The Dallas Cowboys continued a disappointing season against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, losing 27-17 in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicates. In an underwhelming day for the offense, there were still a few positives though. 

Let’s take a look at those guys, as well as the player with the lowest grade on this side of the ball. As a reminder, all players listed played a minimum 25 snaps. 

After struggling to a career-worst 51.1 grade in his Week 7 return from injury, Booker bounced back to post a career and team best mark of 83.1 grade in Week 8. And while his grade from this week was lower, I’d argue it was actually the best game of his career. 

That’s because for the first time, Booker had a truly balanced game, posting an 82.0 run blocking grade to go with an 86.0 pass blocking grade. His overall grade was dragged down by a penalty. 

After being very good at one or the other, it’s very encouraging to see Booker excel in both facets of blocking. While the team’s overall output was concerning, Booker has taken huge strides the last two weeks. 

Lamb was good in Week 9, but he’s being paid to be great, a level that eluded him against Arizona. His line of seven catches on 12 targets for 85 yards was again, good not great. 

It’s worth noting as well that the team has struggled to be consistent offensively since his return, averaging less than 20 points over the last two weeks as Dak figures out the best way to keep him and Pickens both involved. Of course, they did score 44 against the Washington Commanders in Lamb’s Week 7 return, so they’ve shown it’s possible that both can eat.

But the recent struggles are impossible to ignore, and the eye test shows that there has been some disjointedness in the passing game. While correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation, how Dak distributes the ball between Lamb and Pickens is something to keep an eye on. 

Like most of the offense, Ferguson has had a rough two weeks. After catching at least five passes or a touchdown in each game, he was shutout completely in Week 8 against and limited to five catches for 50 yards in Week 9. 

While the line against the Cardinals isn’t bad by any means, it includes two drops and, more crucially, a fumble that Arizona recovered. For a player that had been a key safety blanket for Dak and the offense, it’s disheartening to see him struggle lately.