Cowboys Hit 'Rock Bottom': Report Card Grades From Embarrassing 33-30 OT Loss To Cardinals

The Dallas Cowboys have embarrassingly fallen 33-30 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.

In a game that saw coach Brian Schottenheimer's offense look woeful, and the defense, in the first half, look like it had made positive strides, only to fall apart in the worst way in the second half. ... all of it leaves many wondering where Dallas goes from here.

This was supposed to be a game the Cowboys should have won; instead, the Cardinals' "curse" continues, and now, at 3-5, Dallas' season is hanging by the thinnest of threads.

At the top of the quiz list is the job security of Schottenheimer, and owner Jerry Jones was asked about that immediately after this loss that has our Mike Fisher calling them "The Rock-Bottom 'Boys.''

"This is an indictment of the whole team,'' Jones said, suggesting that firing the coach isn't immediately on his list of things to do. "This is a criticism of everyone.''

Well .. they do all deserve that.

Prior to the game, we highlighted five things Dallas had to do in order to avoid an embarrassing loss.

Let's see how they did.

1 - Avoid the infamous emotional letdown/start fast: GRADE B

The defense took this to heart, the offense didn't.

Offensively, Dallas left a lot to be desired in the first half, aside from one drive (14 plays, 85-yard TD drive).

Dallas' first two drives: Turnover on downs and then punt. Yuck.

Defense started hot, forcing a punt, a turnover on downs, an interception, and a punt on the first four possessions, but the offense couldn't put the game out of reach.

It was clear the defense got the memo, but Schottenheimer and the offense didn't, as they led 14-3 at the half, which should have been a lot more.

And they paid the ultimate price for it.

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2 - Stop Trey McBride at all costs: GRADE C 

McBride had just two receptions for 20 yards with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter as the defense did a good job taking him completely out of the game.

While he did manage two quick-fire catches as the Cardinals were driving, it was empty calories as the one big, dominant weapon Arizona had, Dallas took away.

He got a late touchdown grab to make it 27-24, but he wasn't the dominant factor he usually is, but he still did enough.

3 - More Javonte and "bloody noses" - Grade D

The Cowboys couldn't maintain the rage from last week as they only mustered 38 yards on the ground in the first half, and ended the game with 93.

Williams (56 yards) and Tyler Goodson (14 yards) didn't have the success as they did last week, but a late fourth-quarter 18-play drive that took over six minutes off the clock had nine boring runs.

Not a great day, overall.

4 - 20/20 vision: GRADE F

The Cowboys had allowed 20+ points in a game for 14 straight games, and the Cardinals had 17 with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter.

And Gardner Minshew led yet another touchdown drive to push Arizona out to 24 points, their joint-highest return since Week 4.

The offense stuttered, but did manage 27 points; however, the defense, for all the good it played in the first half, wilted in the second, as the long-standing pattern of allowing 20+ points in a game continues.

And they finished the game with 33 points, their highest return of the season.

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5 - Defense has to tighten up early and with takeaways: GRADE A

The defense forced a punt on the Cardinals' first possession of the game, and it was off to the races.

A fourth-down stop at the one-yard line was followed by a Shemar James interception, then a DeMarvion Overshown hit forced fumble. Arizona's first points came with a little over a minute left in the first half.

So, the defense did tighten up AND got a takeaway.

The second half wasn't as good, but the defense did its part to begin the game with a bang.

Unfortunately, it undid all its good work late in the game as they got steamrolled by Minshew.