When the ¶¶ÒõÊÓƵ missed a golden opportunity to get into the end zone in the early minutes of their game at the Denver Broncos, the tone of the day was seemingly set. Field goals weren't going to win this one.
As proven by the Broncos, who would quickly take a lead they would never relinquish, going on to hand the Cowboys a 44-24 drubbing. The loss extended Dallas' losing streak against the Broncos to eight games with the Cowboys having not won a matchup in Denver since the 1992 season.
This one was supposed to feature strength vs. strength with Dallas' top offense going up against the Broncos' formidable defense. Unfortunately, it was the Denver side that held the upper hand throughout most of the game. Under pressure all afternoon, Dak Prescott threw for just 188 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, his first picks since Week 3 at Chicago. That led to a disappointing 51.5 passer rating.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens both had seven catches for 74 and 78 yards, respectively, but tight end Jake Ferguson, who came into the game ranked fourth in the NFL with 51 receptions, was held without a catch.
Not that things were a whole lot better on the ground. Running back Javonte Williams scored twice, but totaled only 41 yards rushing on 13 carries, the Cowboys as a group averaging 3.5 yards per attempt.
Of course, it may have taken an otherworldly effort on the offense's part anyway because the Dallas defense could do little to slow down the Broncos' offensive attack. Denver quarterback Bo Nix exploited a Cowboys secondary that was riddled with injuries and was simply in over its collective heads. He threw for 247 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for a 117.4 rating.
Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins topped 100 yards rushing, totaling 111, but it was rookie R.J. Harvey who had a career day. He ran for just 46 yards but scored twice on the ground and also had a touchdown catch.
Overall, the Cowboys totaled 339 yards of offense while converting 36 percent of their third down tries and 50 percent of their red-zone opportunities. But on the other side of the ball, the Broncos picked up 426 yards with a 63 percent conversion rate on third downs and an 80 percent mark in the red zone.
First Quarter
The Cowboys got off to a good start, but not a great one. Denver chose to take the ball first, but three plays into the game, it was Dallas rookie cornerback Trikweze Bridges taking the ball away from the Broncos with his first career interception. Starting at their own 48-yard line, the Cowboys offense worked its way down to the Denver 1, but after failing to get into the end zone, Brandon Aubrey came out for a chip-shot 24-yard field goal.
And that missed opportunity for an early touchdown soon came back to bite the Cowboys as the Broncos promptly scored touchdowns on their next two possessions to jump out to a 14-3 lead. The first needed only five plays to go 74 yards to the goal line with Harvey scampering untouched 40 yards for the score.
After a Dallas punt, Denver then used just four plays to cover 62 yards for a second touchdown. Nix completed passes of 16, 10 and then 25 during the drive, the last of which was a scoring toss to slot receiver Troy Franklin.
Second Quarter
Thankfully, the Dallas offense found a little rhythm in the second frame. Rookie running back Jaydon Blue got things started with a 14-yard run, although it was a 14-yard pass from Prescott to tight end Luke Schoonmaker later in the series that set the Cowboys up with a first-and-goal at the Denver 1. Williams then got the scoring honors, bulldozing up the middle to close the gap to 14-10.
However, the Broncos responded with 13 more points before the end of the half to essentially put the game away. The big blow on their next possession came via a 32-yard pass interference penalty on rookie safety Alijah Clark, which was followed by an 11-yard catch and run by tight end Evan Engram. Now with a first-and-goal, Harvey took a direct snap back up the middle for the touchdown.
With an unnecessary roughness penalty on Dallas defensive end Sam Williams after the play, the Broncos decided to go for the two-point conversion, but the Cowboys managed to foil the attempt.
Desperately needing to get some more points on the board, Prescott and company instead went a quick three-and-out, which gave Denver plenty of time to increase its lead. With Nix completing all six of his passes, the Broncos marched 72 yards in seven plays and only 1:35 off the clock to score again. The touchdown came when Nix connected with wideout Pat Bryant in the back left corner of the end zone, giving Denver a 27-10 advantage at the break.
Third Quarter
Fortunately, the Dallas offense found its spark again as the second half got underway as the team traveled 65 yards in 13 plays to pay dirt. Prescott was clutch throughout, scrambling 9 yards on third-and-3 at the Cowboys' 42-yard line for a first down before later finding Pickens on fourth-and-3 at the Denver 27-yard line, the receiver making an outstanding tiptoe catch for 17 yards to move the chains.
Helped by a pair of pass interference penalties inside the 10, Dallas got its needed touchdown when Williams drove up the middle for his second score of the game.
At this point, though, the Cowboys defense was showing little signs of slowing down the Broncos. The fact the unit held Denver to a 42-yard field goal on its next series was perhaps a small victory of sorts. Regardless, Dallas was now down 30-17.
Fourth Quarter
Last week, the Broncos had an unlikely 33-point fourth quarter to pull off a come-from-behind victory over the New York Giants. The Cowboys, though, would not capture that same magic in this one, especially with Dallas now having to employ a cornerback at safety due to a rib injury to Clark.
After the Cowboys made the decision to punt on fourth-and-6 at their own 44-yard line, the Broncos came right back with a 12-play, 84-yard drive for the score. Nix picked apart the ragtag secondary, his final 7-yard throw going to a wide-open Franklin in the end zone.
While the outcome was already decided, Prescott tried his best to make the scoreboard at least look respectable. But on first-and-10 at the Denver 11-yard line, he and Lamb weren't on the same page, leading to an interception by linebacker Dondrea Tillman, who returned the pick 38 yards to the Broncos' 45.
That led to yet another score for Harvey. This time, Nix covered the final 5 yards of their drive by finding the young rusher running free on the right side for the easy pitch and catch.
With that, Prescott, Lamb and Pickens' days were done. In case of too little too late, backup quarterback Joe Milton came into the game and promptly led Dallas 65 yards in six plays to the end zone. The touchdown came thanks to a 35-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert, the first for both players this season, to wrap up the game's scoring, 44-24.
