This Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals (4-7) welcome the Dallas Cowboys (7-4) to the University of Phoenix Stadium for a showdown between two past NFC East rivals. The Cowboys, who have won four in a row and five of their last six, sit atop the NFC East thanks to the play of their quarterback, Tony Romo.
Since the beginning of November, Romo has been played his best football of the season, compiling 1,067 yards, 10 TDs and only 2 INTs. Over this span, Romo’s top target was Laurent Robinson, who has taken the place of an injured Miles Austin (hamstring injury on October 30th) and caught 7 TDs in his absence.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones says Austin has been moving around “real well” and expects him to make his return to the lineup this weekend; however, Jones did say the Cowboys will proceed with caution and do not want to re-aggravate Austin’s injury. If Austin does return, it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys use both him and Robinson, and how the Cardinals try to cover both receivers.
The Cardinals, winners of three of their last four, are coming off a 23-20 victory over the St. Louis Rams (2-9). The Cardinals have been playing without their starting quarterback Kevin Kolb for the last four games due to a case of turf toe. In Monday’s press conference, coach Ken Wisenhunt said he is “optimistic” that Kolb will return to action this Sunday. If Kolb can’t play, than second year quarterback John Skelton will start.
Skelton has filled in for Kolb the last four weeks, winning three games; however, he has been very inaccurate, throwing 4 TDs and 7 INTs. No matter who is under center for the Cardinals, they will be looking to throw to Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best wide receiver in all of football. In a down season, the receiver out of the University of Pittsburg has 51 receptions, 888 yards and 6 TDs this season, and he is averaging 17.4 yards per catch.
If Kolb can return to the lineup, this game has the potential to turn into a shootout, but the Cowboys have the edge and look to keep their slim advantage in the NFC East. After this game, the Cowboys play the New York Giants twice in the last four games, which will ultimately decide the Beast of the East.
