‘They Stink’: Former Dallas Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci Rips Team, Reveals What He Saw Inside Organization

FRISCO, Texas — Ben DiNucci called the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday “absolutely embarrassing” during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ. The former Cowboys quarterback said the effort was not there for Dallas, which led 27-17 with 3:54 left in regulation at AT&T Stadium.

With the loss, Dallas fell to 3-5 and still has not won consecutive games this season. Arizona also moved to 3-5. The Cardinals have won five straight regular-season meetings between the teams and are 5-0 at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009.

Dallas led 24-10 with 14:20 left. Before Sunday, the Cowboys were 202-0-1 at home when leading by 14 or more points in the fourth quarter, including the playoffs, CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell reported.

DiNucci said the Cowboys have talent on both sides of the ball and that the letdowns have come year after year and week after week. He was not sure what needs to change.

“This was absolutely embarrassing today,” DiNucci said. “They stink. I’m lost for words, honestly. They have so much talent on both sides of the ball, and year after year, week after week, all we see is just letdowns from them. I’m not sure what needs to change. … But at some point, the same old, same old in Dallas for the Cowboys, it’s not cutting it. Something needs to change. Somebody needs to look themselves in the mirror. I don’t know who it is, but that was an embarrassing loss for them.”

Ben DiNucci Questions Dallas Cowboys’ Effort After Arizona Cardinals Rally

Effort was the issue for DiNucci. He said he hates questioning it from NFL players, because everyone in the league understands what goes on inside locker rooms and organizations from day to day.

“It comes down to effort for the Dallas Cowboys,” DiNucci explained. “When you turn on the tape week in and week out, and I honestly hate questioning guys’ effort in the NFL because all of us understand what goes on on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis inside those locker rooms and organizations, but the effort is not there for the Cowboys. You never know what team you’re getting week in and week out. You can tell run play from pass play based on what effort guys are giving on offense.”

Arizona coach Mike LaFleur replaced Jacoby Brissett with Gardner Minshew II with 1:35 left in the third quarter and the Cardinals trailing 17-3. On Minshew’s second snap, Tyler Allgeier ran 63 yards for a touchdown. Allgeier finished with 11 carries for 147 yards and 1 touchdown, and he caught 5 passes for 44 yards and 1 touchdown.

Minshew went 17-of-23 for 188 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, all three scores coming in the fourth quarter. After Brandon Aubrey’s 41-yard field goal put Dallas ahead 30-24 with 1:09 left, Minshew needed 1:03 to cover 80 yards. He found Michael Wilson for a 13-yard touchdown with 6 seconds remaining. Chad Ryland pushed the go-ahead extra point wide left after making his previous 58, according to The Associated Press.

Dallas won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick. After an Arizona punt, the Cowboys ran 3 plays for minus-5 yards, and Ryland made a 42-yard field goal with 2:53 left in overtime. Later that night on NBC, Mike Tomlin called the Cowboys “a bunch of blinkers.”

DiNucci Calls On Dak Prescott, Quinnen Williams, CeeDee Lamb To Take Control

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after the game that a coaching change was “not in my mind at this time.” Dallas is 10-14-1 under Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who is in his second season. In 38 years of owning the team, Jones has made one in-season coaching change, firing Wade Phillips during the 2010 season.

Dallas drafted DiNucci out of James Madison in the seventh round in 2020. He made his NFL debut against Arizona at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 19, 2020, and his only start came at Philadelphia on Nov. 1, 2020. Across 3 games, he went 23-of-43 for 219 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. The Cowboys kept him on their practice squad in 2021 and waived him in August 2022. He now works as a college football analyst for CBS Sports.

Dak Prescott went 19-of-29 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions on Sunday and was sacked 4 times. Quinnen Williams had 7 tackles and 2 sacks. CeeDee Lamb caught 7 passes for 58 yards, and two of Prescott’s late throws to him were batted down at the line, one of them in overtime.

The change DiNucci wants has to come from the leaders inside the locker room. He also pointed to the attention that comes with playing for the Cowboys, which he saw on off days during his time with the team.

“At some point, something inside that locker room needs to change,” DiNucci said. “The leaders, whoever it is: Dak Prescott, Quinnen Williams, CeeDee Lamb. Whoever it is, somebody needs to take control of that locker room and say, ‘Guys, whatever we’re doing right now is simply not working. We need to scrap this thing. We need to ignore the outside noise.’”

“I think a lot of the problem in Dallas is there’s so much going on outside the game of football there,” DiNucci continued. “It’s hard for guys to compartmentalize football from what’s going on off the field. I can say that. I was there for a couple of years. I saw it firsthand on Mondays and Tuesdays; when I’m working out on off days, they’re running tours through the facility, letting people see us work out and meetings and this and that. There’s just a lot that comes with being a Dallas Cowboys football player, and I wonder if that at some point starts to take a toll on guys.”

The Cowboys have been headquartered at The Star in Frisco since 2016.

Dallas visits the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 8 at Lucas Oil Stadium, with kickoff set for noon CT on FOX. The Cowboys then host the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 15, the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 22, and the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26. Dallas has its bye in Week 14, the latest bye for the franchise since 1990.