There was an bucolic time in the storied history of the Arizona Cardinals Football Club when they were a member of the mighty NFC East. Division foes included the likes of the Washington Redskins and America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys. The Boys (7-4) are back again and the odds favor them on the road against the 3-7 Cardinals.
Of course, the Cowboys coming to town isn't exactly a "special" occasion. They have played here three times since 2006 and will be making their fourth appearance at University of Phoenix Stadium this Sunday. The Cardinals last played in Big D in 2005.
The opening line for this game has the Cowboys favored by 5.5-points. They are coming off a Thanksgiving Day win over the Dolphins at home which gives them a few extra days rest headed into this game. Tony Romo is healthy and doing his thing (whatever that is) and their rookie running back sensation, DeMarco Murray, will test the recently improve Cardinals defense.
Arizona should have Kevin Kolb back under center after his backup, John Skelton, managed a 3-1 record despite very mediocre play. How Kolb responds to his first game back after missing four weeks with a foot injury will be the big story line for this game. In fact, how Kolb plays the rest of the season will be the big story line until the final whistle blows on January 1.
The Cardinals franchise record against the Cowboys is a miserable 29-55-1 but none of those teams had the no-longer secret weapon, Patrick Peterson. Arizona also, you might recall, beat the Cowboys on Christmas Day thriller last year to record the upset and notch their fifth win of the season.