Rapid reactions: Gardner Minshew II takes over to lead wild comeback win over Cowboys

Arizona’s dominance over the Dallas Cowboys continued on Sunday as quarterback Gardner Minshew II threw three touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to a 33-30 win in overtime.

Trailing 17-3 in the third quarter, Minshew took over for starter Jacoby Brissett and impressed as the Cardinals scored four touchdowns on their next four series as he finished the game with 188 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Tyler Allgeier gave the Cardinals’ running game a much-needed boost with 147 rushing yards in the win. Allgeier stepped up after the Cardinals lost running backs Jeremiyah Love and Bam Knight to injuries in the first half.

Kicker Chad Ryland, who missed a potential game-winning extra point in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, redeemed himself in overtime with a 42-yard field goal to walk off the Cowboys.

With the win, the Cardinals have won nine of their last 10 games against the Cowboys and are 5-0 at AT&T Stadium.

Reactions from Arizona Sports hosts after Cardinals’ win over Cowboys

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo:

Just when you are ready to write the Cardinals off not only for this game but for the season, they find a way to pull off the inevitable.

Down two scores at 27-17 with 3:54 left, they found a way to score quickly, force a Cowboys field goal that left them enough time to score again, only to miss the extra point and go to overtime. But after stopping Dallas and forcing a punt — thanks to a fourth sack of the game, this one by Josh Sweat — Gardner Minshew hit Michael Wilson with a big 17-yard pass play on a third-and-one, and the Cardinals won on a Chad Ryland walk-off 42-yard field goal.

The win improves Arizona to 3-5 and keeps their slim hopes alive of competing for a playoff spot — it may also delay any trades until after next week’s game at Seattle. A win there would move the Cardinals to 4-5 and likely keep them from making any blockbuster trades. A loss would put them at 3-6 and, for all intents and purposes, end their season.

So next week’s game could very well determine the future for several Arizona players, including Sweat and Budda Baker. It is also safe to say we have seen the last of Jacoby Brissett as the starting QB for Arizona — he was benched for Minshew, and the veteran backup QB led four straight touchdown drives and led Arizona to 30 points on five of his six drives; the only Cardinals punt came with Minshew under center in OT.

Also, what a breakout game for Tyler Allgeier, who broke two huge runs, including a 63-yard TD burst, and finished with 147 yards rushing on 11 carries. All in all, a great win for the Cardinals, who continued their dominance over Dallas, and it is always great to see Jerry Jones dumbfounded by his team losing again.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta:

Just when you’re ready to throw another shovelful of dirt on the coffin, the Arizona Cardinals rise from the grave and shock the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime.

Kudos to Mike LaFleur for finally making a switch at QB by benching Jacoby Brissett and inserting Gardner Minshew. The energy level of the entire team picked up visibly right after the move, and on Minshew’s second snap, Tyler Allgeier ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys answered immediately with a touchdown drive of their own. Trailing 24-10, it felt like it would be nearly a full quarter of stat padding for Minshew and the offense, but they had other ideas.

America’s backup QB (is that patented?) led four straight touchdown drives, the final one capped off by a strike to Michael Wilson in the end zone with just six seconds left to tie the game. We’re still talking about the Cardinals here, so of course Chad Ryland botched the extra point, and we were headed to overtime.

On the Cardinals’ second OT possession, Minshew drove them down the field again into range for Ryland to make amends, and he did — with a 42-yard game-winning field goal.

The good in this game was easy to see: Minshew’s influence. Allgeier turning into a man possessed in the second half. Michael Wilson making plays. Josh Sweat coming up with a huge overtime sack. L.J. Collier atoning for what should have been a back-breaking personal foul penalty in the fourth quarter.

The bad is easy to see as well. The amount of injuries absorbed by this team has blown right past cruel into unbelievable territory. That starts with the latest ankle injury to Jeremiyah Love. This one didn’t look good. Bam Knight, Jayden Williams, Kendrick Bourne and Reggie Virgil all leaving the game and not returning — and I’m sure I’m missing a few.

Moving forward, I think we’ve seen Brissett’s last snap as a Cardinals QB, so one major box checked.

Oh, and … THE CARDINALS STILL OWN THE COWBOYS.

Luke Lapinski, co-host of Wolf & Luke:

I feel like we just watched seven football games. At first, that looked like it was about to be the this-is-the-end-of-the-Cardinals’-season-as-we-know-it game. Then it turned into the Gardner Minshew game, before quickly pivoting to the Tyler Allgeier game. And just when you thought Arizona might actually pull it off, it became the LJ-Collier-may-have-just-ruined-everything-with-a-bad-unnecessary-roughness-penalty game.

But there was still so much more football to be played at that point. Collier did everything he could to redeem himself; Minshew marched the Cardinals down the field for their fourth straight touchdown drive, Michael Wilson made a great catch in the end zone while playing through obvious pain and then … Chad Ryland missed his first extra point in two years. Because why not?

It could’ve been the Collier penalty game. Or the Ryland miss game. But the Cardinals stuck with it and pulled it out in overtime. In the end, it was simply the Arizona-Cardinals-never-lose-in-Dallas game. Maybe we all should have seen that coming, because it’s been a trend ever since the Cowboys opened their new stadium — you know, the stadium that’s actually 17 years old now.

Who knows where we go from here because roughly 75 percent of the team is injured now. But this group clearly rallies around Mike LaFleur, and it sure seems like they have the right coach at least. This game felt like it was 60-0 when Dallas was up 17-3, but LaFleur pushed the right buttons, kept his players engaged in the face of overwhelming adversity and switched quarterbacks when they needed a spark.

So maybe this is actually the Mike LaFleur game. That’s a signature win on a wild afternoon for a young coach who’s working with a depleted roster.

But also it’s still the Tyler Allgeier game. That was unreal.

Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night:

What an absurdly ridiculous game, and I mean that as a compliment. Injuries galore, self-inflicted penalties and a lifeless offense in the first half. But then … a second half of resiliency and grit. Countless heroes headlined by Gardner Minshew II.

He entered the game in the third quarter and helped pilot the Cardinals offense to a 33-30 victory in Dallas. He, along with Tyler Allgeier, picked apart Dallas’ defense for 27 points in regulation and the deciding field goal in overtime. Allgeier deserves as much, if not more, credit for his role in the win. He got chunk run after chunk run and found the end zone twice.

Michael Wilson deserves flowers as well. Clearly playing through rib pain and making the most of the deep passes from Minshew. That dude is a dog.

Finally, we can now say thank you and goodbye to Jacoby Brissett. After being benched in the third quarter, his time in Arizona has clearly come to an end. As said in previous weeks, he wasn’t the problem but also wasn’t the solution.

As it turns out, he might have been the problem based on how Minshew played today.

So with that being the last of Brissett, now it’s just a matter of when we will see Carson Beck. My prediction, which changes every week, is week 10 against the Rams at home.

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