Cardinals pull away from sputtering Cowboys

If you’ve ever wished to argue Tony Romo is underpaid, Sunday is Exhibit A in your case.

Though the Cowboys’ defense has been competitive, the Cowboys’ offense has struggled without Romo, their starting quarterback, leaving Dallas chasing a 28-10 defeat late against visiting Arizona.

Cowboys backup quarterback Brandon Weeden has had problems with his command, connecting on just 11-of-23 passes for 103 yards and two picks. Amazingly, with 55 minutes of regulation in the books, Weeden had yet to complete a pass to starting wide receivers Dez Bryant (0-for-8) and Terrance Williams (0-for-2).

The limitations of the Cowboys’ attack without Romo were never more evident than on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. Trailing 14-10, and needing one yard on fourth down, the Cowboys handed off to tailback DeMarco Murray — a reasonable idea, in theory.

However, in practice, the play was doomed. Eight Cardinals stacked the line, and the other three defenders were within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Murray never had a chance, and he was stopped short. The Cardinals capitalized, marching downfield to extend their lead to 21-10.