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Arizona Cardinals vs Dallas Cowboys recap: final score and what we learned (2026 Week 8)

NFL Audit · 2026 Week 8 · Game recap

The Arizona Cardinals went into Dallas and won 33–30, and the box score tells a lopsided story the scoreboard doesn't. Arizona outgained the Cowboys by a wide margin and ran the ball far better than anyone expected. It also survived two turnovers against a Dallas team that didn't give the ball away once. For a team that looked like a defensive problem on paper, this was a big result.

The result

Start with the yardage. Arizona finished with 467 yards at 6 yards per play. Dallas managed 261 at 3.6 per play. Arizona also had 24 first downs to Dallas's 19. Each team had 13 total drives, so this wasn't a case of one side getting more chances. Arizona simply got more out of them.

The surprise is how Arizona did it. The Cardinals ran for 202 yards on only 27 carries, a gaudy 7.5 per rush. Dallas ran 39 times for 93 yards, just 2.4 per carry. Through the air, the two teams were nearly even on efficiency, with Arizona at 5.2 yards per pass and Dallas at 5.1. Arizona threw for 265 and Dallas for 168.

The turnover column is what made this close. Arizona gave it away twice, an interception and a lost fumble. Dallas had none. That's usually a recipe for the cleaner team to win, and the Cowboys scored 30 anyway. The box score doesn't explain how 261 yards turned into 30 points, so I won't pretend it does. But it's a reminder that Dallas stayed in this game with a lot less than Arizona had.

How our preview held up

Not well, though we made no pick. The preview leaned Dallas. It said the Cowboys had the higher scoring rate, the better recent result and more ways to move the ball. It also called Arizona's defense "the real worry."

The Cardinals' defense did give up 30, so that concern wasn't baseless. But we badly misjudged the Arizona offense. We wrote that the Cardinals "aren't built to trade punches" and that the passing game would have to carry them. Arizona scored 33 against a season average of 20.3, and the ground game did the heavy lifting. We called the run game a non-factor for Arizona's identity. This game says otherwise.

We did get one thing right: efficiency would decide it. We said Arizona had to close the gap on offense. It did, and then some, at 6 yards per play against 3.6. We had the right lever and the wrong team pulling it.

What it means

For Arizona, this is proof the offense can put up points when the run game works. Whether that's a one-week blip or a real change in identity is the question. Two turnovers on the road is the kind of margin that usually costs you, and the Cardinals got away with it. They still allowed 30, so the defensive questions from the preview are still there.

For Dallas, the concern is on the other side of the ball. A team that averages 27 points a game doesn't usually produce 3.6 yards per play, and averaging 2.4 per rush is hard to build around. The Cowboys avoided turnovers and still lost at home. That's a sign the offense leaned on something other than sustained efficiency, and that tends not to last. Dallas will want a cleaner, more balanced showing next time out.

Read our pre-game preview: Arizona Cardinals vs Dallas Cowboys preview: team news, form and key matchups (2026 Week 8)

Final score

Team stats

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Data attribution: Stats for informational analysis only. Verify figures against official league sources.