How did the Cardinals shut down the Cowboys last year, and can they do it again?

The Arizona Cardinals’ most promising moment last season was their Monday Night Football win over the Dallas Cowboys, a road victory in which they held a team averaging 34 points per game over its previous five games to 17.

The game was held on Nov. 3, and 363 days later, the Cardinals will be back in AT&T Stadium to play the Cowboys again on Sunday.

Last season, the Cardinals were 2-5 and the Cowboys 3-4-1. This time, the Cardinals are 2-5 and the Cowboys 3-4.

This is a matchup that has favored the Cardinals for years no matter how competitive they have been, as Arizona has won eight of its last nine games against Dallas.

As Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott put it, the Cardinals have had their number.

“We’ve got to win, right?” Prescott told reporters in Dallas. “Understanding what happened last year, it was an ugly game, ugly on our part and then you can go to some years before then. … But it’s a new year, everything’s different.”

What worked last year?

Things change weekly in the NFL, and the Cardinals have a different coaching staff from when they walked off the field in Dallas last year, which was their final victory under then-head coach Jonathan Gannon.

Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis is the holdover, and he said some elements of last year’s game can help but a new year brings on new challenges.

“Honestly, the biggest thing that we did last year was we took the ball away, which is a formula every week,” Rallis said on Thursday. “You had a fourth-down stop in the red zone. Those are all taking points off the board right there.

“That was a huge part of that game last year. But there’s definitely things you would take away from that game or even things that you’re looking at as a little bit of a chess match of saying we presented this a year ago, what is going to be their answers? And how can we change it up on them? But also, things are different from our end and their end.”

The Cardinals turned the Cowboys over on downs at the Arizona four-yard line on the opening drive, recovered two fumbles and intercepted quarterback Prescott at the end of the game. One of Dallas’ two touchdowns was a recovered blocked punt, and its offense did not punch the ball in until the fourth quarter.

Arizona made timely stops by getting to the quarterback, as a maligned defense had its brightest moments in this game. Josh Sweat recorded two sacks.

This season, the Cardinals have allowed more points than any other team, having lost five of their last six games. They are not among the top half of teams in terms of takeaways, the great equalizer.

They had a recent success against another decorated pocket passer with two dynamic weapons recently in an 18-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6. Last Sunday, the Cardinals were burned by explosive plays, as a quarterback scramble and the screen game lifted the Broncos to 30 points.

That cannot happen again for the Cardinals to maintain their hot streak against the Cowboys. Dallas has not gotten off to a consistent start on offense, but the team has two high-level receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and a running back in Javonte Williams coming off a 155-yard performance.

The Cowboys took advantage of a beat-up Philadelphia Eagles defense for 416 yards in a 38-21 win on Monday Night Football and are hoping to build momentum off a division win.

Playing the Cardinals may even add some motivation based on recent history.

“I’ve never beat the Cardinals since I’ve been in the league,” Lamb said. “I wouldn’t say heightened focus, but it’s definitely a note to take.”

Cowboys leaning into new identity

Lamb and Pickens were both 1,000-yard receivers last year.

In dealing with two dangerous targets, as the Cardinals did two weeks ago in Los Angeles, Rallis said there is not one right answer.

“You’ve got to pick your spots,” Rallis said. “Do we want to take one of them away? Or do we want to try to take both of them away? I think it’s something that you’ve got to kind of feel out throughout the game and change it up throughout the game.”

The Cowboys leaned heavily on their run game on Monday, easily setting a season high for rushes with 38. With two of the highest-paid receivers in the league, the Cowboys have suggested that continuing to assert themselves in the run game could better unlock the offense.

The Cardinals have allowed the seventh most yards per rush attempt in the NFL.

Arizona has upped its blitz rate significantly over the past couple weeks and will face a Cowboys team allowing the fewest sacks in the NFL. Will the Cardinals continue to push down on the gas pedal but risk the potential for explosives?

Is being aggressive and trying to create havoc the best chance they have given their talent disparity? They did not play well enough against Denver on the back end to prevent disasters when the rush did not get home.

Prescott is not a mobile quarterback like Broncos quarterback Bo Nix last week, although Dallas has allowed the fewest sacks in the league. Give him time, and the Cardinals will be in trouble.

“Just executing, no more explosives, no more busted coverages, get sticky like we know we can and fly around and make plays and have that energy from our unit,” safety Rabbit Taylor-Demerson said of improving the pass defense.

The Cardinals were a much more complete team in practice Thursday after many players were not participating Wednesday.

Defensive lineman Walter Nolen III was the standout in terms of absentees on the practice field Thursday after he missed last week’s game with an ankle issue. He debuted against the Cowboys a year ago and recorded his first sack, so his status will be significant for the Cardinals’ ability to slow down Dallas.

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