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Week 3: Cowboys at Cardinals Monday Night Football Matchup Preview

If there were ever evidence not to use the Giants offense to gauge the quality of an NFL defense, may we present the Cowboys’ Week 2 performance.

A week after Dallas held New York to 255 total yards and three points, Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian carved up the Orlando Scandrick-less Dallas secondary for 231 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.

Denver running back C.J. Anderson – who is looking spryer by the week – rushed 25 times for 118 yards and scored twice.

So, although the Arizona Cardinals produced two clunkers on the road, failed to cover and lost David Johnson for several months, the Cowboys defensive flaws present an opportunity for Carson Palmer to right the ship at home.

For all his faults including four interceptions in two games, Palmer has averaged 300 passing yards per game. It’s a per game average he’ll need to maintain to account for the absence of David Johnson as Kerwynn Williams, Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington are a running back committee missing a chairman of the board.

The Cowboys opened Week 3’s Monday night matchup as 3.5-point favorites. It’s the first time Arizona has been a home dog since 2014. They are 5-4-1 straight up and 4-6 against the spread in their last 10 home games. The Cowboys are 7-3 straight up and 5-5 against the spread – including three straight losses – in their last 10 road games.

In addition to the defensive struggles against the Broncos, Ezekiel Elliott posted the worst numbers of his career as off-the-field legal distractions continue to swirl around him. Zeke rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries against the Giants in Week 1, but the Broncos – who have arguably the best defense in the NFL – held him to eight yards on nine carries – 0.9 yards per rush. That’s not a typo. Arizona held sub-par rush offenses in Detroit and Indy to less than 3.0 yards per rush.

Dak Prescott has relied on Jason Witten over Dez Bryant in the passing game. The veteran tight end has caught 17 passes on 22 targets for 156 yards and two touchdowns in two games.

Heading into the season, Pro Football Focus ranked the Cardinals’ front-seven defense eighth-best in the NFL and their secondary 11^th. So, many were a little surprised when Matthew Stafford torched Arizona for 292 yards on 29-41 passing with four touchdowns. In that contest, the Cardinals best corners matched up on WR-1 Marvin Jones and WR-2 Golden Tate, while WR-3 Kenny Golladay posted 69 receiving yards and two scores.

So, even if the Cardinals manage to contain Bryant and Witten, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley remain a threat. Williams led the Cowboys with 68 receiving yards in Week 1.