Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys: Complete Week 9 Preview for Arizona

For a second straight week, Fox’s Game of the Week features the Arizona Cardinals against an NFC East team. While last week it was a solid Philadelphia Eagles team, this week the Cardinals face the division-leading Dallas Cowboys in Jerry’s World for the top spot in the conference.

The Cardinals (6-1) currently have a lock on the NFC’s top spot, but the Cowboys (6-2) are just a half-game behind and would leapfrog Arizona with a win on Sunday.

This game has everything required to be a heavyweight slugfest: The NFL’s top rushing attack against the league’s best run defense dating back to the start of the 2013 season; two solid offensive lines; two quarterbacks playing very well this season; and, most importantly, the top two teams record-wise in the conference.

The keys to this game relate to old-time football—when the helmets were leather, “Three yards and a cloud of dust” was used to describe Ohio State’s offense under head coach Woody Hayes, the Cardinals still called Chicago home and the Cowboys had not yet been formed.

Yes, the run game will be heavily featured in this contest. One, because that’s what the Cowboys do, and two, because they also struggle to defend against it.

Arizona faces a top NFC team for the second straight week. Last week, the Eagles succumbed to the Birdgang. This week, Dallas lies in wait.

Here is your in-depth preview of the Cardinals as they face the Cowboys.

Cardinals’ Week 8 Review

It was not pretty, but the Cardinals emerged with the win at home over the Eagles last week, 24-20. Late-game heroics from quarterback Carson Palmer, rookie receiver John Brown and the entire defense made the game a nail-biter right down to the last second.

Palmer, though he completed fewer than half of his passes, threw two more touchdowns and did not turn the ball over. He has eight touchdown passes to just one interception this season through four games played.

Though he was not sacked against the Eagles, Palmer was under steady pressure throughout the game and did a great job avoiding it for the most part (he was sacked once, but it was wiped out because of a defensive penalty).

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles threw for over 400 yards on Arizona’s secondary and was not sacked despite dropping back an astounding 62 times. He threw two touchdowns, but the two interceptions he threw were costly.

Big plays from Palmer to Brown and Larry Fitzgerald were the difference in this game. While big plays are nice, sustaining longer drives will be important against the Cowboys. Arizona had five, three-and-outs last week that netted one yard of offense total.

News and Notes

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Peterson Back at Practice

After sustaining a concussion last week thanks to a helmet-to-helmet collision with Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin—who had just been struck by the Mack truck that is rookie safety Deone Bucannon—cornerback Patrick Peterson was back at practice on Wednesday, as reported by Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com.

Peterson told Odegard he can’t worry about getting hurt again, that he just has to go out there and play:

"

I’m counting my blessings that I’m OK, that it was nothing serious that could hold me back a couple games. It was a bang-bang play. Like coach said, it was friendly fire. We’re moving forward. This is a violent game. I can’t play the game (worrying about getting) hurt. You have to play the game to make plays.

"

Will he play on Sunday against receiver Dez Bryant and the Cowboys? That’s probably a safe bet. Being cleared to practice on Wednesday, which is the team’s first practice of each week, is a good sign he truly has no lingering effects from his concussion and can play Sunday without worry.

Grice to Play Against Cowboys

Starting running back Andre Ellington carried the ball 23 times in the win over the Eagles, and that was the extent of the Cardinals’ rushing attack. No one else took the ball on a handoff from Palmer.

That will likely change this week against the Cowboys, as offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin told Tyler Killian of AZCentral.com that Marion Grice will play:

"

He’s going to play. He’s got to play, with [Stepfan Taylor] being down. I’m confident in his ability to be a player and make plays for us.

(He can) be a first down, second down, third down (back). I just want to, myself personally, make sure he runs the ball and when he’s called on to protect, protect. And obviously, we throw the ball a little bit around here so I hope he can catch it if it comes his way.

"

Grice was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers this offseason. San Diego signed him to its practice squad to start the season, but Arizona snatched him during its bye week in the wake of the Jonathan Dwyer situation.

