Glendale, AZ (Sportsbooks) - Sean Morey blocked a Mat McBriar punt in overtime and Monty Beisel scooped it up and dove into the end zone for the winning score, as Arizona edged the
Dallas Cowboys, 30-24.
After Nick Folk nailed a 52-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, Dallas won the toss and started from its own 22, but Tony Romo was sacked and fumbled on the first play. He got the ball back but two incompletions set up a punt from the 15. McBriar was swarmed by both Morey and Beisel for the easy score from three yards out.
Kurt Warner was 22-of-30 for 236 yards and two touchdowns and an interception, while Steve Breaston hauled in eight catches for 102 yards and a score. Larry Fitzgerald also caught a TD, part of a five-catch, 79-yard performance for Arizona (4-2), which extended an impressive streak at home with its sixth straight win dating back to last season. The Cardinals have also defeated Dallas five of the last six times they visited Arizona.
"I can't remember when it was this crazy at the end," said Warner. "It was a great football game and we're excited to get out of here with a win."
Romo hit on 24-of-39 pass attempts for 321 yards and three scores, while Marion Barber racked up 173 all-purpose yards -- 45 rushing and 128 receiving -- including a 70-yard TD catch.
Patrick Crayton caught a 55-yard TD catch, one of three grabs for 84 yards for the Cowboys (4-2), who could ill afford a setback in the stacked NFC East. Dallas fell into a tie for second with the Washington Redskins, who were shocked at home by the St.Louis Rams earlier in the day to also fall to 4-2. The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants are tops in the standings with a 4-0 mark and host Cleveland Monday night.
"You're upset when you don't win because you put so much time and effort into it," said Romo. "This season isn't going to go straight on this narrow path. It would be nice, easy and cozy to have a Sunday drive, but you're going to have ups and downs. We didn't play good enough football today to win. We have to look at each other, go back and not let this happen again."
Arizona got the ball back with the game knotted 14-14 and Warner got some help from his receivers as both Fitzgerald and Breaston made acrobatic receptions to move the chains on an 89-yard drive, stretching into the final stanza. On 1st-and-10 from the Dallas 11, Warner hit Breaston on a perfectly executed post pattern to take the lead 21-14 with 10:44 to play.
Arizona's defense tightened and forced a three-and-out from Dallas and Warner led a drive that stalled at the Cowboys' 23-yard-line, and Neil Rackers split the uprights from 41 yards for a 24-14 game with 3:17 remaining.
Trailing by two scores, Dallas needed a big play and fast -- and they got both, as Romo dumped it off on the fourth play of the drive to Barber, who sprinted past two defenders up the left sideline after getting key initial blocks from both Terrell Owens and Miles Austin. Barber cut back to the middle and dove across the goal-line with a Cardinal defender draped on his back for a 70-yard TD that took just 1:17 off the clock.
Leonard Davis was flagged for spiking the ball after the play, a 15-yard personal foul, and the Cowboys squibbed a kick that gave Arizona the ball on its own 43-yard-line. Dallas had two timeouts left and used both around two unsuccessful runs by Tim Hightower and DeMarcus Ware came up with a huge sack of Warner on 3rd-and-7 and Dallas got the ball back with 50 seconds remaining and a chance to tie the game.
Romo hit Jason Witten up the seam for a 30-yard gain on 3rd-and-11 and the Cowboys rushed to the line for a spike by Romo at the Arizona 39 with four seconds on the clock. A five-yard offsides penalty was assessed to Arizona after Travis LaBoy appeared to be injured and could not get back to the line of scrimmage for the spike. That moved Folk into better position to hit from 52 yards. The Cardinals collapsed the line and blocked his attempt but Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt called a timeout before the ball was snapped, giving Folk a second chance. He hit it true from the same distance the second time to force the extra session.
The Cardinals opened the game in explosive fashion with a 93-yard kickoff return for a TD by J.J. Arrington, the second of his career. Arrington came up the left sideline and cut back to the middle to beat all but one Cowboy defender and followed a horde of blockers the rest of the way.
Sloppy play on offense ensued from both teams. A Warner fumble, and then an interception helped stymie two drives but Romo also lost a fumble. Neither team could capitalize on their respective turnovers, however, and the Cardinals carried their 7-0 lead until the last minute of the first half.
The Cowboys moved the ball to their own 45 with 1:10 left to play in the half, their best field position of the game to that point, and Romo let fly a short pass on a crossing pattern by Crayton. Crayton split two defenders in turning upfield and sprinted 55 yards to the end zone, tying the game 7-7 at the break.
The second half provided a complete turnaround on offense for both teams. The Cowboys started with the ball and Romo methodically carved his way 77 yards and on the 12th play of the drive found Austin at the goal-line and the wideout backed into the end zone for a 14-yard score.
Warner then got the Cardinals on the move with an 11-play, 60-yard scoring drive, and hit Fitzgerald for a five-yard TD along the right boundary of the end zone. Dallas head coach Wade Phillips challenged the play to say Fitzgerald did not get both feet in bounds and it was overturned. However, the tandem was undeterred and Warner hit Fitzgerald for a two-yard score two plays later to match Romo and the Cowboys' at 14-14 with 3:21 remaining in the third.
Game Notes
The Cardinals are now 9-2 at home under Whisenhunt, who took over as head coach at the start of last season...Arizona has outscored their opponents in Glendale by a 102-41 margin this year...Owens caught four passes for 36 yards and had a six-yard run...Romo fumbled three times, losing one...Austin's lone catch was for a touchdown...Dallas' Felix Jones gained 22 yards on three carries and was sidelined late in the game with a left hamstring injury...Edgerrin James led the Cardinals' rushing attack with 29 yards on nine carries.
