Cardinals rookie Walter Nolen III’s impact felt in NFL debut vs. Cowboys

Well, that didn’t take long.

After missing the first seven games of the season, Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen III was a problem for the Dallas Cowboys behind a sack, two tackles for loss, a pass defensed and a QB hit in his team’s 27-17 win on Monday Night Football.

“I thought he played well. It was good to see him smile out there. … It was good to have him out there,” head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters postgame.

The stats are nice, but how they came about that were equally as important.

Just as the Dallas Cowboys’ high-powered offense looked like they were going to cruise to an opening-drive score, the rookie came up big against a run game that was already in midgame form.

Following runs of nine, eight and 11 yards from Javonte Williams, the running back ran into a brick wall in the form of Nolen two yards behind the line of scrimmage.

It was the kind of run stuff that helped turn the tide for the Cardinals defense, which saw a pass breakup from Garrett Williams on third down before Josh Sweat got home on fourth and goal to force a turnover on downs.

Then came the fourth quarter.

With Dallas once again driving and giving Arizona fans Deja vu from the past five late-game collapses, Nolen came up with a critical fourth-quarter sack to stop the Cowboys’ momentum.

✅ First NFL Game
✅ First Sack for Walter Nolen III

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/mlKstxy0gM

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 4, 2025

Talk about an NFL debut.

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