it "triplets'' here.

For quarterback Dak Prescott (25 of 40, 249 yards, one TD, interception), though, the offense's inability to convert in the red zone (one touchdown in five trips) was the deciding factor in the shocking loss.

"When you look at this loss, we moved the ball up and down the field and just couldn't score," Prescott said. "We've gotta get back to the drawing board, and that starts with me making some throws and making some plays with my feet to try and get it done. We didn't convert in the red zone. That's the story of this game, period."

Dak Prescott of the Cowboys / © Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY

THE UGLY: There are X's-and-O's reasons for failure, and that was an issue here. But maybe the ugliest issue is all about Dallas' "head space'' here. 

The Trevon Diggs absence was an emotional "gut punch,'' as coach Mike McCarthy labeled the season-ending injury, and then to lose three offensive linemen (Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and Tyler Biadasz)? It was a perfect emotional storm.

Dak acknowledged the issues the team dealt with during the week but refused to use it as an excuse for the horror show against the Cardinals.

"This was a humbling loss," Prescott said. "We had a lot of adversity this week. It wasn't easy. No one is making excuses, we thought we had a great opportunity to come in here even with the adversity and get a win and we didn't."

That's all about what's inside the Cowboys' collective heads and hearts, and it's impossible to truly see inside. But if we could? We're guessing it looks ... ugly.