Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys keep alarming trend going in loss vs. Arizona Cardinals

Updated Jan. 3, 2022 3:54 p.m. ET

A topsy-turvy season for the Dallas Cowboys continued Sunday, with a 25-22 loss at home against the Arizona Cardinals dropping the Cowboys from the NFC's second seed down to No. 4 in the standings.

The Cowboys entered the fourth quarter down 22-7, but a furious rally in the final frame fell short as the visitors were able to milk the final 4:42 off the clock with a 10-play, 52-yard drive.

Perhaps the biggest moment of the game came just before the two-minute warning, as Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds rushed for six yards along the sideline but battled to remain in bounds and keep the clock rolling.

As he did, a pair of Cowboys converged on Edmonds and appeared to jar the football loose. However, the running back was ruled down. Dallas, having used all of its timeouts earlier in the drive, couldn't challenge the ruling on the field.

And given the play happened prior to the two-minute warning, an official review from the replay booth wasn't in play to bail out Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

The Cardinals needed four more yards to convert a first down, which Kyler Murray picked up with a nine-yard run, allowing Arizona to see out the remainder of the game in the victory formation.

After the game, several Cowboys players voiced their displeasure with the officiating.

"It’s a possibility we see both of these teams in the playoffs," Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said, taking a not-so-subtle shot at the referees, via the Dallas Morning News.

Meanwhile, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was unequivocal in his assessment of the officiating.

However, the Cowboys did plenty to hurt their own hopes.

Dak Prescott had a shaky outing for the 'Boys, despite what his final box score of 24-for-38 for 226 yards, three touchdowns and a 105.8 passer rating might indicate.

Coming out of halftime, Prescott was ice-cold in the third quarter with 12 passing yards on 1-for-7 passing. That's a credit to Arizona's defense, but the big-money QB didn't get into much of a groove until the fourth quarter, when he went 9-for-10 for 76 passing yards and two TDs.

He also had three fumbles in the game, one of which the Cardinals were able to recover with just under 11 minutes left in the game.

As Colin Cowherd of "The Herd" put it Monday, Prescott's limitations were on full display against Arizona.

"Dak is pretty good," Cowherd explained. "And so I picked the Cowboys to make the playoffs this year and to be pretty good. Because with Dak they'll always be pretty good. "

Colin Cowherd: The Dallas Cowboys' limitations were exposed in loss to Cardinals

Cowherd explores Dak Prescott's performance as a quarterback.

The onus didn't fall square on Prescott, though.

On Monday's episode of "First Things First," Nick Wright said McCarthy's time management was a bigger concern.

"I think there are legit concerns about Dak," Wright said. "But that is not the story. The story is Mike McCarthy and his nonsense clock/timeout/game management cost them again! And it cost them in the most mortifying way possible."

Nick Wright: Concerns about Dak are legit, but McCarthy cost Cowboys the game

According to Nick Wright, Mike McCarthy blew it in the Dallas Cowboy's loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

In addition to Prescott and McCarthy's shortcomings, Dallas' RB duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combined for just 25 yards on 12 carries.

In fact, the Cowboys' 45 rushing yards for the game accounted for the fewest the team has managed all season.

Defensively, the league's No. 1 defense in forcing turnovers, with 33 takeaways coming into the week, came up empty against Arizona — the Edmonds controversy being fully acknowledged.

It was only the fourth time this season they failed to record a takeaway. Unsurprisingly, the Cowboys are 1-3 in those four contests.

On the whole, Sunday's game served as yet another referendum for the 11-5 Cowboys.

Against their own division, the Cowboys seem like world-beaters.

Dallas has a 5-0 record against the NFC East and is averaging 37.8 points on offense while allowing 16.2 points. On three occasions, the Cowboys have been able to drop 40-plus points on their division rivals.

On the flip side, the Cowboys have a 6-5 record outside of the division. In those contests, Dallas is averaging 26.4 points on offense and allowing 22.8 on defense, and they have cracked the 40-point plateau just once.

As it stands, the Cowboys have two wins against teams currently in the playoffs, as Emmanuel Acho of "Speak For Yourself" pointed out on Twitter.

Dallas has beaten the Philadelphia Eagles, the 7-seed in the NFC, and the New England Patriots, the 5-seed in the AFC.

And speaking of seeding, Dallas' loss Sunday paves the way for a possible rematch with the Cardinals in the near future.

Before then, the Cowboys will square off against the Eagles to close out the season.

Would winning in Philadelphia and sweeping the NFC East for 2021 be enough to change public opinion of the Cowboys? Or will they have to prove their mettle more thoroughly come playoff time?

'This win was sensational'

Kyler Murray speaks with Tom Rinaldi after improving his record to 8-0 in AT&T Stadium after the Arizona Cardinals' 25-22 win over the Dallas Cowboys.