Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Report Card Grades for Arizona
When the Arizona Cardinals began the season, not many outside of the organization would have expected the team to start the season 7-1—not with the teams on the schedule the first half of the season.
But that's where the Cardinals are at the midway point, thanks in part to a 28-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys that firmly put them in control of the NFC to start the second half of the campaign.
This game was about stopping the run, just as all games are for the Cardinals defense. And Arizona did an incredible job limiting Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray.
Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles worked up a perfect scheme to virtually eliminate Murray from the game, holding him under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season.
If someone before the game had said Andre Ellington would win the running back battle against Murray, you may have shrugged it off as someone unaware of what they were saying.
But they would have been right, as Ellington totaled 95 yards on the ground and 134 yards from scrimmage.
Murray rushed for 79 yards and added just 11 through the air, netting 90 total yards.
On offense and on defense, the Cardinals dominated this game. It did not seem like it at times, but overall, this was the best—or "prettiest"—win of the 2014 season for the Cardinals.
How did each Cardinals positional unit fare in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys? Let’s find out.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Following his pick-six on the game's opening drive, you probably thought to yourself, "Well, looks like we're getting bad Carson Palmer today."
And that was a warranted thought. Heck, I thought it for a second.
But then I saw the replay from above and realized that Palmer could not see cornerback Tyler Patmon sneak underneath his receiver. The offensive and defensive lines stood too tall and blocked Palmer from seeing the 5'10" rookie.
Palmer went on to have an efficient game despite letting more than a few passes get away from him. He badly underthrew receivers a few times and even had one sail on him—which we have not seen this season.
He finished 22-of-34 passing (64.7 percent) for 249 yards, a season-high three touchdowns and a pick for a 103.7 passer rating.
Inaccuracies and dropped passes kept this from being a prolific day for Palmer. The plays were there, but the Cardinals left some points on the field.
The offensive line allowed pressure at times, and Palmer went down twice. Overall, both the protection and Palmer were solid against the Cowboys' blitz packages. Palmer's occasional inaccuracies drop his grade slightly, but not too much.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
As noted, Ellington led all rushers with 95 yards. On 21 carries, that means he averaged 4.5 yards per carry, which is far better than he had been averaging of late.
Of his 25 touches against Dallas, 10 went for at least five yards—four covered at least 10 yards and two netted 20. His day would have been even better if not for a couple of penalties on the offensive line.
Whether catching the ball or carrying it, Ellington was the star of the offense for Arizona. But he did have a bit of help this week.
Rookie Marion Grice saw some action, carrying five times for 12 yards (2.4 YPC) and his first career touchdown. He was on the field for the entirety of Arizona's final touchdown drive that resulted in his one-yard score up the gut.
Overall, this was one of the better days for the running backs. It's nice to get Ellington some help in the backfield. Though Grice did not do much, he did just enough to keep Ellington fresh.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
It's a mixed bag for the receiving corps. Yes, eight receivers caught passes, and all but one had multiple receptions. But drops were a bugaboo once again for the group.
Tight end John Carlson finished with two receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown, but he dropped two passes, both of which came in the red zone. He also was called for holding on a six-yard run on first down by Ellington that killed a drive for the Cardinals.
Rookie receiver John Brown had two receptions for just 10 yards and dropped a pass on third down that would have moved the chains and kept a drive alive.
Carlson wasn't the only receiver with a penalty in this one. Michael Floyd, who hauled in four passes for 36 yards on the day, was called for a false start in the first quarter.
Larry Fitzgerald led the way for the second straight game, finishing with five receptions for 70 yards. He broke multiple tackles and looks to be coming on as of late.
That's great news for Palmer, head coach Bruce Arians and the entire offense. Getting Fitzgerald into the action more each week should open up things for others to make plays.
It was just an average day from the receivers despite catching two touchdowns—Jaron Brown had the other, an 11-yard score in the second quarter.
Grade: C+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Last week, the offensive line did not look like a cohesive unit. It did not allow a sack, but something still looked off.
This week, the hogs up front played much better. Yes, Palmer went down twice, but overall, the unit looked better than last week, both in pass protection and in run blocking.
Penalties from the group destroyed multiple drives, however, so we can't get too carried away with the praise.
And again, left guard Ted Larsen looked overmatched against a defensive lineman. He allowed a sack to Cowboys defensive tackle Henry Melton, who made Larsen look like a ragdoll as he threw him aside en route to Palmer.
It's a good thing for the great run blocking, because this grade would be pretty average without it.
From left to right, everyone did a nice job of opening running lanes for Ellington at one time or another. It's a big reason the second-year back nearly topped 100 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The big guys up front were phenomenal against Dallas' touted offensive line. Nose tackle Dan Williams took advantage of left guard Ronald Leary being out with an injury, and right tackle Doug Free was inactive as well.
