The Arizona Cardinals are now 5-0 all-time at AT&T Stadium, though they certainly didn't make things easy on themselves Sunday. Fortunately, head coach Mike LaFleur made the quarterback change from Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew II, sparking a comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
That included a 20-point fourth quarter for the Cardinals offense, which would've been 21 had Chad Ryland made the extra point to give Arizona the win at the end of regulation. Instead, Ryland redeemed himself with a field goal in overtime, giving the Cardinals the 33-30 win and putting them at 3-5 now on the season.
Winner: Gardner Minshew II
LaFleur hasn't committed yet to a starting quarterback for Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks, but Minshew made just about as strong a case as he possibly could've.
Granted, it was against the Dallas Cowboys defense, but credit Minshew for making the most of his audition. He completed 17-of-23 passes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns, not only catalyzing the comeback but also making timely passes to put the nail in the coffin.
Loser: Jacoby Brissett
Brissett was far less efficient than Minshew, completing 10-of-23 pass attempts for 119 yards and one interception. It unfortunately shouldn't come as a surprise, as this offense hasn't had much life under Brissett through the first eight weeks, particularly struggling to execute in the red zone.
Although the Cardinals reworked Brissett's deal this offseason to pay him reflective of being this team's starter, LaFleur has to consider how much better this offense flowed with Minshew as their signal-caller. This benching could spell the end of the Jacoby Brissett era in Arizona. They should even explore trades leading up to the Nov. 10 trade deadline to move on from what has officially become a failed stopgap experiment.
Winner: Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson finally looked the part of a WR1 when the Cardinals made the switch to Minshew. He seemed to have a far better connection with his new quarterback, finishing with a game-high 111 yards and a touchdown on 8 receptions.
Hopefully, for Wilson's sake, LaFleur names Minshew this team's starting quarterback heading into Week 9. It won't be as easy to get open against Seattle's secondary, but that connection between Minshew and Wilson appears to be sustainable.
Loser: Running back room
The Cardinals lost both Jeremiyah Love and Bam Knight in this contest. Love was downgraded from questionable to out after a right ankle injury, forcing him to miss the second half. That's the same ankle he had issues with in preseason, so it's important to monitor the extent of the injury, given how important Love should be to this offense. He hasn't quite produced like the No. 3 overall pick many were expecting, though much of that has been due to injuries to both him and the Cardinals' offensive line this season.
Meanwhile, Knight has fared better than expected in Love's absence, but is now dealing with an injury of his own. He exited Sunday in the first half after suffering a concussion, putting his Week 9 status in the air.
Winner: Tyler Allgeier
Fortunately and honestly surprisingly, it was Tyler Allgeier who stepped up to fill the void in the Cardinals' running back room against the Cowboys. He's always had the talent but hasn't really been great so far in Arizona.
That wasn't the case Sunday, finishing with 147 yards rushing and one touchdown on just 11 carries. He also added another 5 receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown through the air. This production came at the perfect time, contributing to the comeback and the third upset of the season for the Cardinals.
LaFleur doesn't like to use Allgeier in a traditional bell-cow role, so it will be important for Arizona to find that complementary back available to play against the Seahawks, whether that's Love, Knight, or potentially a James Conner return depending on whether he's ready to return from injury.
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