THE APEX TIMES
Dallas led by two scores for much of the afternoon, but Arizona’s quarterback change late in the third quarter sparked touchdowns on consecutive drives and erased a late deficit before winning the overtime coin-toss and march.
The Cowboys looked positioned to run out the clock with a two-score lead, but Arizona used a quarterback change late in the third quarter to flip the game’s momentum. The Cardinals, who ultimately won 33-30 in overtime, turned a game that had seemed out of reach into a late regulation surge and then a decisive extra-frame field goal.
Arizona made the key pivot when it replaced starter Jacoby Brissett with Gardner Minshew late in the third quarter. After Minshew entered, Arizona scored to close the gap at 17-10, then kept answering Dallas in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys’ advantage evaporated.
The late-game turning point came after Dallas took a 24-17 lead on a Prescott touchdown run early in the fourth. Arizona’s Tyler Allgeier then produced a big sequence that included a 52-yard run and another scoring play to tie the game at 30-30 after late regulation, forcing overtime.
Dallas still had chances to control the finish. Late in regulation, Arizona led another drive with Minshew and reached the end zone with about a minute to play, only for kicker Chad Ryland to miss the extra point wide left. That mistake was the difference between a final outcome and a tie that sent the game to overtime.
In overtime, Dallas won the coin toss and played defense first. Arizona forced its way into Dallas territory and set up Ryland for a redemption kick from 42 yards, which split the uprights to seal a 33-30 Cardinals win.