ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys played without Tony Romo and it certainly showed as the offense couldn't get on track against a tenacious Cardinals' defense. Arizona fell down by 10 early but controlled the game after that, winning convincingly, 28-17 at AT&T Stadium.
Check out the instant reactions from the staff of DallasCowboys.com.
Nick Eatman: Ok, well the Cardinals are officially better. And the Cowboys are officially reeling. I said I needed it to see it first before I was a true believer. And yes, the Cardinals did a number on this Romo-less offense. Trust me, Romo would've had some issues as well but I would like to think Dez and Terrance Williams get a catch in the first 55 minutes if he's starting. I'm a little surprised Romo didn't play but who knows if it was his decision. I would like to think he'll play this week. Let's see on my specific predictions, I had Carr getting a pick and he played a pretty awful game. Clutts never sniffed a carry once again and Harris did have a decent return but they needed much more. The big prediction was a Cowboys' double-digit win and it was the other way. Call this "gut feeling" a big swing and miss.
Bryan Broaddus: The big concern for the Cowboys offensively was how they were going to be able to handle the Cardinals' blitz pressure after what happened to them against the Redskins. As the game unfolded, I didn't feel like defensive coordinator Todd Bowles really blitzed as much as we thought he might. Weeden took a weak side shot in the back from from Alex Okafor and the sack up the middle was a physical break down by Travis Frederick. I did also see a snap or two where the backs had to step up in the middle of the line and help there, but nothing to the extreme of what they faced on Monday night. I will get an opportunity to see the game film this evening and will have a better understanding if that was actually the case and the type of job that the Cowboys did picking it up.
[embeddedad0]David Helman: I honestly thought Brandon Weeden had it in him to play a good, not great game. That clearly was not the case. Against a quality Arizona defense, Weeden looked like he was in over his head – inaccuracy, bad decision making and an inability to find open receivers. Considering how woeful the passing game was, I thought the run game actually had a solid day pounding against a fantastic Cardinals run defense. I thought the defense was outstanding until the end, when they had simply been put in bad situations too many times. I was right that the Cowboys would get points off a takeaway, but with the way the offense performed, it wasn't close to enough. Now we know how badly this team needs Tony Romo if it's going to make a push at the playoffs. All eyes will once again be on No. 9 when the team touches down in London on Tuesday morning.
For the initial gut feeling predictions of the staff writers posted on Saturday, click here:
