As the Dallas Cowboys gear up for their Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, much of the attention has been on the defense, and rightfully so. But the offense had its own share of struggles in Week 8 against the Denver Broncos and needs a bounce back this week.

Let’s take a look at a couple of players on that side of the ball and why they could be key to determining the outcome of this game. 

Will the real Tyler Booker please stand up? And can it please be the one that showed up in Week 8 and not the one that played in Week 7 against the Washington Commanders?

In his return from a high ankle sprain, Booker had the worst PFF grade for any offensive player against the Commanders, posting a 51.1 grade that included a 76.8 pass blocking grade and a 50.0 run blocking grade. He inverted that in Week 8 on his way to the best PFF grade of his career, earning an 83.3 mark that featured an 86.3 run blocking grade and a 60.9 pass blocking grade. 

As we mentioned multiple times this week, if that pass blocking grade can be his floor and the run blocking grade his ceiling, that’s a fine player. Him reaching those benchmarks in Week 9 will be key not just to this specific game, but to his career trajectory as a whole. 

Speaking of inconsistent rookies, Jaydon Blue has been on his own rollercoaster ride this season. After not playing until Week 5, he set a career high with 29 rushing yards in each of the last two games. 

However, he had his first career fumble in Week 8, prompting head coach Brian Schottenheimer to deem the contest for the second running back spot an open competition. Even with Dallas teetering on the brink of a lost season, they’ll want to manage Javonte Williams’ carries as they nominally want to bring him back beyond this season. 

Blue taking a step forward against a middling Cardinals defense (No. 20 in rushing yards allowed per game) will, like Booker, go a long way towards not just the outcome of this game but his overall role going forward. 

While saying that the starting quarterback of the opposing team is a player to watch might exactly be revelatory, Murray is a unique case. Returning from a two-game absence, the intrigue goes beyond how he looks after injury. 

In the two games that Jacoby Brissett started while Murray was injured, the team posted it’s third and fourth-best passing grades of the year while taking two contenders, the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, down to the wire. This comes after Murray struggled against the Tennessee Titans in that team’s only win of the year. 

And while Murray did have two grades of 75 or higher, that came against the also ran Carolina Panthers defense and a decimated San Francisco 49ers team. If Murray comes out and struggles, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the team could switch back to Brissett as they search for a spark. 

As we covered earlier this week, Trey McBride leads the team in every receiving category by a wide margin, with Marvin Harrison Jr. a distant second in each statistic. Even further behind Harrison is Michael Wilson, third on the team with 27 targets and 15 catches and fourth with 136 yards. 

Suffice it to say, the Cardinals don’t have a plethora of weapons. But, if the team is going to show that they aren’t as bad as their 2-5 record suggests, then someone else will have to step up. Wilson seems like as good a bet as any to do so.