A solid defense, an explosive running game and an intelligent quarterback: the Cardinals sent Dallas back to his beloved studies.
Arizona Cardinals (1-2) – Dallas Cowboys 2-1): 28 – 16
3 minutes 33 to play, 28-16 for the Cardinals, but Dallas is a few yards from the opposing endzone. After two failures in the race, Dak Prescott (25/40, 249 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int) moves back, and sends an interception given to Kyzir White. Enough to seal the fate of a match that Arizona won on a regular basis.
If the result is a surprise, it is logical given the progress of the match. The locals held on perfectly in the red zone and forced Dallas to accumulate field goals. On offense, however, they were lethal thanks to an inspired Joshua Dobbs (17/21, 189 yards, 1 passing TD, 6 races for 55 yards) and an overwhelming running game.
182 rushing yards in one half for the Cardinals
After two games to go, the Cowboys showed their first limits. On defense, they were crushed to the ground. Whether by the races of Joshua Dobbs or James Conner (14 races, 98 yards, 1 TD) and others, the Cardinals trampled Mike McCarthy’s men, inflicting no less than 182 yards on the run in the first half , at a staggering average of 11.4 yards per carry.
It was thanks to a 44-yard run from Dobbs that the locals opened the scoring (3-0), thanks to a 5-yard carry from Conner that they scored the first touchdown (10-3), and it was on a 45-yard run from Rondale Moore that they drove the point home 18-10. With such work on the ground, Dobbs only had to manage, even if he showed great composure, in particular to manage the attack in the last moments of the half, on a drive transformed by the eternal Matt Prater on 62 yards (21-13).
Prescott, a rebellion and limits
Opposite, Dak Prescott was put under pressure. If he managed to lead his team to two field goals and a touchdown from Ricco Dowdle in the first half, we felt that he wanted to take matters into his own hands in the second act. In vain. A superb run to convert a 3&12? The Cowboys stall and stick to a field goal (21-16). A well-executed drive? Like the match, his teammates multiplied the penalties (13 for 107 yards!) and the fourth attempt was missed. Until the fatal interception, and its message to the league: Prescott could not carry the game while his defense was in difficulty.
For their part, Arizona and Jonathan Gannon confirm that they are not there to tank after an unfinished performance with the Giants. This team has talent, starting with Dobbs, who knew how to make the right choices and assassinate Dallas with a 66-yard pass to Malik Hooker in the last quarter (28-16), while the Cowboys had finally stopped the race.