The Cardinals need someone to take some of the running-game load from Ellington. As Jess Root and I pointed out for Revenge of the Birds a couple of weeks ago, Ellington has struggled as the primary back and needs Grice to complement him in the backfield.

We may see Sunday how that works out; that is, if Grice is allowed enough carries. One or two won’t do. If Grice is given five to eight carries and, say, 15 to 20 snaps spread out over four quarters, that could be enough to keep Ellington fresh and hopefully make him more effective in the second half.

Getting to Romo (or Weeden?) Top Priority

Outside linebacker Sam Acho is not known for his pass-rushing prowess. He is more of a coverage ‘backer and does some good things in run defense, but he is still expected to get to the quarterback—especially this week, as the Cardinals face Tony Romo…or Brandon Weeden, we do not know which yet.

Acho explained how defensive coordinator Todd Bowles adds new wrinkles to the pass rush each week, as told to Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com:

"

Every week Coach Bowles has tricks up his sleeve. There’s always something new. We don’t even see it until we start preparing for games on Wednesday. This week it was the same thing—there are some certain adjustments we’re going to make to play for our matchup.

"

Read: More Cover-0 blitzes (more on this later).

Birdgang Boo-Boo Brigade

USA TODAY Sports

Player	Position	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game Day
Calais Campbell	DE	Knee	FP	FP	-	-
Kenny Demens	ILB	Knee	LP	FP	-	-
Andre Ellington	RB	Foot	LP	LP	-	-
Michael Floyd	WR	Knee	FP	FP	-	-
Tony Jefferson	SS	Head	DNP	LP	-	-
Rashad Johnson	FS	Knee	FP	FP	-	-
Troy Niklas	TE	Ankle	LP	LP	-	-
Patrick Peterson	CB	Concussion	LP	FP	-	-
Stepfan Taylor	RB	Calf	Out	Out	-	-

All injury statuses gathered from AZCardinals.com.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Pass Rush vs. Tony Romo (…or Weeden)

Romo mentioned to Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com following his team’s 20-17 overtime loss to Washington on Monday Night Football that he wasn’t sure how many times he saw the Cover-0 blitz, but he was sure it was a bunch:

"

They are banking on one guy making a tackle every single time. The ball has to come out of your hand when they are sending them. That was the most Cover-0 blitzes we have seen in a game. You don’t necessarily think a team is going to run 10 snaps of it in a game. I’m not sure how many they did, but it was a lot.

"

Pressuring Romo will come when the Cardinals blitz, because that’s the only time Arizona’s defense has any ability at all of getting to opposing quarterbacks. Bowles is one of the most aggressive play-callers in the NFL.

Assuming he will hold anything back this week after watching the vaunted Cowboys offensive line crumble when facing the blitz last week is similar to expecting a hungry lion to ignore an injured wildebeest as it gimps its way across the plains of Africa.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Expect pressure from all angles in this game. Bowles will overload the left side of the offensive line, the right side and the A-gaps in hopes of knocking Romo and the Cowboys offense off their game.

And that last part—knocking Romo off his game—is most important. Blitzing doesn’t do any good if the defense can’t get pressure. Romo has proved that over the years, and that is no different this season.

He has completed 64.9 percent of his passes when blitzed this season with eight touchdowns and two interceptions for a 115.2 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That speaks to his ability to get the ball to his receivers quickly when blitzed; he acknowledged that fact in the second sentence of the quote above.

However, his passer rating plummets when under pressure this season. Romo has completed 50.0 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions for a 69.4 rating when under pressure in 2014. He knows pressure is his bane. Bowles knows it.

This will be fun to watch unfold.

Run D vs. DeMarco Murray

You want to limit what Romo does in the passing game? Stop DeMarco Murray in the running game.

Since the start of the 2011 season, the Cowboys are 17-8 in games Romo starts when they run for 100-plus yards as a team. When they fail to crack the century mark? Just 13-17.

Romo’s statistics in each set of games is a clear indicator why having a successful rushing attack is so important for the quarterback.

