'Punched In The Mouth!' Cowboys Admit To Major Problems In Cardinals Rivalry

Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb thinks "it's crazy" how little success he's had against the Arizona Cardinals.

But it's true. Dallas has lost four straight to Arizona, including a Week 9 defeat last year at AT&T Stadium, which sets the stage this season for a rematch in Arlington on Sunday.

"[We were] being very, very relaxed, and they punched us in the mouth every single time," Lamb said about that meeting last year. "They've always had more energy They were more excited, regardless of if it was a 12 o'clock, Sunday night or Monday night."

"So, we need to treat them as if they are a Super Bowl contending team, which they may be, you know what I'm saying? Hats off to them in their prep, and we just got to go match them. If not overpowered that."

A curse? History might suggest that, with Arizona as the winner of seven of the last eight overall, in the series.

But Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is addressing the history head on.

"I kind of hit it right between the eyes because that's the way I believe you do it. [We're] 1-8 against them, going back to I believe 2011. Four in a row at home they've beaten the Cowboys," Schottenheimer said to reporters Friday.

Lamb said he has no answer for why Arizona succeeds so frequently here. Schottenheimer disagrees.

"I know why: Minus-11 turnover differential in those games. Last year we were minus-three," Schottenheimer said.

In 2025, Dallas lost two fumbles, and Dak Prescott was intercepted late in the fourth quarter as Arizona won 27-17. Not to mention, the Cowboys' offense turned the ball over on downs twice.

"So, 'the ball' is what this game's going to come down to," Schotty says this time around.

As it relates to taking care of the ball, the Cowboys are looking to build on a positive result in last week's win over the short-handed Philadelphia Eagles on the road. Dallas ran for over 200 yards, scored more than 29 points for the first time in two weeks, and most importantly, did not commit a turnover.

"It was an attempt at re-identifying who we want to be," Prescott said this week. "We obviously know we love our run actions and throwing the ball like that, but you've got to get the run going. We weren't committed enough to it the last couple of weeks before last, and I think that obviously hurt us. We got us into more of a passing situation than we wanted to be earlier than we planned."

Running back Javonte Williams recorded a career-high 155 rushing yards and added to his NFL-leading touchdown total with a score on the ground.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who coached in Arizona before joining Schottenheimer's staff ahead of last season, acknowledges how his high-powered offense might have taken steps back this season.

"You go into every season and you say, 'This is who we're going to be.' And that's not always who you are," Adams said. "And sometimes you go into a season and you think you're going to be a certain way and that works for a few weeks, and then you got to pivot. I feel like there was panic because I said that, but I don't believe that at all. I think that we're going to have to re-identify ourselves two or three times before the season's over because of injuries."

"When you're talking about a collective group of people, you don't just get to say, 'This is who we are,' and then that's true. I think as people move in and out of that group, as you get played certain ways, I think that part of the art of being a team that can play well late in the season is being able to adapt to what your identity is."

That "who we are" mindset can be haunting to some Cowboys when they see the Cardinals lined up on the opposite side. Prescott, however, is channeling the motivation of his head coach.

"We got to win," the quarterback said. "Understanding what happened last year, it was an ugly, ugly game, ugly on our part. You can go to some years before then whether it'd been at Arizona. They've had our number these last couple of years. Credit to their defense, credit to the way those guys come in and play and execute, but it's a new year."