Cowboys' defense could not hold their water late and suffered their first preseason loss

Dallas- The Cowboys offense came alive in the second half, but it was not enough to pull out a win against the Arizona Cardinals, 19-16.

After a disappointing season where any and everything went wrong, the Dallas Cowboys wanted to close that chapter and focus on a new page with this upcoming season. On Friday, they got that chance to focus on the future against a very tough and disciplined Arizona team in their preseason debut.

Dak Prescott was out of the line-up nursing a shoulder injury, so Garrett Gilbert got the start to open up the game. After a quick three and out on their first possession, the Cowboys' defense stepped up. Keanu Neal forced a fumbled, which put the Cowboys in good field position for a potential score. Dallas decided to attempt two fourth down conversions in the drive. They were successful with one, did not convert on the other, and walked away with nothing to show for the gutsy call.

Outside of their aggressive play in the first quarter,the rest of the half was fairly conservative. There were a couple of dropped passes, overthrown balls, and a fumble late in the second quarter, which halted drives. Gilbert's day was finished mid-way in the second. He finished 7 out of 16 for 80 yards. Cooper Rush finished off the half and helped Dallas tack on another field goal before half. Dallas went into the half down 10-6.

The second half for the Cowboys was an up and down roller coaster ride. On the defensive end of the ball, they did a very good job with keeping Arizona out the endzone, but offensively their offense stalled. Rush had a potential touchdown drive midway in the third. Dallas got into the redzone, but had to settle for another field goal to stay within striking distance. Rush finished his reps at the end of the quarter and finished 7 out of 13 for 89 yards.

Ben DiNucci replaced Rush to close out the fourth. DiNucci sparked a 14 play 80-yard drive that ended with the Cowboys first touchdown of the night with 10 minutes left in regulation. For the first time in the game, the Cowboys had the lead, 16-13. With under three minutes left in the game and the Cardinals threatening to score, the Cowboys defense made some huge plays down the stretch. Arizona got into the redzone, but was forced to kick a field goal, which knotted the game at 16.

The Cowboys had crucial penalties down the stretch which cost them the game.