‘A Bunch Of Blinkers’: Mike Tomlin Rips Dallas Cowboys After 33-30 Overtime Loss To Arizona Cardinals

ARLINGTON, Texas — Mike Tomlin called the Dallas Cowboys “a bunch of blinkers” during NBC’s Sunday Night Football coverage. Hours earlier, Dallas let a 10-point lead with 3:54 left in regulation get away and lost 33-30 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. The former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, in his first season as a studio analyst on NBC’s Football Night in America, said he did not see a player or a unit on the Dallas roster that wanted to “grab the bull by the horns” at the end of the game.

Dallas fell to 3-5 with the loss. Arizona improved to 3-5 and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the teams. The Cardinals are also 5-0 at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009.

Mike Tomlin Singles Out Dallas Cowboys’ Short Field And Overtime Three-And-Out

The offense was as much a part of it as the defense for Tomlin. He said Dallas had a short field after Arizona’s failed onside kick and then went three-and-out in overtime.

“I saw a bunch of blinkers,” Tomlin said. “And what I mean by that, I say, if you’re a blinker, cut your eyelids off. What I mean is, you gotta relish the thick moments. You gotta wanna make the play, as an individual and as a unit within a team. And watching the end of that game, I didn’t see individuals or particular units that wanted to grab the bull by the horns and win the game.”

“Certainly their defense, we can spend a lot of time talking about that two-minute drive and things of that nature, but their offense had a short field when they had an unsuccessful onside kick at the end of regulation, and then they went three-and-out in overtime,” Tomlin continued. “And so I see a team that doesn’t have anybody that wants to be the unit to secure victory. They’re blinkers. They’ve got to cut their eyelids off.”

With 3:54 left, Brandon Aubrey’s 35-yard field goal put Dallas ahead 27-17. Arizona had pulled Jacoby Brissett late in the third quarter, trailing 17-3. Gardner Minshew II answered the field goal with a 6-play, 58-yard drive. Dallas won a replay challenge on that series that overturned a 27-yard catch by Michael Wilson at the Dallas 2. Two snaps later, Rashan Gary was flagged for roughing the passer on a third-and-10 incompletion, and Minshew hit Trey McBride for a 14-yard touchdown on the next play with 2:11 remaining.

Chad Ryland’s onside kick went 9 yards before Ryan Flournoy returned it, and an illegal touch penalty on Arizona gave Dallas the ball at the Arizona 20. The Cowboys lost 3 yards on 3 plays, including a 6-yard sack of Dak Prescott. Aubrey then made a 41-yard field goal for a 30-24 lead with 1:09 to go.

Minshew needed 8 plays and 1:03 to cover 80 yards. Wilson caught passes of 21 and 27 yards on the drive before Minshew found him for a 13-yard touchdown with 6 seconds left. Ryland’s extra point for the lead sailed wide left.

Dallas won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick. After an Arizona punt, the Cowboys ran 3 plays for minus-5 yards, the last a 7-yard sack of Prescott on third-and-8. Arizona then drove 44 yards in 8 plays, and Ryland hit a 42-yard field goal with 2:53 left in overtime.

Minshew finished 17-of-23 for 188 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Tyler Allgeier ran 11 times for 147 yards and 1 touchdown, a 63-yard run on Minshew’s second snap, and caught 5 passes for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. Wilson had 8 catches for 111 yards and 1 touchdown, and McBride had 7 catches for 72 yards and 1 touchdown. Arizona outgained Dallas 467-261, with 286 of those yards coming in the third and fourth quarters.

Prescott went 19-of-29 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions and was sacked 4 times. He also ran 7 times for 20 yards and 1 touchdown. Dallas finished with 93 rushing yards on 39 carries, and Javonte Williams had 24 carries for 56 yards.

For a coaching staff in Dallas’ position, the job is to challenge players one at a time and as a group. The Cowboys have nine games left after Sunday.

“You’ve got to figure out who wants it, and you’ve got to shift your division of labor to those that want it,” Tomlin explained. “And so knowledge of your team is a major component, but also you’ve got to challenge those guys individually and collectively. Tell them you’re looking for that guy and who wants to be it.”

Tomlin Previously Questioned Cowboys’ Rio Finish And Players-Only Meeting

On Sept. 27, hours after Dallas lost 34-31 to Baltimore in Rio de Janeiro on a 56-yard field goal on the final play, Tomlin called the Cowboys’ end-of-game approach “somewhat negligent” during NBC’s halftime coverage, Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported. Tomlin pointed to Dallas kicking a touchback with 7 seconds left and playing man-to-man on the 27-yard completion that set up the kick. He said most teams in that spot play “umbrella zones.”

Dallas defenders held a players-only meeting after a 24-16 loss to Tampa Bay on Oct. 8, according to linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. On the New Heights podcast in mid-October, Tomlin said of what such a meeting symbolizes, “I think you’re dead.” He added that hearing about one is what makes it “B.S.” The Cowboys added Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant around the same time, and the team announced Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker would call the defense from the coaches’ booth.

Tomlin spent 19 seasons as the Steelers’ coach, from 2007 through 2025. Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XLIII in his second season. He stepped down in January, and NBC announced his hiring on April 26. Tomlin used the same line with NBC’s Michelle Tafoya before Pittsburgh’s wild-card game at Kansas City in January 2022. “Don’t blink. If you’re a blinker, cut your eyelids off,” he said then.

Dallas visits the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is noon CT on Fox. The Cowboys beat Indianapolis 54-19 at AT&T Stadium in the teams’ last meeting, on Dec. 4, 2022.