National Football League

Cowboys, Cardinals face off in crucial NFC matchup

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 10:45 a.m. ET

Both the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals need a win Sunday — but for distinctly different reasons.

Dallas is the winner of four straight and in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. At 11-4, the Cowboys trail Green Bay (12-3) by one game at the top of the conference standings with two games to go.

Arizona hasn't had the same success of late, losers of three straight and four of its past six after starting the season 8-1. At 10-5 heading into Sunday, the Cardinals are fifth in the NFC standings and a game behind the Los Angeles Rams (11-5) in the West race.

The question is: Which team needs a victory more?

In superstar rookie Micah Parsons' opinion, his Cowboys need to come out and show what they're made of on Sunday.

"I think this is a week for us to make a statement," Parsons said ahead of Dallas' tilt with Arizona. "This is obviously a high-profile team in our conference. … I think we need to make a statement here."

The self-dubbed "lion" and his pack are hungry for wins every week, but Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are desperate to avoid becoming birds of prey yet again.

In the QB1's mind, they're a few adjustments away from returning to winning form.

"You've got to do the little things right," Murray said this week.

"When you win, stuff gets swept under the rug. We were winning and still doing some of the same things. Then we started losing. Now everyone's pointing them out and talking bad about us. People don't have a clue, but if you watch the film and you know what you're looking at, it's not far off."

Murray's recent performance has had a direct effect on his team's troubles. In his past three games, he has thrown three interceptions (tied for seventh league-wide), ranks 22nd in the NFL with a QB rating of 77.3 and is 21st in catchable pass percentage (66.2%).

According to Chris Broussard, Murray is one of the main reasons that Sunday's matchup is more critical for Arizona than it is for Dallas.

"I don't even think it's close," Broussard on Friday's episode of "First Things First."

"This would be a great win for Dak. But if Dallas loses, they can look back and say, ‘We won four straight and bludgeoned a division rival.’ This year, getting to the playoffs was the main thing. You get there, and now next year, you're thinking Super Bowl.

"If they lose this game and go out meekly in the first game of the playoffs, now I don't know that they go into next season thinking Super Bowl. I think they're thinking, ‘We’re going to play well throughout the season.' And even if they start 7-0 next year, in their mind will still be: ‘What will we do over the second half of the season?’"

However, Nick Wright believes a win is more urgent for Dallas.

"If the Cowboys beat the Cardinals and Eagles, they will be the 1-seed if Green Bay slips up one time," Wright said.

"The Cowboys are in good shape, and in a three-way tiebreaker between Green Bay, Dallas and Tampa Bay, the Cowboys end up the 1-seed. This could be a first-weekend playoff game. The Cardinals, on the other hand, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what they are. They're a good but not a Super Bowl-caliber team, and I'm not going to feel differently if they win or lose this game.

"For the Cowboys, this determines whether they're in the Super Bowl bubble or not."

Defense will be a key to victory for both squads, as they each face premier offensive weapons.

Dak Prescott is coming off arguably the best game of his season after Dallas drubbed Washington 56-14 on Sunday. He completed 71.8% of his passes for 330 yards and four TDs. He's currently fourth in the NFL in completion percentage (68.7%) and sixth in completions (365), passer rating (100.5), first-down passes (200) and passing yards per game (280.6).

But the QB on the other side of the ball is no slouch, as only two QBs have more passing yards than Murray over the past three weeks, despite Arizona's losses. Dallas' defense would be remiss to forget about the home run threat that Murray's legs pose as well.

Parsons is well aware of that.

"I’m not gonna say that a lion can outrun a cheetah," Parsons said.

"He’s just so explosive, so quick, so fast. I’m going to have to really be on my A-game, come in real focused and be ready to hunt. It’s going to be a big challenge for me, but it’s a challenge I’m excited for. The cheetah’s the fastest animal, but, I mean, a lion doesn’t just go by himself. So if you’ve got a pack of lions, then I like the lion over the cheetah any day of the week."

Sunday's game will be one of cat and mouse. Who serves which role, though, is yet to be determined.