The Arizona Cardinals are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys Sunday afternoon for their toughest opponent yet.
Dallas is 2-0 with the best defensive numbers in the league.
Buy Cardinals TicketsThe Cardinals have had recent success against Dallas, beating them six of the last seven meetings.
But to get ready for this game, Cowboys Wire writer Reid Hanson takes us “behind enemy lines” to give us great perspective about the Cardinals’ Week 3 opponent.
His answers to my questions are below.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Reason for early-season dominance
How much of the early success is due to Dallas’ dominance and how much is the level of competition?
I think it depends on which unit you’re referring to. There’s no question about the defense’s legitimacy. From 2021-2022 they led the NFL in both EPA/play and turnovers. All they did over the offseason was get more talented and retain their mastermind, Dan Quinn. Does that mean they will continue to hold opponents to five points per game? Probably not but it would be pretty shocking if they finished the year ranked outside the top three, even with one of the toughest schedules in the league. The offense is a different story. The wins have been so clear and so decisive the offense has just been asked to get out of the way. It’s been hard to grade them because they haven’t really been trying. No pass catcher not named CeeDee has been doing much and the running game has been fairly inefficient. We’ll learn more about that side of the ball when games get tighter, I imagine.
Defense and loss of Diggs
What is the best part of the Cowboys’ defense and how much will Diggs’ absence impact it?
The pass-rush has been the lead story of the defense. Micah Parsons is wading in generational waters and behind him are roughly five players capable of logging double-digit sacks. They can get pressure without blitzing which will be critical in surviving the loss of Trevon Diggs. Losing Diggs is enormous but not an impossible hurdle to clear. His likely replacement outside, DaRon Bland, is a ballhawk all his own so I don’t expect scheme to change much at all.
The offense
Even with scoring 70 points in two games, the offense has not been overly productive. They are not averaging many yards per rush. They have only two passing touchdowns. Is there concern or will there be an explosion coming?
I believe what we’ve seen from the Dallas offense this season is almost entirely based on the circumstances and not design. The Cowboys have been in full control of both games from the start and have run an extremely vanilla run-heavy game plan as a result. I expect to see a completely different animal as soon as they’re involved in a close game. The offense finished in the top 10 each of the last two seasons and I fully expect them to do the same in 2023 as well.
Matchups
Which matchups are most excited about for this game? Which have you the most concerned?
I’m always curious as to how the defense handles run-option QBs and RPOs near the edge. Their edge players haven’t always been disciplined and it’s bit them on more than one occasion over the years. Dallas played Josh Dobbs in Tennessee last season and I was impressed with Dobbs’ game. I think he’s going to have opportunities to use Dallas’ aggression against them. The matchup I’m most worried about is Terence Steele against Dannis Gardeck. Steele hasn’t allowed a sack this season but he hasn’t looked good in pass pro either. He’s coming off a major knee injury and frankly, he looks like it.
Can the Cardinals win?
What would it take for this Cardinals team to beat the Cowboys?
I can see Arizona winning if they can slow the game down and run effectively with Dobbs and Conner. If they can put up early points, I could see McCarthy call more deep shots downfield on five-step drops. This would open Prescott up to pressure and, with pressure, anything can happen. But if Dallas gets out to an early lead, I don’t think this game is close.
Prediction!
I see another dominant performance from the Dallas defense. Ertz will have a nice day but the Cowboys will hold Conner in check. Cowboys 27-13
