Cowboys look for rare winning streak under Schottenheimer in visit from Cardinals

Sustainability is the next challenge for the Dallas Cowboys, who have just one winning streak in nearly a season and a half under coach Brian Schottenheimer.

Dallas (3-4) begins a stretch of four home games in five weeks with a visit from Arizona on Sunday after a 38-21 road division win against two-time defending NFC East champion Philadelphia.

As strange as it sounds, the Cowboys did what they should have against the Eagles. Philadelphia’s offense is decimated by injuries, and the beleaguered Dallas defense still needed three quarters to figure out how to get stops.

The Cowboys had the second-worst rushing offense in the NFL before Javonte Williams went for a career-high 155 yards rushing among the team’s 204. A two-week rut ended for one of the league’s best offenses, with season highs in yards and points.

Now Dallas has to do it again.

“It’s a business where you have to be consistent with your execution, with your performance,” said Schottenheimer, whose only winning streak was a three-game run last season. “And I think we’ve been lacking that at times. Another good week, another opponent coming in there with a lot of challenges that they’re going to present, but it’s more about us and the lack of consistency.”

Arizona’s 2-5 record is irrelevant because it has nine victories in the past 10 meetings with Dallas. Each of the past three times the Cardinals won, they lost at least 14 games that season. A year ago, it was the only victory in the final 15 games.

The Cardinals ended a four-game losing streak with an upset of the Los Angeles Rams on the road two weeks ago, only to lose to Denver 30-16 for their 10th consecutive defeat at home. Arizona is 2-2 on the road this season and is perfect in four visits to AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009.

“Where I always try to put my focus is that this is a week-to-week league,” first-year coach Mike LaFleur said. “I want these guys to be where their feet are. The highs that they felt (against the Rams), the lows that they felt after this last game. Once you reset, you learn from it on those Mondays, you get right back to work, and you work to be 1-0. Good, bad, or anything in between, I don’t try to look past that.”

Need to know

Arizona (2-5) at Dallas (3-4)
When/where to watch: Sunday, Noon CST, Fox.
Latest odds: Cowboys by 6 1/2.
Against the spread: Cardinals 3-4, Cowboys 4-3.
Last week: Cardinals lost to Broncos 30-16; Cowboys beat Eagles 38-21.
Last meeting: Cardinals beat Cowboys 27-17 on Nov. 3, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Series record: Cowboys lead 56-36-1.

Matchup to watch

The rushing offense against the rushing defense for both teams. The Cowboys and Cardinals are averaging fewer than 100 yards rushing per game, but Dallas is coming off its second 200-yard game since Schottenheimer took over as coach and play-caller. Arizona has played the past two games without rookie No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love (ankle), but undrafted fifth-year man Bam Knight has been a capable fill-in with a 5.8-yard average on 22 carries in those games. Dallas is 31st in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 145.7 yards per game. The Cardinals are 23rd at 126.3.

Stats and stuff

• Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had his 80th game with multiple touchdown passes by throwing for three scores against the Eagles. That broke a tie with Tony Romo atop the team’s career list. Prescott also has the most games with at least three TD passes at 43.
• Dallas’ Williams is tied for the NFL lead with eight touchdowns rushing and has scored in five consecutive games.
• Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb leads the NFL with 81 targets, the most through seven games in franchise history. He has a pair of two-TD games this season after not having any a year ago.
• Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams tied his career high with three tackles for loss against the Eagles. He had his team-leading third sack.
• Cowboys CB Joey Porter Jr., acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, is set for his home debut. He was a late scratch with an illness in the 24-16 loss to Tampa Bay at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 8.
• Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett threw for 261 yards with two TDs and ran for a score against the Cowboys last season in his first win as the team’s starter. He has a 3-16 record over 1 1/2 seasons.
• The Cardinals have an NFL-leading 21 drives of at least 10 plays, and also lead with 18 of those ending in points. They are fourth in the league in average time of possession at 32:16. Dallas gave up a TD drive of 9:16 in Philadelphia.
• Cardinals TE Trey McBride leads the NFL with 59 catches, the most by a tight end in league history through a team’s first seven games. He can join Antonio Brown and Cooper Kupp as the only players with at least seven catches in 10 consecutive games. Brown has the record at 14 in a row.
• Arizona kicker Chad Ryland is 9 for 9 on field goals over the past two weeks, including all of his team’s points in the 18-16 win over the Rams.