Dallas Cowboys (0-0) vs Arizona Cardinals (0-0) August 22, 2026 10:00 pm EDT The Line: Arizona Cardinals ; Over/Under: (Get latest betting odds)
The Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals meet Saturday in NFL action from State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Here’s a Cardinals vs Cowboys prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cardinals vs Cowboys pick.
The Cowboys had another pretty rough season in 2025. Dallas missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, limping to a 7-9-1 overall record. That would still land the Cowboys in second place in the NFC East, but wasn’t good enough for a postseason berth. Dallas had a solid offense, but the defensive side of the ball was ranked dead last in several statistical metrics, including yards and points allowed per game. The result was another futile season that ended on a 1-4 skid.
In their Saturday preseason opener versus the Seattle Seahawks , Dallas was down early but added a couple of scores in the second and third quarters on the way to a 17-7 victory. Joe Milton went a nice 12-of-15 for 107 yards and a TD while Sam Howell had 94 yards and a score on 8-of-14 passing. Camden Brown caught both touchdowns as part of his three grabs for 62 yards.
On the Cardinals’ side, they have two preseason games in the bag already. First came a 33-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers back on August 6 in the annual Hall of Fame Game. Arizona had a 20-17 lead going into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hang on despite some pretty solid quarterback play from Carson Beck (15-of-19; 188 yards; TD) and Kedon Slovis (9-of-10; 106 yards; TD).
In game two versus the Las Vegas Raiders last Thursday, the Cardinals were able to even up their preseason record with a 27-14 victory. Arizona outscored the Raiders 6-0 in the second half along the way. Gardner Minshew led the QBs this time on 101 yards and two scores from 14-of-16 passing. Corey Kiner led the rush with 59 yards, and Jalen Brooks hauled in six passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
I might take a stab on the Cards here, but anything can happen in preseason, so it’s a coin flip. I’m staying away from this one in reality. Arizona hasn’t looked too bad over their first two exhibition outings, and they took care of a struggling Raiders team quite well last week. In that victory, the Cardinals put up 368 total yards (212 passing), 5.4 yards per play, 23 first downs, 8-of-15 on third-down conversions, and no turnovers. The defense held Vegas to just 16 first downs and 25:35 in time of possession but didn’t generate any turnovers either.
As for the Cowboys, they looked pretty good on Saturday against the Seahawks, for what it’s worth. Dallas did have 13 penalties (for 103 yards) and a lost fumble, but otherwise notched 338 yards (201 passing) on offense with 21 first downs and 11-of-15 on third-down tries. The defense gave up just 156 yards (49 passing) on the other side with 14 first downs and 3.0 yards per play. If the Cowboys can keep that type of play going, they’ll be looking good here.