Jacoby Brissett pitches for Cardinals to sink Cowboys and end losing streak | NFL
Jacoby Brissett had a ready answer to the question of whether the Arizona quarterback has done enough to be a replacement, not just a fill-in, for Kyler Murray. Coach Jonathan Gannon hardly had an answer at all. The Cardinals will be concerned about what appears to be an all-out controversy later. For now, they will enjoy ending a five-game losing streak.
Brissett threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in another game with Murray sidelined with a foot injury, and the Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-17 on Monday night. Brissett made his third straight start after starting the week with expectations of Murray’s return following the team’s Open Week.
Instead, the Cardinals turned to Brissett, with Gannon saying Murray wasn’t quite ready. Arizona (3-5) won for only the second time in the last 18 games when Murray didn’t take at least five snaps or missed them entirely. “Nothing has changed,” Gannon said both times when asked if Brissett had done enough to become the starter.
The Cowboys (3-5-1) were unable to build on the momentum of a Sam Williams blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Marshawn Niland, giving up long touchdown runs on Arizona’s next two possessions either side of the first half to fall behind 24-7. Marvin Harrison had a career-high seven catches for 96 yards, including a four-yarder for the game’s first touchdown. Tight end Trey McBride had a 12-yard TD run.
After blocking the punt and recovering the score, the Cowboys gave up an average of 10.8 yards on Arizona’s next 15 plays, including back-to-back 16-yard passes immediately after the Dallas TD catch and Michael Wilson’s 50-yard TD and run on the second play after halftime.
The Cowboys easily got to the Arizona 7 with a first down on their first possession of the game, but came away with nothing when Dak Prescott was sacked on fourth down by Josh Sweat, who had two of the five sacks on the Dallas quarterback. Calais Campbell also scored two goals in his 250th regular season game.
Dallas, which lost back-to-back games for the first time under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer, totaled just three points on its first three drives inside the Arizona 25, creating a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys could have gotten as close as 14 on a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Prescott threw an incomplete to CeeDee Lamb on fourth-and-3. Dallas was 0-for-3 in the fourth.
“We were going to be aggressive the whole game,” Schottenheimer said. “That was part of the deal. If I like the call, I’ll leave. I trust our offense. But we didn’t make the play tonight.”
The Cardinals lost Brissett’s first two games, but not because the 32-year-old veteran was ineffective. He was solid again, going 21 of 31 for 261 yards without an interception, giving him 860 yards, six touchdowns and one pick in three games without Murray.
Murray — the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 — is 9-0 at AT&T Stadium, with a state championship as a high school quarterback, two Big 12 Tournament titles with Oklahoma and a pair of wins over the Cowboys. Well, Brissett is now 1-0 as a starter against Dallas.
“I don’t get into that stuff, man,” Brissett said when asked if he had done enough to replace Murray. “I’m just trying to go out here and win games and be a good teammate. And do my best when I get my chances. That’s all I can ask for.”
The Cowboys’ last hope ended with their second missed fumble. The ball was taken away from Javonte Williams as he was falling on a short snap with less than five minutes left in the game. Prescott caught just one touchdown pass on the week after having none, as one of the best offenses in the league was sluggish once again. The 5-yard scoring punt in the fourth quarter was Ryan Flournoy’s first career TD.
“We have to figure out how we need to get better in all phases of the game,” said Prescott, who was 24 of 39 for 250 yards with a late interception on a desperate fourth-and-28 punt. “The special teams did a great job of getting us a touchdown, and that was the only spark in the game I think, especially in the first half.”
The Cardinals started the season 2-0 before losing five straight by a combined 13 points. Gannon’s first win as head coach was against the Cowboys two years ago — part of a 1-8 start.
“I’m looking at my watch, and I can’t remember the last time we won,” Gannon said. “It came down to me. When I said goodbye, I was sitting in the bathroom, thinking: ‘How could I let this happen?’ Everyone there has that attitude.”