Overtime Ouch: Cowboys Fall to Cardinals, 33-30

Thirty-three points. That is the final score in a game the Dallas Cowboys should have won, according to owner Jerry Jones, after the team’s offense stalled in overtime and the Arizona Cardinals secured their fifth consecutive victory over Dallas.

The game ended in Arlington with the Cardinals winning 33-30. The decisive moment came in the extra period, where the Cowboys forced a punt to start the sequence but then failed to convert on their own possession. They gave the ball back after a tipped pass and a sack, allowing the Cardinals to drive for a game-winning field goal.

Jones said the performance was an indictment of the whole show. He noted that the team did not trail at any point during regulation and held a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. The defense forced three punts and two turnovers in the first seven Arizona possessions, including a goal-line stand, but the offense could not capitalize on the stops.

The collapse began late in the third quarter when Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier broke free for a 63-yard touchdown. Dallas then surrendered three additional touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The final drive covered 80 yards in 63 seconds, a sequence completed while the Cardinals had no timeouts remaining.

The Cowboys are now 3-5 after the loss. They have beaten the Cardinals five times in a row, and the visitors are 5-0 at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009. The team has spent exactly one of the 25 weeks above .500 under head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who is in his second season.

Jones said he was not pointing the finger at Schottenheimer, who has one winning streak of three games in his tenure. Instead, the owner blamed the collective effort. He said none of them are getting it done and that the team had the opportunities to win the game.

Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 19 of 29 passes for 195 yards. The running game, which averaged 204 yards per game in a recent win over Philadelphia, dropped to a 2.4-yard average. Running back Javonte Williams, who rushed for a career-high 155 yards against the Eagles the previous week, managed 56 yards on 24 carries in this game.

Prescott said talk is cheap at this point and that the team has to write its own story. He acknowledged that the team has put itself in this position. Schottenheimer said he believes in his staff and players, noting that the first half was good but the second half was not very good. He said the team must look at the film and learn from the performance.

The Cardinals, who are 3-5 and have had one winning season in the past decade, will return to their home stadium next week. The Cowboys will travel to face their next opponent after this loss in the NFC East.

The field goal kicker for the Cardinals missed a point-after attempt in the final seconds of regulation, keeping the game alive for the overtime period. The Cowboys had a chance to win in regulation but could not score in the final drive.