GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jay Feely's 48-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar with 5 seconds to go to thwart a big Dallas rally and give the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night.
Dallas (5-10) rallied from 18 points down to take a 26-24 lead when Stephen McGee, in his first NFL game, threw 45 yards to Miles Austin for a touchdown with 1:46 to play. But David Buehler's extra point went wide left and was no good.
Arizona (5-10) was in deep trouble after the kickoff, but rookie John Skelton, on fourth-and-15 from the Cardinals 19, threw 26 yards to fellow rookie Max Komar. Then, the Cardinals slipped into Feely's range. Feely, who had a 49-yarder earlier, has missed three kicks all season, including a 49-yard attempt Saturday night.
Dallas fell behind 14-0 when Kitna had interceptions returned for touchdowns on the Cowboys' first two possessions.
On a wild Christmas night under clear skies, with at least half the capacity crowd cheering for Dallas, the Cardinals took a 21-3 lead. Skelton, in his third NFL start, connected with wide-open rookie Andre Roberts on a 74-yard play for the young quarterback's first NFL touchdown pass.
Kitna, the starter since Tony Romo went down with a broken collarbone, got Dallas in the end zone before halftime. The 38-year-old quarterback scrambled 7 yards up the middle to the Arizona 2-yard line, and on fourth down threw to Jason Witten for the score. He left the field and immediately went to the locker room with a hip injury and didn't play again, watching from the sideline wearing a baseball cap.
McGee, a fourth-round draft pick out of Texas A&M in 2009, smoothly stepped in, repeatedly connecting on third-down passes.
The Cowboys dominated the third quarter, holding Arizona to 23 yards and no first downs, outscoring the Cardinals 10-0 to cut the lead to 21-20.