All-around effort leads to easy Arizona Cardinals victory

The Arizona Cardinals were outstanding on both sides of the ball during their 38-10 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night

For anyone associated with the Arizona Cardinals, this past Monday evening couldn’t have gone any better. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s squad finally put forth the type of effort that diehard fans of the club knew they were capable of. It was the kind of all-around performance that has Cards followers believing that a postseason appearance could be waiting at the end of the 2020 campaign.

Arizona’s offense exploded for 38 points and 438 yards on a Dallas Cowboys defense that had no answers. In fact, the only thing that slowed down the Kyler Murray-led scoring attack were the Cardinals themselves. A few frustrating penalties, coupled with some missed opportunities from the passing game, were the only negatives from what was otherwise a spectacular night for the unit.

Murray, of course, was the Cards main attraction. Despite an ugly completion percentage (37.5%), the Texas native made more than enough tremendous plays. Murray threw for two touchdowns through the air ( one being a scintillating 80-yard bomb to Christian Kirk), and one more on the ground.

Defensively, coordinator Vance Joseph’s group turned in the type of outing that wins championships. Dallas quarterback Andy Dalton was under duress the entire game, and star running back Ezekiel Elliott coughed up two back-breaking fumbles that led to Arizona scores. The only trip into the end zone for the Cowboys occurred during garbage time, when Joseph’s crew finally took their feet off of the pedal.

The main attraction for the Cardinals on the defensive side of the ball was none other than Budda Baker. The Pro Bowl safety recorded seven tackles, a sack, a pass breakup and the first interception of the fourth-year pro’s NFL career. Baker is just as important to the Cards defense as Murray is to Big Red’s offense.

In a nutshell, Arizona dominated “America’s Team” on both sides of the ball. What made it even sweeter was the fact that the beatdown occurred on national television, in front of a watered-down Dallas crowd. More performances like that from the Cardinals going forward would be greatly appreciated.