The Dallas Cowboys are coming off their most convincing win of the season, as they manhandled the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half on Monday Night Football in Week 7 in a 38-21 win. This was a much-needed victory for Brian Schottenheimer's team to keep pace in the NFC East.
Now, they have an opportunity to stack some wins together over the next several weeks, starting with the Arizona Cardinals, who bring their 2-5 record to AT&T Stadium for a noon central time kickoff on Sunday. Arizona is coming off a 30-16 home loss to the Denver Broncos and will look to get right.
Their team features some talented pass-catchers, including All-Pro tight end Trey McBride and WR Michael Wilson. Jacoby Brissett will be under center and will look to challenge a Cowboys secondary that did well against Tanner McKee, but has yet to prove it can hold up against a veteran signal-caller.
3 keys for the Cowboys to snag their second win in a row vs. Cardinals
1. Know where TE Trey McBride is before every snap
For the Cardinals' offense, everything runs through McBride, the 5th-year All-Pro tight end out of Colorado State. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder is more of a wideout than an in-line TE and will line up in the slot and even out wide at times. He leads the league with 57 receptions for 472 yards and has reeled in 4 touchdowns.
The Cowboys have been in the middle of the pack defending opposing TEs and rank 15th with 46.5 yards per game allowed. McBride will be used as an extension of their somewhat anemic ground game by running quick, short routes.
Linebackers Demarvion Overshown, Dee Winters, and Jaeshawn Barham will have to know where he is lined up before every snap, because he runs routes on 63 percent of their plays and is used at an overall rate of 91 percent.
Nickelback Caleb Downs will also need to be aware of McBride sneaking behind the LBs, where Brissett will occasionally find him on medium-to-deep routes. The Cowboys will not prevent McBride from making catches and moving the chains, but they have to wrap up on him and prevent him from breaking free into the secondary and wreaking havoc with big plays and touchdowns.
2. Establish a good mix of run and pass against a below-average Cardinals defense
The Cardinals aren't glaringly poor against either the run or the pass. Still, they are ranked 22nd in the league ovearll, allowing 354 total yards per game. They are in the bottom half of the NFL in rushing yards allowed at 126.3 per game and in the bottom third against the pass at 228 yards per game.
Last week, against a better-than-average Eagles front seven, the Cowboys won up front and established running lanes for Javonte Williams all night long. He racked up a season-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
They will have to be just as good against Arizona so that Brian Schottenheimer can give Dak Prescott as many play-action looks as possible. Dak took advantage of a banged-up Philly secondary and should find more success again this weekend.
He was on the same page with wide receivers CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Ryan Flournoy, throwing for 3 touchdowns on just 15 completions. They need to be locked in from the first drive and not play down to the level of the competition.
The Cardinals' defense is a league-worst 30th in points allowed per game at 29.7, so if the Cowboys can't light it up against them at home, then it won't happen at all this year.
3. Get pressure on Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett
The Cowboys have been fortunate in that they have yet to face any of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. Recently, they have dealt with inexperienced signal callers like McKee and Jalon Daniels. Brissett is an underrated, veteran QB who knows their offense inside and out.
He also has an uncanny connection with both McBride and Wilson.
The Cardinals do not run the ball well at all (96 yards per game) and usually play from behind in the second half and abandon the ground attack. That should favor the Cowboys, who have been brutal against the run and rank dead last in the league, allowing 145 yards per ygame.
They will have to find a consistent edge rusher to go along with Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark on the interior. If they can pressure Brissett, he doesn't possess great mobility and will make poor decisions with the ball.
It will help the Dallas secondary, which has also been exposed through seven games, ranking 22nd in yards allowed through the air.
If the Cowboys can duplicate or improve on their performance in Philadelphia last Monday, they should be looking to climb back to 4-4 and find themselves in a dogfight with the surprising New York Giants to win the NFC East.
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