'Talk Is Cheap!' Dak Prescott's Cowboys Winners & Losers From Brutal Week 8 Loss

The Dallas Cowboys lost their first game this century where they led by two touchdowns entering the fourth quarter on Sunday as the Arizona Cardinals, who looked as though they were trying to lose the game just as much as the Cowboys were, escaped overtime leading 33-30 in Week 8.

Arizona, now 3-5, is of course familiar with this feeling of beating Dallas (3-5) as it is eight wins in the last nine games in this series for the Cardinals, who are also undefeated at AT&T Stadium.

QB Dak Prescott is left saying somberly, "Talk is cheap.''

But right now, what else is it that Dallas is any good at?

The Cowboys led 24-10 going into the final period, then Arizona turned to backup quarterback Gardner Minshew after already deploying second-string running back Tyler Allgeier amid a slew of injuries. The Cardinals scored three straight touchdowns while the Cowboys could only manage field goals.

Minshew's final score came with just six seconds remaining, and Dallas only saw overtime because Arizona kicker Chad Ryland missed the game-winning extra point.

In overtime, both offenses punted on three-and-outs before Minshew connected with Michael Wilson on a long third-down conversion and Ryland got his redemption with a 42-yard game-winning field goal.

This isn't the first time we've uttered such a thought, but in arguably the worst defeat in the Brian Schottenheimer era, it's time to dive into the Cowboys Winners & Losers:

Minshew Mania had its way with the Cowboys defense.

Last year's hero in this matchup, Jacoby Brissett, was benched for Arizona after Dallas had a goal-line stand, an interception, and four sacks through nearly three quarters.

As soon as Minshew entered the game, the Cardinals got a spark. The journeyman backup threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-23.

Just Minshew's presence in the game flipped the momentum before Dallas' shaky secondary had a chance to defend against him. Subbing in for injured starter Jeremiyah Love, Allgeier took a handoff 63 yards for a touchdown just before the end of the third quarter on Minshew's first drive.

Minshew handled the rest with a touchdown pass to Allgeier after another 52-yard scamper. Then, Trey McBride caught a 14-yard touchdown after the Cowboys moved Arizona into the red zone with a roughing-the-passer penalty. Then, a 27-yard strike and a near buzzer-beater to Wilson completed the Cardinals comeback.

This isn't the first time a backup has starred against the loser Cowboys defense.

The Cowboys' star defensive tackle entered the week as one of the most productive interior linemen in football. He added to those totals, now with 5.0 sacks (the team-lead) and 11 tackles for loss.

Williams, who signed a 3-year, $105 million contract ahead of his first full season in Dallas, has begun to live up to his Pro Bowl expectations with sacks in each of his last three games.

As it turns out, just as Dallas' electric offense last season was wasted by poor defense, the same trend is being flipped on its head over the last few weeks of this season.

Yes, the Dallas defense allowed another 30-burger, but it at least put a win on the platter for Prescott and the offense in overtime.

Williams completed one of his two sacks, Minshew threw an incompletion and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown made an open-field tackle to force Arizona to punt.

Then the Cowboys went backward. Javonte Williams, who was held in check after a career-best performance last week, rushed for 2 yards. Prescott's pass to CeeDee Lamb was incomplete, then Dak was taken down for a loss of 7 yards.

Brandon Aubrey's kicking range is just inside the Arlington city limits (though he missed an end-of-half 60-yarder where you could argue the offense had time to pick up more yards to set him up).

Failing to give him a game-winning chance is inexcusable.

Schottenheimer is pointing to the "work" as the best immediate solution.

"I only know how to do it one way and that's the work. I'm a worker, I'm a problem solver," the coach said. "I think we got guys in that locker room that are problem-solvers. ... We have guys in there that want to be great. We got guys that believe in what we're doing as a football team in all three phases and they're hurting.

"They're hurting right now too. And so, as a leader, I'm going to stand in front and hit them with the truth."

Dallas has now gotten interceptions in each of the last three weeks after going the first five games of the season without one under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.

Like in games prior, it was a linebacker who got the pick; Shemar James Sr. corralled a tipped pass for the Cowboys' first-quarter takeaway. Then, Overshown laid a booming hit to jar a ball loose, which Dallas recovered, for a second takeaway.

"I think just the command and the control that he does out there is noticeable," Schottenheimer said about James, who was the defense's green-dot signal-caller on Sunday. "You see him talking to everybody, you see him driving the car, if you will."

Perhaps thinking they could brainwash themselves into a different result, the Cowboys spoke throughout this week of the oddity that is their recent record against Arizona.

Lamb said it was "crazy" how, regardless of the game time, the Cardinals just seemed to always "punch us in the mouth".

The Cowboys were talking again after the Cardinals, well, did it again.

Prescott used a similar description for how the offense failed to put up numbers.

"We had a chance to win it, and should’ve won it," he said about the overtime sequence. "To be under 200 yards [of offense passing] is crazy. I thought we were gonna win."

Now, fans are campaigning for owner/GM Jerry Jones to blow up the whole operation and fire Schottenheimer.

"It starts with me, I have to do better," the coach claimed in his postgame remarks.

Jones mentioned, in regret, that he's only fired a coach mid-season once. Don't necessarily expect that severity this time around.

After all, talking will only get you so far.

"It’s disappointing, and it sucks. One of the toughest I've been a part of," Prescott added. "Yeah, no words for it, really, other than that: really disappointing, frustrating...

"At this point, talk is cheap and telling stories is cheap. We gotta go [do it]."