The Dallas Cowboys didn’t make Jerry Jones happy. But he said he’s not ready to fire anybody. Still, here are the Cowboys most to blame for the unthinkable collapse in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals.
Despite leading 17-3 late in the third quarter, the Cowboys couldn’t stop backup quarterback Gardner Minshew and running back Tyler Allgeier. Eventually, the Cardinals somehow earned a 33-30 overtime victory on Sunday afternoon.
The offense had its moments of struggle, but the defense collapsed in the fourth quarter. It allowed the Cardinals to go 80 yards in a little over a minute. That tied the game, but Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland unbelievably missed the extra point.
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer
His fingerprints were all over this one. Included in the disaster, his playcalling turned timid late in the fourth quarter. Schottenheimer called a very conservative bubble screen to CeeDee Lamb on third and six. The play got stopped well short of the first down. But a Cardinals unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Cowboys a first down.
Then, with 2:02 left in the game, when a first down would basically end things, Schottenheimer opted for a pass, but it appeared to be short and conservative instead of a more aggressive approach that carried no clock risk.
Then, in overtime, the Cowboys looked mundane in a three-and-out when they only needed a field goal with bomber kicker Brandon Aubrey available.
Schottenheimer said his team came up short, according to dallascowboys.com.
“What I told the guys is we obviously have to learn to finish in all three phases,” Schottenheimer said. “We had a chance to do it a lot of different ways. Got to get stops on defense. Had a four-minute opportunity that we didn't seize to try to put the game away. Had a chance for a long field goal before the end of the first half. I think it's all three phases. It really was a tale of two halves. And the second half was not good enough.
“When you have people down, you've got to finish them, and that's the most disappointing thing. At the end of the day, I'm disappointed that we did not finish better in the second half. You've got to put teams away when you're in that position, and we certainly did not do that in all three phases. It's frustrating.”
Schottenheimer said it can change.
“But there's an answer, there's a solution, you've just got to keep looking for it,” Schottenheimer said.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Let’s face it. Jones put this band together. When it hits sour notes, it’s on him. He hired Schottenheimer. And he approved all of these defensive changes.
Included in the latter, he spent a ton of draft capital to get Quinnen Williams. The thinking was it would change their run defense. After entering Sunday’s game as the league’s worst run defense at 145.7 per game. Against the Cardinals, they gave up a whopping 202 yards at 7.5 per carry.
Schottenheimer stood beside his players.
“I think you've seen us perform much better than we did in the second half tonight,” Schottenheimer said. “I believe in Dak Prescott. I believe in Shemar James. I believe in Quinnen Williams. And they should as well. We're going to work our asses off to get right and fix it.”
Jones patted himself on the back for hiring Schottenheimer. He boasted about how it was a gamble that would pay off. So far, Schottenheimer’s record is 10-15. Pat away, Jerry, but losses like this are on you.
Article Continues BelowThe entire Cowboys’ defensive unit
Dallas failed defensively at every level in the final portion of the game. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said the Cowboys thought they had turned it around, according to a post on X by Patrik Walker.
“I asked DeMarvion Overshown what changed for the #Cowboys defense (non-injuries) that led to the second half collapse vs. Cardinals. He was blunt about it: ‘You have a great second half versus Eagles, and you have a great first half in this game, so you think you're on the right track, and then you crap the bed the second half.I don't know. We have to see what exactly went wrong, but it's just — it can't happen. It just can't happen.’ ”
Overshown said the Cowboys couldn’t get off the field, according to Dallascowboys.com.
“We just didn't find a way to get off the field as a defense, and gave up too many explosive plays,” said Overshown. “We already know that if you give up explosive plays, teams find ways to score the ball, so we gotta be better, man. We've just gotta be better.”
Will a complete game come for the Cowboys soon?
“To be honest, I wish I had the answer to that. I really don't know what happened in the second half. We weren't tackling great and, like I said, giving up explosives is stuff you can't do,” said Overshown. “We were up 17-3, and you gotta hone in at that point. That's the time to choke them out as we want, but you can't let a NFL team play and keep close in any game.
“We already know how these games are.
“They're never over until the fourth quarter. It's a lesson we've got to learn, and we're tired of learning this lesson, but it was another lesson we got to learn.”