Dallas Cowboys defense shines against Cards as offense flops
The Dallas Cowboys defense played a stellar preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, but turnovers were the real story.
On Friday night, the Dallas Cowboys bucked the trend when it comes to their third preseason game of the year. Typically, these contests are called dress rehearsals as the starters often see the majority of their preseason snaps in this game. Instead, following a rash of injuries suffered to their offensive line, the Cowboys opted to hold out their top starters against the Arizona Cardinals.
With backup quarterback Cooper Rush starting under center and running back Rod Smith in the backfield, starters Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott were left watching from the sidelines. Along the offensive line, starters in left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin, and center Travis Frederick were left in street clothes as backups Cameron Fleming, Kadeem Edwards, Joe Looney played in their respective spots.
Essentially, the Cowboys coaching staff sacrificed their second-team offense on a primetime Sunday night preseason matchup to the Cardinals’ first-team defense. The result? A 27-3 near-blowout, with the Cowboys only points coming off a Brett Maher field goal with just over a minute left in the ballgame.
Rush finished the day completing 11 of his 17 passes for 93 yards and two interceptions. They were the first two picks of the backup quarterback’s career, one of which ended up being returned for a touchdown by Cardinals Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Rookie quarterback Mike White had a slightly better outing for Dallas, completing 17 of his 22 passes for 157 yards and one interception. Fellow rookie running back Bo Scarbrough led the team with 21 rushing yards on seven carries.
The Cowboys leading receiver was Dres Anderson, who caught four passes for 52 yards. Tight end Rico Gathers had five receptions for 30 yards.
Dallas’ defense fared much better than their putrid offense, not allowing a Cardinals’ touchdown until late in the third quarter. The defensive star was undoubtedly pass rusher Randy Gregory, who was able to record a sack despite his long layoff due to his well-publicized substance abuse issues. Linebacker Justin March-Lillard led the team in combined tackles with nine.
But the real story of the night was turnovers. The Cowboys turned the ball over a whopping eight times to the Cardinals, including three interceptions and five lost fumbles. Dallas actually fumbled the ball six times total. One of those fumbles, a bobbled-punt return by wide recevier Lance Lenoir, resulted in an Arizona touchdown.
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The Dallas Cowboys have very little time to lick their wounds, as they are scheduled to play the Texans in their final preseason contest of the year this Thursday in Houston, a four-day turnaround. Afterwards, the Cowboys will be forced to cut down their roster from 90 players to just 53 by this upcoming Saturday.