Five takeaways: Cowboys lose game to Arizona, but have they now lost the season?
In a Monday night showdown at AT&T Stadium, the visiting Arizona Cardinals earned just their third victory of the season, beating the Cowboys 27-17, as Dallas failed to find consistency on either side of the ball in a commanding Arizona win.
Defensively, Cardinals backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett had his way with the Cowboys in throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns. On offense, failed red zone trips and fumbles from Jake Ferguson and Javonte Williams put a kill shot to any momentum.
Heading into the bye week, the Cowboys will be searching for answers as they fall to 3-5-1.
Here are the five takeaways after another disappointing Dallas loss:
Trade or not, Cowboys have lost the season
Throughout the day leading up to the Cowboys’ matchup with the Cardinals, owner Jerry Jones hyped up an impending trade — and potentially two more — that would provide “immediate” help to the defensive side of the ball.
However, after this loss, there isn’t anything that can bring this Cowboys team back to playoff contention. In falling to 3-5-1, they are two full games behind the final wild-card spot heading into the bye week.
Whether a deal is made or not ahead of the trade deadline Tuesday afternoon, no one deal can change the direction that this Cowboys team is firmly heading in.
“I hear opinions,” Jones said. “And you can rest assured that, at least through my mind, that all those considerations are there. It was there before this game. It was there when we started the season about whether you make a trade or not.”
With a gauntlet coming against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, it’s hard to imagine how the Cowboys can rattle off a miraculous win streak to creep into the playoffs.
For all intents and purposes, this season is lost.
DaRon Bland has worst game as a pro
Even though the Dallas cornerback room has been far from even average all season, DaRon Bland has given the team some needed consistency throughout the season when he’s been healthy. On Monday, that consistency went in the wrong direction.
From the opening defensive drive, Brissett targeted Bland early and often, resulting in second-year wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. hauling in six receptions in the first half alone — already enough to tie a career high. He ended up with seven catches for 96 yards and a 4-yard touchdown.
The lowlight of the day came when Harrison beat him off the line with a slant release that caused Bland to stumble and hit the turf, allowing an easy pitch-and-catch for the touchdown.
“We liked the matchup,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “And you know, DaRon is a great player. He’s a guy that we really trust. And I think the one touchdown, he slipped and fell. You know that happens sometimes. That was part of the plan we wanted. We knew where Marvin played. He’s going to play split-in quite a bit, and we felt good about the matchup.”
For a defense that can’t buy a sliver of optimism, even one of its trusted veterans let the team down Monday night.
Are offensive concerns now a storyline?
The one thing that the Cowboys have been able to rely on for most of the season has been their electric offense, which entered Week 8 against the Denver Broncos ranked second in points per game and first in yards per game. But after a pair of lackluster performances against the Broncos and Cardinals, is it time to look at the offense as a concern?
On Monday, Dallas’ offense didn’t find the end zone until 10:51 was left in the game, as they continued to strike out when given opportunities in opponent territory. Over the past two games, Dallas’ first-team offense has scored just 13.5 points per game. Seven of Dallas’ points Monday came off a blocked punt recovered in the end zone.
“That starts with me,” Schottenheimer said. “We got to play better offensively. We’re better than 10 points, which is all we scored. For us to score 10 points offensively is not the standard, and no one’s no one’s happy about that.”
Add in two bad fumbles from Ferguson and Williams in Cardinals territory, and the Cowboys’ offense now has some things to figure out on the bye week.
Changes have to be made in bye week
We’ve already established that this season is heading nowhere, but that doesn’t mean that the Cowboys can’t make some serious headway in the right direction with some forward-thinking during the bye week.
They’ve tried multiple changes on defense: working in different personnel groups, dialing up pressure, playing more man coverage. Now, some foundational changes need to be made.
“I think it gives you time to find answers and find solutions and ask more difficult questions and look at everything,” Schottenheimer said about the bye. “I mean, you’re looking at where you stand at this point. And again, I see a team that’s very inconsistent, and that starts with me.”
Whether that is a complete scheme change from defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus or a pulling of the leash on his control of the defensive play-calling, something has to be done to see if he can offer anything for the future.
Because things are trending quickly in the direction of him needing to find a third home in three NFL seasons.
Cowboys finally start correct DE duo
It took until the ninth game of the season, but the Cowboys finally trotted out their best defensive end duo against the Cardinals, as rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and veteran Jadeveon Clowney each got their first starts with the team.
It proved fruitful, as each tallied a sack in the first half that helped give the defense just a bit of momentum. Even though it was far from enough to correct the result on the scoreboard, Ezeiruaku and Clowney have played like the best Cowboys defensive ends through eight weeks, and they were rightfully awarded with the start.
“He’s an incredible player,” Schottenheimer said of Clowney. “We’ve talked about him for a couple days, or a couple weeks now, and couple mesh-point charges that were great. The violence and the physicality jumps off the film, and I think he’s one of the guys that’s been playing very consistent.”
Even though a lot of changes need to be made in the bye week, that shouldn’t be one of them. The Cowboys got that one right — for whatever that’s worth at this point.
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 10:12 PM.
