Did Dallas Cowboys Fold Under 'Adversity' in Ugly Loss? Notebook

The Dallas Cowboys never led in Sunday's 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. ... and now are questioning whether they're able to deal with "adversity.''

The Dallas Cowboys entered Week 3's meeting with the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday having already looked like Super Bowl contenders through two games. But America's Team came out the other end as anything but after suffering a brutal 28-16 loss to an Arizona squad that many expect to land the No. 1 overall pick this offseason.

Here's three takeaways from the loss ... a loss we think is keyed by Dallas' failure to deal with "adversity.'' ...

Defense deflated with no Diggs In the first game without All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, who is out for the year with an ACL tear, the Dallas defense looked unrecognizable. The loss still happens with or without Diggs, but it's certainly concerning to see how flat the Cowboys looked on that end after playing a championship-winning defense in Weeks 1 and 2.

Arizona punted twice, scoring on all other of its possessions aside from the kneel downs to end the game. No takeaways spelled trouble for a unit that's thrived in that regard over the past two seasons.

To make matters worse, the Cardinals rushed for 222 yards while quarterback Josh Dobbs had just four incompletitions. 

At the end of the day, Dallas could've bent but not broke, but instead shattered thanks to big gains of 44, 45 and 69 by the Arizona offense.

Was it about Diggs the player being out? Was it about the emotion of that?

This has been a rough week on a lot of fronts," said head coach Mike McCarthy. "I think the amount of adversity you go through ... your preparation process, and we didn't have enough today.''

© Joe Rondone, USA TODAY

Dak disappoints Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished the loss 25 of 40 passing for 249 yards, one touchdown and one back-breaking interception. And while that might be average enough for a win any other week, it proved costly against an Arizona team that came to play.

While it was his goal-line interception in triple coverage that sealed the game in the fourth quarter, Prescott made some other highly-questionable throws that were often quickly forgotten about due an incompletetion or something else. He was forcing throws into risky windows, underthrew Michael Gallup on a fade ball in the fourth quarter, and completely missed short to CeeDee Lamb on 4th and 3 at the goal line late in the fourth quarter with Dallas down 21-13.

Prescott hardly deserves full blame for a contest that the defense let get away early, but it'll be his mistakes that will likely be remembered the most from the error-filled day all around.

"Obviously, we've had a lot of adversity throughout the week, and it wasn't easy, (but) nobody's making excuses," said Prescott, who was in the middle of a second wave of "adversity'' when Dallas' O-line played without the injured trio of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Tyler Biadasz. "We thought we had a great opportunity to come in here — even with the adversity — and get a win, and we didn't.''

Gallup 2023 breakout game If there was one major highlight for Dallas, it's that Gallup finally had the big game he's been looking for since the end of last season, and it just so happened to come against the team that he torn his ACL against in the 2021 season.

Despite Cowboys veteran receiver Brandin Cooks being active after missing Week 2, 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.

Maybe that's something Dallas can hang its Stetson on as it readies for Week 4 and a visit from the New England Patriots.

"Every week, you've got to reset and refocus and it's a little bit easier after a loss ... There's not gonna be any worries about that from myself or the coaching staff,'' Prescott promised. "The way we attack preparation and coming in tomorrow, (we'll be) ready to work."