The Cowboys haven’t done much on offense, with 110 yards and no points. But their special teams have them on the scoreboard.
Sam Williams blocked the punt of Pat O’Connell, with the ball traveling backward 36 yards into the end zone. Marshawn Kneeland raced to it and covered it up for a touchdown.
The Cowboys now trail the Cardinals 10-7.
The Cardinals report that cornerback Max Melton is in the training room being evaluated for a concussion, and the Cowboys list defensive end Dante Fowler as questionable to return with a shoulder injury.
Kyler Murray, who is undefeated at AT&T Stadium isn’t playing in Monday Night Football. It hasn’t mattered for the Cowboys.
Jacoby Brissett is making himself right at home, with a 10-0 lead on the home team.
The Cardinals have scored on their first two possessions, getting a 48-yard field goal from Chad Ryland and a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Cardinals have outgained the Cowboys 104 to 58.
Brissett is 8-of-13 for 82 yards and a touchdown, and Harrison has five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Emari Demercado has four carries for 26 yards.
The Cowboys turned it over on downs on their first drive in the red zone, and they went three-and-out on their second.
Kyler Murray will not dress for Monday Night Football.
The Cardinals list their starting quarterback among their inactives for the game against the Cowboys.
Coach Jonathan Gannon had already announced that Jacoby Brissett would start but said Murray could have a role. Murray has not played since a Week 5 loss to the Titans when he injured his foot.
The Cardinals listed him as questionable to serve as the backup to Brissett.
Arizona is 1-17 in its last 18 games without Murray starting and finishing the game. Its only win was a 28-16 victory over the Cowboys in 2023 in a game Joshua Dobbs started.
Murray grew up in the Dallas suburb of Allen and is undefeated at AT&T Stadium, with a 9-0 record in games with Allen High School, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and the Cardinals.
The Cardinals’ other inactives are cornerback Elijah Jones, linebacker Xavier Thomas, offensive lineman Demontrey Jacobs, offensive lineman Josh Fryar and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols.
Cornerback Will Johnson (groin) is active.
The Cowboys’ inactives are safety Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder), safety Alijah Clark (ribs), offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius (knee/knee), running back Jaydon Blue, defensive tackle Mazi Smith, offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.
Safety Juanyeh Thomas (migraine) returns tonight.
Micah Parsons is gone from the Cowboys, but the hard feelings linger.
Months of acrimony resulted in an August 28 trade to the Packers. Since then, owner and G.M. Jerry Jones has largely played defense by explaining in various ways the decision to trade away one of the best defensive players in football. At a time when his team’s defense is now among the worst in the sport.
On Monday, eight days after Parsons publicly complained about the team’s treatment of cornerback Trevon Diggs, Jones tried a new argument. Basically, Jones suggested that Parsons isn’t worthy of the money he wanted.
The question from Stephen A. Smith of SiriusXM to Jones focused broadly on whether Jones looks in players now for traits displayed by former greats like Michael Irvin and DeMarcus Ware, and whether Jones sees it in his current players. In his response, Jones went straight to the moment when Parsons laid on a training table during a preseason game in which he wasn’t playing due to his contract dispute.
“Not one time, not even in the hottest of days and two-a-days in August in Texas, between eleven in the morning or when they quit practicing or four in the afternoon, did I never see any one of these two go over and lay on a damn training table in front of a million people,” Jones said. “Never. It’s not in their makeup. . . . It’s just not in their makeup. . . .
“And you’d like to think if you’re going to be [paying] the highest that’s ever been paid for something in football, you could get that. And when you don’t have it and you pay the highest that’s ever been in football, you really got a problem.”
It’s a weak argument, frankly. Parsons — who played without hesitation in 2024 for well below market value even though he was eligible for a new deal — was using the tools available to him to get the contract his performance has earned. Jones was trying to squeeze Parsons to honor the terms of a supposed handshake deal that Jones tried to do behind the back of Parsons’s agent.
If Irvin or Ware or any other highly-skilled Cowboys player of yesteryear were in the same position Parsons was in, what would they have done? Gladly accepted an offer that didn’t reflect their value, or taken a stand?
When Michael Irvin played, players had little or no leverage. Now, they do. Now, players are willing to fight for what they deserve.
The entire situation happened because Jones wanted to lowball Parsons, and because Jones got upset when Parsons didn’t respond to mistreatment with gratitude. Taking a clumsy shot at Parsons’s character is just the latest ploy in Jones’s misguided P.R. effort aimed at making the fans see it his way before lining up behind the billionaires.
As they all too often do.
The Cardinals selected defensive lineman Walter Nolen III with their first pick in April. They will see him on the field for the first time on Monday Night Football.
The team activated Nolen from the reserve/physically unable to perform list.
“He does not look like he is tired or out of shape out there,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said, via Darren Urban of the team website. “Also, being able to go out and execute our stuff has been impressive. It’s hard to be out that long and execute mentally from a high level. Even if you are working hard at it, there is something different to being out there.”
Nolan could be on a snap count, considering he has not played a game since last season at Ole Miss. He injured his calf before training camp began.
“I feel I can contribute a lot,” Nolen said. “That’s just how I carry myself. I feel I can do whatever in the world. Whenever I get the chance to get back out there I feel I can contribute a lot.”
The Cardinals also activated cornerback Garrett Williams from injured reserve, where he had been since a Week 2 knee injury. The nickel corner has 11 tackles and a pass defensed in two games.
The team also elevated running back Michael Carter to the active roster for tonight’s game against the Cowboys. He joins Bam Knight and Emari Demercado as options in the backfield.
Carter has 35 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown in four games, adding nine catches for 77 yards.
