Brissett fills in for Murray again as Cardinals end 5-game skid with 27-17 victory over Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacoby Brissett had a stock answer ready for the question of whether the Arizona quarterback has done enough to be the replacement, not just the fill-in, for Kyler Murray.

Coach Jonathan Gannon barely had an answer at all.

The Cardinals will worry about what appears to be a full-blown controversy later. For now, they’ll enjoy ending a five-game losing streak.

Brissett threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in another game with Murray sidelined by a foot injury, and the Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-17 on Monday night.

Brissett made his third consecutive start after the week began with expectations of Murray returning coming off the team’s open week.

Instead, the Cardinals pivoted to Brissett, with Gannon saying Murray wasn’t quite ready. Arizona (3-5) won for just the second time in the past 18 games when Murray didn’t take at least five snaps or sat out entirely.

“Nothing’s changed,” Gannon said both times he was asked if Brissett had done enough to become the starter.

The Cowboys (3-5-1) couldn’t build on the momentum of Sam Williams’ blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by Marshawn Kneeland, giving up long touchdown drives on Arizona’s next two possessions on either side of halftime to fall behind 24-7.

Marvin Harrison had a career-high seven catches for 96 yards, including a 4-yarder for the game’s first touchdown. Tight end Trey McBride had a 12-yard TD grab.

After their punt block and recovery for a score, the Cowboys gave up an average of 10.8 yards on the next 15 Arizona plays, including consecutive 16-yard passes right after the Dallas TD and Michael Wilson’s 50-yard catch and run on the second play after halftime.

The Cowboys easily reached the Arizona 7 with a first down on the game’s first possession, but came away with nothing when Dak Prescott was sacked on fourth down by Josh Sweat, who had two of the five sacks on the Dallas quarterback. Calais Campbell also had two in his 250th career regular-season game.

Dallas, which lost consecutive games for the first time under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer, totaled just three points on its first three drives inside the Arizona 25, leading to the 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys could have closed to within 14 with a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Prescott threw incomplete to CeeDee Lamb on fourth-and-3. Dallas was 0 for 3 on fourth down.

“We were going to be aggressive all game,” Schottenheimer said. “That was part of the deal. If I like the call, I’m going to go. I trust our offense. But we didn’t make the plays tonight.”

The Cardinals lost Brissett’s first two starts, but not because the 32-year-old veteran was ineffective. He was solid again, going 21 of 31 for 261 yards without an interception, giving him 860 yards, six touchdowns and one pick in three games without Murray.

Murray — the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 — is 9-0 at AT&T Stadium, with state championships as a high school quarterback, two Big 12 titles with Oklahoma and a pair of victories over the Cowboys.

Well, Brissett is now 1-0 as a starter against Dallas.

“I don’t get into that stuff, man,” Brissett said when asked if he had done enough to replace Murray. “I’m just trying to go out here and win games and be a good teammate. And do the best I can when I get my opportunities. That’s all I can ask for.”

The last hope for the Cowboys ended with their second lost fumble. Javonte Williams had the ball ripped out as he was going down on a short catch with less than five minutes to go.

Prescott had just one touchdown pass a week after having none as one of the league’s best offenses was sluggish again. The scoring toss was a 5-yarder in the fourth quarter for Ryan Flournoy’s first career TD.

“We’ve got to figure out how we need to improve in all phases of the game,” said Prescott, who was 24 of 39 for 250 yards with a late interception on a desperation fourth-and-28 throw. “Special teams did a hell of a job getting us a touchdown, and that was the only spark I think in the game, especially in the first half.”

The Cardinals started the season 2-0 before losing five in a row by a total of 13 points. Gannon’s first win as a head coach was against the Cowboys two years ago — part of a 1-8 start.

“I’m looking at my watch, and I don’t remember the last time we won,” Gannon said. “It falls on me. At the bye, I was sitting in the shower, thinking about, ‘How did I let this happen?’ Everybody in there takes that attitude.”

Going for the tie

Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey had the distance but was wide left on a 68-yard field goal attempt to finish the first half. It would have tied the NFL record set a day earlier by Jacksonville’s Cam Little, who beat Justin Tucker’s mark from 2021 by 2 yards.

Injuries

Cardinals CB Max Melton exited with a concussion in the first and didn’t return. … Cowboys LB Jack Sanborn (groin) was placed on injured reserve before the game.