Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs the ball against the Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker, right, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kyler Murray has never lost at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, where he could return from a two-game absence with a foot injury but won't start as the Arizona Cardinals try to end a five-game losing streak.

Murray could be active and might play Monday night in a venue that's as close to a sure thing as possible for him, but where the 2019 No. 1 overall pick will watch at the beginning as Jacoby Brissett makes a third consecutive start.

Murray is 9-0 at AT&T Stadium, which was first his high school championship venue before it was the place he won a Big 12 title with Oklahoma, and now has two victories leading the Cardinals.

If Arizona ends its skid against the Cowboys (3-4-1), Murray likely won't get credit for this win if he's active. But hey, one of the victories in that perfect record was as the backup at Texas A&M, before he transferred to the Sooners and reached the College Football Playoff twice.

“We've been preparing for Kyler but also had plans knowing you could be facing Jacoby for whatever reason,” said Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who was the quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis when Brissett made 15 starts in place of an injured Andrew Luck in 2017. “The big thing for me about Jacoby is this guy is an incredible leader, very, very smart, big, powerful passer. Very different from Kyler, but both are difficult to sack for different reasons.”

Had he been scheduled to start, Murray would have had some work to do to convince Arizona fans the switch back from Brissett is a good thing.

The 32-year-old veteran backup had 599 yards passing in the first two games Murray missed, boosting a passing offense that was ranked 30th when Murray got hurt.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said the two days before the game would determine whether Murray could be active and have a role in another game against his hometown team.

“He's been pushing, we've been pushing,” Gannon said. “He is getting better. He's had some more work this last week. If he can have a role, he'll have a role.”

A chance to reset

The Cardinals lost all five games on their current skid by a combined 13 points, a shockingly low number. The first three came on last-play field goals. This leads Gannon to believe last week's bye came at a good time.

“I do think it’s a good little time to reset here and really focus on some controllables moving forward as it relates to everybody playing a little bit better,” Gannon said.

Monday, Monday

The Cowboys are about to be just the second NFL team to play consecutive games on a Monday. Their bye is next week, and they visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 17.

The Raiders were the only other team to do it, in 1996 under the same circumstances. The then-Oakland franchise's two Monday night games were separated by the open week.

Dallas has a Thanksgiving Day game every year, along with plenty of prime-time outings. So quirky schedules are nothing new.

“I think people love or hate the Cowboys, and that’s part of why we play, how we play, where we play and whatnot,” Schottenheimer said. “It really doesn’t matter. These guys are going to play anybody any time, anywhere. I can’t say that it’s not something that is definitely noticeable when you look at the schedule.”

Campbell's milestone

Arizona defensive lineman Calais Campbell is set for his 250th start. The 39-year-old — a six-time Pro Bowl selection — has been productive in his 18th NFL season. He has three sacks, two behind team leader Josh Sweat, and 19 tackles.

The milestone will come in the Monday night spotlight for a player who spent his first nine seasons in Arizona as a second-round pick, was a 2017 All-Pro with Jacksonville in the first of eight seasons elsewhere and is now in his first year back with the team that drafted him.

“I don't know if you guys can tell, but I love football,” Campbell said. “It started from being a kid and watching the big prime-time games. Back then there was only a few games on TV, but the Monday night game was always the biggest.”

Take those stats and shove them

The Cowboys are dealing with the frustration of an up-and-down season, including probably their best and worst games in consecutive weeks. A 44-22 victory over Washington was followed by a 44-24 loss at Denver.

All the talk is a team with one of the NFL's best offenses and worst defenses. Schottenheimer is growing weary of the narrative.

“Our scorecard is what it is,” Schottenheimer said. “And that’s not just defensively. That’s offensively. We’re a football team that’s 3-4-1. You can take stats on offense and shove them as far as I’m concerned. It is what it is. We want to win.”

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