Up 14 in the Fourth, Undone by a Backup: Cardinals Stun the Cowboys 33-30 in OT, and Jerry Calls It an Indictment

By Jake "Star" Whitfield, RF Sports Radio Cowboys voice

Cowboys Nation, I have been doing this a long time, and Sunday at AT&T Stadium was one of the hardest losses to explain. Dallas led by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Arizona's kicker missed the extra point that should have won it. And the Cowboys still lost.

The facts

Chad Ryland kicked a 42-yard field goal in overtime and Arizona beat Dallas 33-30 on Sunday, per the Associated Press. Ryland had pulled the go-ahead extra point wide left with six seconds left in regulation after making his previous 58, per the AP. It was Arizona's fifth straight win over Dallas, and the Cardinals are now 5-0 at AT&T Stadium.

Dallas led 24-10 early in the fourth quarter after Dak Prescott scrambled in for his first rushing touchdown of the season, per DallasCowboys.com. Then Gardner Minshew, who replaced Jacoby Brissett in the third quarter, led touchdown drives on Arizona's last four possessions of regulation, finishing with a 13-yard pass to Michael Wilson with six seconds left. Minshew was 17-of-23 for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Allgeier had 191 scrimmage yards, including a career-long 63-yard touchdown run, and Wilson caught eight passes for 111 yards, per the AP.

Dallas was outgained 467-261 and ran 39 times for 93 yards, 2.4 per carry, per the NFL game book. Prescott threw for 195 yards and a touchdown, a one-handed catch by Ryan Flournoy. Tight end James Mitchell, in his Dallas debut, recovered a Javonte Williams fumble in the end zone for the first score. Quinnen Williams had two of the five Dallas sacks, and Brandon Aubrey missed from 61 before making kicks from 31, 35 and 41, per DallasCowboys.com. Rookie safety Caleb Downs left with a concussion and tight end Jake Ferguson with an ankle injury, per the AP.

"When you have people down, you have to finish them and that's the most disappointing thing," Brian Schottenheimer said, per the AP. Jerry Jones called the loss "an indictment of the whole show" and said a coaching change is "not, in my mind, at this time," per DallasCowboys.com.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this one goes on the whole building, and Jerry said it himself. The defense played its best half of the year and then gave up four touchdowns in a row to a backup quarterback. That is not one bad call. That is a unit that could not adjust once Arizona started running Allgeier downhill.

And the offense deserves just as much heat. Up two scores, you need one drive that eats clock. Instead, Dallas averaged 2.4 yards a carry and went three-and-out in overtime. Good teams close. This team has one winning streak in a season and change under Schottenheimer, per the AP, and that number tells you everything.

Now the trade deadline is eight days away and the record is 3-5. I do not want a fire sale. But this front office has to decide this week whether it is buying for a playoff push or protecting the future. Standing still is the worst answer.

What to watch next

Watch the injury news on Downs and Ferguson and any trade-deadline chatter before Dallas visits Indianapolis next Sunday. For our pregame look at the Pickens and Locke news, read our Nov. 1 pregame column on Pickens and Locke, and follow the season on our Dallas Cowboys page.

Radio question: who carries more of the blame for Sunday, the defense that folded against Minshew or the offense that could not run out the clock?

Sources: AP News - Ryland kicks winner after PAT miss that forced OT as Cards beat Cowboys with wild rally; CBS Sports (AP) - Cardinals stun Cowboys 33-30 in OT after wild fourth-quarter rally; DallasCowboys.com - Game Recap: Dallas shocked in OT, 33-30; DallasCowboys.com - Jerry Jones after loss to Cardinals: 'It's an indictment of the whole show'; NFL.com - Official game book, Cardinals at Cowboys, Nov. 1, 2026; ESPN - Cardinals 33-30 Cowboys recap.