Cardinals back home, face Cowboys, Elliott
Arizona coming off win; Dallas surly after defeat
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals finally get to play a home game.
Following two preseason road games and two more away from home to start the regular season, the Cardinals are back in Arizona on Monday night against Dallas.
That means a lot of Cowboys fans in the seats at University of Phoenix Stadium. It’s always that way when the Cowboys come to town. Arizona season ticket holders see a way to make back most or all of their investment by selling tickets to the game for Dallas fans.
So when Dallas (1-1) meets Arizona (1-1), it will be a mixed gathering cheering on both teams as the Cowboys look to bounce back from one of their worst losses in years, 42-17 at Denver, and overcome running back Ezekiel Elliott’s perceived loafing after teammate Dak Prescott threw two interceptions.
“There were a lot of things in that ballgame that needed to be addressed and that was one of them,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “Oftentimes, a player can be frustrated by something and it doesn’t necessarily show who he is. One of the reasons we drafted Zeke Elliott is because he’s one of the great competitors we’ve ever been around. …
“You’re honest. You’re very clear with what the expectations are and you learn for them and move forward.”
It had been a rough day all around for Elliott, who had averaged 100 yards rushing per game until he managed 8 yards in nine carries against the Broncos.
If you look at those runs, we never really gave Zeke (Elliott) much of a chance with our execution to ever get it going.
“If you look at those runs, we never really gave Zeke much of a chance with our execution to ever get it going,” tight end Jason Witten said.
Plus, Elliott still has that possible NFL suspension hanging over him, blocked by a court ruling. A federal appeals court on Friday set oral arguments for Oct. 2 in the league’s bid to reinstate Elliott’s six-game suspension over a domestic case in Ohio, meaning he will play at least two more games.
Arizona coach Bruce
Arians was asked if Denver offered a blueprint of how to control the Cowboys.
“Well, if I could have Von Miller, I’d be happy. He’s special,” Arians said. “We’ve got a pretty good one, so yeah.
It’s a copycat league, but you can’t change what you do. They have some unique stuff that they run that you have to be very aware for. Hopefully our matchups are pretty solid.”
The Cardinals had all kinds of trouble on offense but got it going in the nick of time to score 10 late points to force overtime against Indy before finally winning 16-13.