Arizona at Dallas


Focal Point: Aikman vs. Plummer


Inside the Cardinals playbook


Big turnaround in Big D


Cowboys fear Snake's bite


Deion now 'doubtful' for playoff opener with Cardinals


Knee injury won't keep Cards' Sanders down


Playoffs no mirage in desert


'Boys wary of cardiac Cards

CARDINALS (9-7) at COWBOYS (10-6)
Running game
Cardinals run offense vs. Cowboys run defense Advantage: Even The Cardinals have two good backs in Adrian Murrell and Larry Centers. But the Cowboys are pretty good at stopping the run, especially with Leon Lett on their defensive line. Defensively, they're better against the run than against the pass because of the loss of Deion Sanders. Murrell rushed for 1,042 yards, and Centers can run the football. But I don't think the running game is going to win the game for the Cardinals. The Cowboys can shut down Murrell, and the Cardinals' offensive line isn't very good. Arizona is more of a finesse team than a power team.	Cowboys run offense vs. Cardinals run defense Advantage: Cowboys This matchup is not close. The Cardinals couldn't stop the Chargers with Terrell Fletcher last week. They have a hard time stopping anyone on the ground. In two games against Arizona, Emmitt Smith has rushed for 122 and 118 yards, respectively. If you're going to beat the Cardinals, you run right at them. Simeon Rice and Andre Wadsworth are going to be great players as bookends on the Cardinals' defensive line, but run defense is not their strength. The Cowboys can pound on Arizona with big Larry Allen and company. They can hand the ball to Smith 30 times and achieve the ball-control attack they prefer.
Passing game
Cardinals pass offense vs. Cowboys pass defense Advantage: Cardinals The Cardinals have a decided advantage here. Jake Plummer threw for 465 yards in the last meeting with Dallas. It's amazing to me the fall-off the Cowboys experience without Sanders in the secondary. Kevin Mathis, Deion's replacement, might be a good player, but he's not nearly in Sanders' class. Frank Sanders has had a wonderful year, and Rob Moore is a great possession receiver. Centers is one of the better third-down backs in the league. Like Dorsey Levens in Green Bay, he's very good at catching the ball out of the backfield. Arizona has a lot of threats. While Dallas has the speed on defense with its linebackers, Plummer is a playmaker. He's athletic enough to make huge plays. Sanders and Moore can make a huge difference on the outside.	Cowboys pass offense vs. Cardinals pass defense Advantage: Cowboys If the Cowboys throw 22-28 times, they'll win. That plays right into what Troy Aikman and Chan Gailey want to do. Here's a typical Aikman line: 21-for-28 passing, 252 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. He's a very high-percentage passer, and he'll often throw less than that. If the Cowboys are playing their game, that's the type of line you'll see from Aikman. The biggest dropoff the Cowboys have had in the last few years is that David Lafleur and Eric Bjornson are not Jay Novacek. Dallas leans on the tight end a lot. However, I always have to give Aikman and Michael Irvin the advantage. Aeneas Williams is very good at cornerback for Arizona. He'll play Irvin for four quarters. Rookie Corey Chavous has come in and done a great job at the other cornerback spot, and Kwamie Lassiter had four interceptions last week. They're doing a solid job of ball-hawking. But Dallas has been down this road too many times, and the Cowboys can be explosive.
Special teams
Advantage: Cardinals Chris Jacke is confident kicking the ball right now. Richie Cunningham of Dallas is good, but Jacke has won three games in a row and nailed the 52-yarder last Sunday to put the Cardinals in the playoffs. With Deion Sanders, it would be a decided advantage for the Cowboys, even with Eric Metcalf returning kicks for the Cardinals. Sanders frightens your punter to death, even when he doesn't catch the ball. But without Sanders, there's a big dropoff. Metcalf made a big difference in the victory over the Chargers with his 46-yard return to set up Jacke's field goal. He can go the distance. I think special teams will play a bigger factor in this game than any of the others this weekend.
Coaching
Advantage: Even It's a wash between the two defensive coordinators, Dave Campo of Dallas and Dave McGinnis of Arizona. Campo probably has better veterans, but McGinnis has better young athletes who will be great in three or four years. Offensively, Gailey calls the plays for Dallas, and Marc Trestman, the Cardinals' offensive coordinator, understands he has a great thing with Plummer. Vince Tobin has more experience, but Gailey has done a good job in keeping the Cowboys focused.
Overall
Advantage: Cowboys Dallas will try to control the line of scrimmage, not let Plummer have 40 throws, keep Aikman's throws in the 22-28 range, and let Smith run the ball between 25-35 times. If the Cowboys get that, they win. They will be in short-yardage situations a lot because of their running game. This game will hinge on how well the Cowboys run. If it's a shootout, I don't believe they'll win. If they face a team like Arizona that can throw the ball, they're in trouble without Deion. But they'll win at home and could win as many as two playoff games. If the game's close, though, and Plummer and the Cardinals have the ball, don't turn the TV off. You do not want that situation if you're a Cowboys fan.