The Cowboys have placed starting safety Roy Williams on I.R. ending his season as he broke his arm for the 2nd time this season last weekend against the Rams.  Williams only has six tackles this season but he is a force against the running game and the Cowboys will miss him.  CB Pacman Jones has been suspended indefinately by the NFL for an altercation with a bodyguard.  He likely has played the last game of his career with the Cowboys.  Jones has 25 tackles this season and he has returned 16 punts for 80 yards (5.0 avg) proving that he isn’t worth the headaches he brings to an organization.

Tony Romo will miss his second game tomorrow for the Cowboys due to a broken pinkie finger.  He is the leader of the offense and it showed last week when the Rams kicked the Cowboys’ ass last week.  Romo has completed 128 of 200 passes (64%) for 1,689 yards with 14 TD passes and 5 interceptions (103.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 11 times for 7 yards (0.6 ypc) but most of his carries have been kneel downs to win games.  Brad Johnson is ancient and he appears to have lost his edge at his advanced age.  He has completed 17 of 34 passes (50%) this season for 234 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (45.5 QB Rating).  The Cowboys need Romo back and healthy soon or this season will continue to spin out of control for them.

This should be a outstanding football game as Coach Ken Whisenhunt of the Cardinals is 8-2 at home in his young NFL career.  The Cardinals will likely come out firing the football against the Cowboys but they must give Kurt Warner the time he needs to survey the field and avoid mistakes.  The Cardinals have allowed 12 sacks this season and the Cowboys have 14 already this season!  Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston should have good games against a Cowboys’ defense that is allowing 210.2 yards passing per game.  The Cardinals would like to run the football with Edgerrin James and rookie Tim Hightower if they get a lead to protect.

The Cowboys will likely engage in a shootout with the Cardinals as Terrell Owens and Jason Witten could be set up for big games against a Cardinals’ defense allowing 204.2 yards passing per game (103.9 QB Rating).  The Cardinals have 15 sacks this season and they will be blitzing Tony Romo all game long so it will be up to the Cowboys’ O-Line which has allowed only 4 sacks this season to protect him and give him time to survey the field.  Still, the Cowboys will also pound the ball on the ground at the Cardinals with Marion Barber (395 yards rushing, 4.2 ypc) and Felix Jones (244 yards rushing, 9.0 ypc).

PREDICTION:  DALLAS COWBOYS 37, ARIZONA CARDINALS 34

The Bengals were feisty last week cutting the Cowboys’ to 24-22 with 7:39 left in the game.  That’s when Tony Romo worked some magic leading the Cowboys on a 11 play, 80 yard drive that resulted in a TD as Romo hit Patrick Crayton on a tipped pass for 15 yards.  The Cowboys played this game kinda close to the vest as they kept the ball on the ground most of the game.  Felix Jones led the Cowboys in rushing despite only carrying the ball 9 times as he finished with 96 yards (10.7 ypc) with a TD.  Marion Barber was also busy carrying the ball 23 times for 84 yards (3.7 ypc).  Jason Witten (8 rec, 79 yards) and Terrell Owens (2 rec, 67 yards) each pitched in with a TD grab in this game.  Romo completed 14 of 23 passes for 176 yards with 3 TDs and 1 interception.  The defense was outstanding for the Cowboys against the Bengals holding them to 269 total yards of offense.  The Cowboys improved to 4-1 on the season with this win.

Carson Palmer has been throwing the ball well in practice and the Bengals have their fingers crossed that he will be ready to start against the Cowboys on Sunday.  If they have to start Ryan Fitzpatrick again this game could turn into a bloodbath.  The Bengals should just come out throwing the ball in this game as T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Chris Henry could give the Cowboys’ D big trouble if Palmer has time to throw the ball.  That’s a big if as the Bengals have allowed 12 sacks this season and the Cowboys’ D also has 12 sacks this year.  The Cowboys don’t have a great run defense but Chris Perry (208 yards, 2.9 ypc, 2 TDs) has not looked good this year.

The Cowboys would like to have a balanced offense against the Bengals and that will be possible as the Bengals are allowing 164.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 ypc this season.  Marion Barber should have a huge game against the Bengals tomorrow.  The Bengals’ defense only has 2 sacks this season so Tony Romo should have all day to pick apart the pass D.  Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, T.O. and Miles Austin should all have big games here.

PREDICTION:  WITH CARSON PALMER:  DALLAS COWBOYS 31, CINCINNATI BENGALS 21

                             WITHOUT CARSON PALMER:  DALLAS COWBOYS 49, CINCINNATI BENGALS 3