Gardner Minshew came off the bench to lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 33-30 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, after starter Jacoby Brissett was pulled late in the third quarter.
Arizona trailed 17-3 when Brissett was benched. He had completed just 10 of 23 passes for 119 yards with an interception and had been sacked four times, including twice on consecutive plays during his final possession.
Minshew took over and immediately changed the game. On his first snap he completed a seven-yard pass to Devin Duvernay. Running back Tyler Allgeier then broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown, cutting the Cowboys’ lead to 17-10.
Arizona kept clawing back, and Minshew eventually directed a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Michael Wilson, tying the game at 30 in the final seconds of regulation. A missed extra point by kicker Chad Ryland kept the Cardinals from taking the lead outright.
Ryland got another shot in overtime after Arizona’s defense stopped Dallas to open the extra period. Minshew led an eight-play, 44-yard drive, and Ryland delivered a 42-yard field goal for the win, pushing the Cardinals to 3-5 on the season.
The comeback followed a rough stretch for Arizona, which entered the game at 2-5 after losing five of its previous six games. Brissett had completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 1,600 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions on the year, with an 82.8 passer rating, before Sunday’s benching.
Sunday marked Minshew’s first regular-season appearance with the Cardinals. He was a sixth-round pick by Jacksonville in 2019 and threw for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns against six interceptions as an unexpected rookie starter. He spent two seasons with the Jaguars, then backed up Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia starting in 2021.
Minshew signed with Indianapolis in 2023 and took over after rookie Anthony Richardson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, throwing for 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions that season and earning his first Pro Bowl nod. He joined the Raiders in 2024 before a broken collarbone cut that stint short, then spent last season backing up Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