DAL Rush Yds	Comp%	Yards/Game	TD	TD%	INT	INT%	Rate
99 or Fewer	67.8	280.2	55	4.5	28	2.3	89.8
100 or More	64.3	241.6	65	8.2	18	2.3	108.1

If you’re thinking the Cowboys ran for 100 yards when Romo tore it up mainly because they had late leads and were running out the clock, get a load of this.

In games in which the Cowboys rushed for 100-plus yards since 2011, the team averaged 5.2 yards per carry. In games in which they failed to hit 100 yards rushing, it averaged just 3.2 yards per carry.

That means when the run game gets going, it opens up the passing game for Romo and Co., and conversely, when the run game stalls, Romo can’t get going.

Stop Murray, and Romo will be handcuffed.

No one has slowed Murray this season, let alone stopped him. He’s a runaway freight train, having carried 206 times for 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns this season—all three are NFL highs. He has an NFL record eight straight games with 100-plus yards rushing to start the season.

To halt that streak and end Murray’s reign of terror, the Cardinals must stay true to who they are in the run game. That means the defensive line and linebackers must stick to gap responsibility and close off cutback lanes.

Murray has thrived this season in two specific ways: Cutting back against the grain when a backside lane opens up and bouncing runs to the outside when lanes close.

When the front seven is true to itself in the run game and everyone executes their job, those cutback lanes and opportunities for Murray to bounce outside and win races to the sideline won’t be there.

Cardinals’ X-Factor of the Game: Marion Grice

Not Ellington. Not Palmer. Not Larry Fitzgerald or Michael Floyd. Not even Patrick Peterson covering Dez Bryant—though that will be a heck of a matchup to watch as well.

No, the X-factor of the game is the new backup running back. Grice has yet to play a snap in an NFL game, but this week he is the most important piece to the offensive puzzle. If he is effective in running the ball and blocking for Palmer when called upon, head coach Bruce Arians would feel a whole lot more comfortable giving Ellington a mid-game rest.

An effective one-two punch in the backfield should help open up the passing game, where Palmer can utilize Fitz, Floyd, Brown et al to move the sticks and put up points.

Getting Grice to be effective when given the chance may be the most important key to the game this week.

Prediction

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Marion Grice played against the Cardinals this preseason.

When the Eagles came calling last week, everyone figured it would be a great game. And we were not disappointed. It was one of the best games of the 2014 NFL season to date.

This week, the Cardinals indeed travel to Jerry’s World to face the Cowboys in an old NFC East rivalry game that still has some flare to it because of the presence of silver and navy blue in the Valley of the Sun.

Then there was this piece from Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. A Cardinals beat writer writing about how loyal Cowboys fans from Arizona have been did not sit well with Cardinals fans. Like, at all.

Nonetheless, Cowboys fans are fiercely loyal no matter where they live, no matter where they were born. Once a Cowboys fan, always a Cowboys fan.

It may sound odd, but this game may hinge not only on what Murray does, but also on what Grice does in relief of Ellington.

The Cowboys use the run game to set up Romo, Bryant, tight end Jason Witten and the passing attack. The Cardinals appear willing to try that approach at times, but other times Arians will back off the run game and let Palmer cut it loose several times in a row regardless of his effectiveness.

Recently, that has been because Ellington has needed a break and no one else has been capable enough to carry the ball successfully in a relief effort. Taylor, who is now injured and won’t play Sunday, is inconsistent. And with Dwyer more or less off the roster these days, the only other true running back on the 53-man roster is Grice.

Expect Murray to near another 100-yard performance but fall just short. Whether Romo plays or not is not a factor here. The Cardinals simply do not allow chunk yards in the run game.

That won’t change this week.

This is a big opportunity for young inside linebacker Kevin Minter to show why he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. The perception of him among Cardinals fans is that he is not playing as well as he should be. That’s not the case, as he has been just fine, but helping limit Murray could go a long way in building confidence for the stretch run.

Prediction: Cardinals 21, Cowboys 20

All stats gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.