DALLAS vs DENVER 

BRONCOS WIN 44 – 24

• Story of the Game – Dallas needs a new defense and Denver does enough to slow down Dak and company 

As the Broncos’ defense was able to slow down this Cowboys’ offense early on despite being put in a tough position after a INT by Nix on the first drive the Broncos’ offense really came alive and started to break off big gains and in turn scores that closed off the Cowboys chances fairly early in this game. While the Cowboys’ offense did a solid job at getting to short 3rd down situations and/or in the red zone they weren’t able to take advantage and convert in those situations which allowed Denvers’ explosive plays and scores on offense to open up the game far too much to recover from despite them having successful scoring drives down the stretch of this game. Denver’s pass rush ahead a huge impact as they have all year but the most promising take away for them has to be the increased role of RJ Harvey and the effect it had on this game along with another rookie, Pat Bryant, steeping up and showing out this game as well. While the Broncos have a number of positive takeaways and must be feeling good about what’s to come with the rest of this season the Cowboys have to be concerned with the consistent issues that this defense shows. The lack of pass rush (who would have guessed this would have happened after trading Micah) and inability to hold up in zone coverage in the secondary are clear issues with this team and I don’t see a path on this roster that will change the results for this group.

• Key Notes for the Broncos 

When this Broncos offense is able to break off explosives like they did this game it really changes the entire outlook of their team. When Harvey, Bryant, Sutton, and Franklin are able to break off these chunks plays and especially when they’re able to score not only does it take a lot stress of Nix to be perfect it allows their defense to reach their full potential as the opposing offense is then playing catch up against a defense that is built to dominate with their pass rush. If they can continue to replicate this moving forward this team should scare just about every other in the AFC and league overall.

While this defense has been impressive for the large majority of this season I thought their ability to come up with crucial stops on 3rd downs and in the red zone made all the difference against a really efficient Dallas offense. While they only wracked up 2 sacks they were able to pressure Dak far more often than that which led to 2 INTs and this team holding Dallas in check for the large majority of this game. 

• Surtain II injured his pec and exited the rest of the game around half way through the 3rd Q

• Key Notes for the Cowboys 

While Dak Prescott had a rough day when you’re looking at the box score I really think that speaks more to the Denver defense and the level they played at. They limited Pickens and Lamb to around 75yds each but most importantly they didn’t allow any non explosive gains or Touchdowns between those to despite targets being thrown their way. The pass rush of the Broncos really bullied the Cowboys OL at times and certainly was one of their worse games of the season despite only giving up 2 sacks and showing some really quality reps when run blocking this game.

The defense continues to struggle as Matt Eberflus tries to force this team into his style of defense with heavy zone coverage and 4 man pass rushes meanwhile this team is built to do the complete opposite. This team should be utilizing their athletes at LB by blitzing and playing man coverage and utilize their talented playmakers in the secondary by allowing them to play man or match zones. Without the pass rush this style of defense is not going to work and without Micah Parsons being on this team anymore they’re only shooting themselves in the foot by playing the way that they do.

• Standout Performers 

DEN 

Bo Nix – 19/29  247yds  4/1 

RJ Harvey – 7/46  2 TDs – 1/5 rec

JK Dobbins – 15/111 – 2/10 rec

Troy Franklin – 6/89  2 TDs 

Pat Bryant – 2/40  1 TD

Jahdae Barron – 2 Tackles  1 INT  1 PBU

John Franklin-Meyers – 2 Tackles  1 Sack  1 TFL 

DAL

Javonte Williams – 13/41  2 TDs – 1/8 rec

CeeDee Lamb – 7/74 

Trikweze Bridges – 4 Tackles  1 INT  2 PBUs