The Dallas Cowboys found yet another way to break their fans’ hearts.
What looked like a comfortable afternoon at AT&T Stadium turned into an absolute disaster Sunday, as Dallas blew a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead and suffered a crushing 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
For a team desperately trying to build momentum, this might be one of the ugliest losses of the season.
Dallas entered the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead before Dak Prescott’s rushing touchdown pushed the advantage to 24-10. The Cowboys appeared to have control of the game, and their defense was putting together one of its best performances of the year.
Then everything fell apart.
Arizona turned to backup quarterback Gardner Minshew in the third quarter, and suddenly the Cowboys had no answers. Minshew threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Cardinals on four consecutive touchdown drives to close regulation.
Running back Tyler Allgeier was just as devastating. He finished with 147 rushing yards on 11 carries, including a 63-yard touchdown run and a 50-yard burst that helped set up another score. He also added 44 receiving yards.
Even after Brandon Aubrey’s 41-yard field goal gave Dallas a 30-24 lead with just over a minute remaining, the defense couldn’t finish the job.
Minshew marched Arizona 80 yards in eight plays, finding Michael Wilson for a 13-yard touchdown with just six seconds left. Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland missed the extra point, giving Dallas another opportunity to escape with a win.
But the Cowboys couldn’t take advantage.
After both teams punted on their opening overtime possessions, Arizona moved into field-goal range and Ryland redeemed himself with a 42-yard game-winner.
Final score: Cardinals 33, Cowboys 30.
And the numbers make this collapse even worse. Arizona outgained Dallas 467-261, rushed for 202 yards compared to just 93 for the Cowboys, and averaged 6.0 yards per play while Dallas managed only 3.6.
Dak Prescott finished with 195 passing yards, one passing touchdown and a rushing score. The offense simply couldn’t do enough when the game was on the line.
Dallas is now 3-5, and the questions surrounding Brian Schottenheimer, the defense, and this team’s ability to close out games are only going to get louder.
The Cowboys have shown flashes of being a dangerous team this season, but performances like this are exactly why fans are struggling to believe in them.
Blowing a two-touchdown lead against a 2-5 Cardinals team is bad enough. Letting a backup quarterback take over and lead four straight scoring drives makes it even worse.
