Cardinals vs. Cowboys: Three Bold Predictions for ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 9

The Cowboys are back in primetime on Monday night, hosting the Cardinals at AT&T Stadium.

Dallas sits at 3-4-1 on the year, and its defensive struggles have plagued the team all season. The Cowboys surrendered 44 points in a lopsided loss to the Broncos last week, and haven’t held an opponent under 22 points once this year. The offense has been a different story, entering the week as the No. 2 scoring unit in the NFL at 30.2 points per game.

The Cardinals will be without starting quarterback Kyler Murray again after he was ruled out with a foot injury. Jacoby Brissett will take his place in what will be his third start of the year. He’s been solid in his previous two games, though Arizona is 0–2 in those contests.

The Cardinals are in the midst of a five-game skid after starting the year 2–0.

So let’s make some bold predictions.

Dak Prescott will throw for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns

Prescott had a rough game last week, but has otherwise been playing at an MVP level in 2025. He has 16 touchdowns and five interceptions on the year, and has completed 70.3% of his passes, the best mark of his career.

The Cardinals have surrendered 234.9 passing yards per game, the eight-worst in the NFL, and have only 12 sacks, the fifth-fewest in the league. Prescott should have plenty of time to operate in the pocket, which should help him find his star tandem of wide receivers, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

I’m expecting Prescott to have a bounce-back week with at least 300 yards and three touchdowns, which would be the second time this season he’s achieved that line.

Cowboys’ defense will surrender its fewest points in a game this season

It’s a favorable matchup for the Cowboys, considering the abundance of injuries plaguing the Cardinals. Arizona is down its starting quarterback and its top two running backs, with both James Conner and Trey Benson on IR. In short, this is a prime matchup for Dallas’s defense to get back on track.

Brissett has played well, with four touchdowns and just one interception since taking over for Murray. Brissett, who has the second-longest average throw time in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats, was sacked six times against the Packers last week, so Dallas will have its chances to get after him in the backfield.

Arizona’s offense averages 21.9 points per game, but I’m expecting them to fall short of that.

Zonovan Knight will rush for a career high in yards

With the Cardinals’ running backs room depleted by injury, Bam Knight is expected to be the team’s lead rusher. Against a Cowboys’ run defense that’s struggled all year, I’m expecting him to turn in a solid performance.

Entering Monday’s game, Knight has only rushed 10 or more times in seven games. His career high in rushing yards is 90, which he set in 2022 with the Jets. I’m expecting him to reach the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career.

He was effective against the Packers last week, rushing 14 times for 57 yards, but he failed to reach the next level of the defense, never going for more than nine yards. There’s a good chance that Knight will be able to find a hole and break into Dallas’s secondary.