But this group was as stout on Sunday as it has been at any point over the past season-plus—Williams, especially.
We've accepted the fact that the Cardinals will not be world-beaters in getting to the quarterback. That's not what they do. But blitzing can be effective even if they don't rack up sacks.
Brandon Weeden took just one sack against Arizona, but he was rushed multiple times. That was evident throughout the game.
And in the run game, the D-line was outstanding. Six of Murray's 19 carries netted zero or negative yardage, and 11 gained two yards or fewer.
You don't do that to the NFL's leading rusher by accident. That's game-planning on the part of the coaches, and it's execution on the part of the players.
Fantastic job all around.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
Inside linebacker Larry Foote was all over the place as usual. He was out of place a time or two in anticipation of a Murray run, leaving cutback lanes open for the back. But for the most part, he aided the front seven in shutting down the NFL's best rusher.
The pass rush was just average overall, but if a grade could be placed on run defense alone, this linebacking corps would get an A.
And in coverage, outside linebackers Sam Acho and Alex Okafor held their own against tight end Jason Witten.
In one play in the first half, Okafor initially showed blitz before falling to the flat to follow Witten. The tight end caught the ball at the line of scrimmage but was caught from behind by the former fourth-round pick for a minimal gain.
If Okafor can improve in coverage while further developing as a pass-rusher, the Cardinals will have themselves quite a player.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
As was the defensive line, the secondary was fantastic against the Cowboys. Weeden completed 18 of 33 passes (54.5 percent) for 183 yards, a late and meaningless touchdown and two interceptions for a 55.5 passer rating.
He came under pressure at times, but when he had time to throw, Arizona's secondary stepped up and limited yards after the catch. Or, as was the case twice, the secondary picked off Weeden.
The first came as the Cowboys neared the end zone. The ball was at the Arizona 18-yard line, and Weeden targeted Witten on an out route with Tyrann Mathieu in coverage.
Color commentator Troy Aikman said the pass was thrown behind Witten, which would have made the play easier for Mathieu.
But it wasn't thrown behind the tight end.
Mathieu undercut the route and dove in front of Witten (pictured above), making the interception and taking points off the board for Dallas—as close as the Cowboys were, a field goal was the least of what they were about to come away with.
The second pick came late in the game as Weeden and Co. attempted an improbable comeback.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie picked off the quarterback in coverage of receiver Terrance Williams and returned it to the Dallas 28-yard line, setting up the Cardinals' final touchdown.
Then there's Patrick Peterson. Much maligned this season, Peterson typically thrives against bigger, physical receivers, and he did not disappoint.
Locked in coverage against Dez Bryant most of the afternoon, Peterson—with help from an inaccurate Weeden—shut out Bryant until the game's final drive.
Peterson will be tagged with allowing a touchdown to the Pro Bowl receiver, but he was great all day in sticking with Bryant and holding him catchless until the game was well in hand.
Grade: A+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nothing too radical to report here. Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro was not needed for a field goal, but he did a nice job booming kickoffs deep once again.
Punter Drew Butler is not as good as Dave Zastudil, but at this point, he is what he is.
The big play on special teams this week came from (guess who) Justin Bethel, as he blocked a short field goal at the end of the first half that Peterson picked up and nearly scored on.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
You can't say enough about the job Bowles did against the Dallas rushing attack. Murray was completely useless in this contest, and that helped the Cardinals win the time-of-possession battle, holding the ball for nearly 32 minutes.
He schemed to stop Murray, and that's exactly what his defense did.
On offense, Arians called a great game for Palmer. The line allowed a bit of pressure early, so he adjusted the play-calling to shorter routes. We didn't see many deep throws from Palmer on Sunday, but we didn't need to see them, either.
Third-down efficiency was great, as the Cardinals converted nine of the 15 (60 percent) on the day. And third-down play-calling was even better, as all three of Palmer's touchdowns came on the most critical down in football.
Great job from everyone on the coaching staff putting together this masterpiece of a game.
Grade: A
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | B |
| RB | A |
| WR | C+ |
| OL | B- |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | A+ |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | A |
| Cumulative Grade | A- |
Well, then. This is quite a difference over last week's grades, huh? You could say, "What a difference a week makes," but I'm not into cliche sayings.
The difference was coaching. For a team to pull away from another in the second half, it takes more than just players making plays.
It takes coaches pushing all the right buttons.
The Cardinals will have the best record in the NFL heading into Week 10. At 7-1 and in first place both in the NFC West and the entire conference, Arians has pushed all the right buttons when he's needed to this season. This game is just another example of that.
The wins could pile up now for Arizona, as it heads home for two games to face the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions before heading on the road to face the ever-tough Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.
Strap in, Cardinals fans. This is getting good.
All stats provided by ESPN.com.
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