The Dallas Cowboys enter Monday night’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals as a favorite at home, but nothing is guaranteed with America’s Team, especially when it comes to this year’s squad.
Dallas has gone toe-to-toe with an NFC contender, the Green Bay Packers, but has also been gashed in losses to unproven teams, including the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.
It’s anyone’s guess which version of the Cowboys we could see against the Cardinals, who are on a five-game losing streak, making it easy to pinpoint three reasons why Dallas could suffer its fifth loss of the season.
Unsurprisingly, it starts with the defense.
Safety Depth
It’s easy to say “Matt Eberflus” or the “Cowboys defense” as a possible reason for a Dallas loss, but it’s the depleted safety room that is arguably the biggest of these issues.
The Cowboys have already ruled out Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder) and Alijah Clark (ribs), while Juanyeh Thomas is questionable with a migraine.
Malik Hooker also remains out, leaving Dallas with a similar issue it faced last week in the loss to the Denver Broncos when undrafted cornerback Reddy Steward got his first-career reps at safety while undrafted safety Markquese Bell handled most of the action in the backend.
Jacoby Brissett
Though former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray could still be active for the contest while dealing with a foot injury, veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is slated to start, giving him a chance to continue a recent string of solid production.
Brissett has arguably played better than Murray this season in limited action, leading to Cardinals in closs lossess to conference contenders in the Packers and Indianapolis Colts.
In those two games, Brissett went 52 of 80 passing for 599 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while adding 10 carries for 47 yards. There’s no reason he won’t be able to have similar production against the Cowboys.
The Cowboys defense needs all of the help it can get, and facing a veteran passer that will know how to exploit a poor secondary is the last thing Dallas needs.
Trey McBride
Despite all of the negative headlines surrounding the defense, Dallas has done a decent job of limiting tight ends this season, allowing just two touchdowns to that position through the first eight games.
That said, the Cowboys haven’t faced a tight end quite as talented as Trey McBride, who has caught a rhythm over the past two games. He’s posted 47 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns this year, with three of those scores coming in Arizona’s last two contests.
McBride is one of the best at his position and could be a top target for Brissett in this one.
