Hello darkness, my all too familiar friend. Needing a win to keep pace in the NFC playoff chase, the Cowboys needed to pull off an upset. Instead, fans were upset. The Cowboys rolled into the Mile High City only to be trampled by the Denver Broncos. Dak Prescott’s MVP candidacy likely came to a screeching […] Hello darkness, my all too familiar friend. Needing a win to keep pace in the NFC playoff chase, the Cowboys needed to pull off an upset. Instead, fans were upset. The Cowboys rolled into the Mile High City only to be trampled by the Denver Broncos. Dak Prescott’s MVP candidacy likely came to a screeching halt after a poor performance where his streak of at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions was snapped. Conditions were not ideal, but Prescott wasn’t making matters any better. His two interceptions took potential points off the board for a team that needed a shootout just to have an outside chance of winning. That said, it wasn’t only Prescott responsible for the team’s struggles; many other factors contributed to the embarrassing loss. Here are three more reasons why Dallas lost against Denver. Penalties Playing against a quality opponent in a hostile environment, the Cowboys needed to be at their best to play sound football. Dallas failed at that, which resulted in a sloppy performance throughout. Being undermanned and getting beaten between the whistles is somewhat understandable, but what cannot be excused is that they failed to limit pre-snap penalties. After Trikweze Bridges’ interception of Bo Nix, the Cowboys started off with a promising drive to open the game and were on the doorstep of taking a 7-0 lead. That is, until Tyler Guyton had a false start penalty when Dallas had 3rd-and-goal from the one-yard line. Technically, the penalty was called on Brock Hoffman, but video evidence clearly shows Guyton moving before the snap to force the Cowboys in 3rd-and-goal from the 6-yard line, ultimately resulting in a field goal versus a touchdown. On Dallas’ next drive, Guyton had a false start penalty that placed Dallas in second and long after a positive gain by Javonte Williams. The drive then stalled after Guyton allowed a sack on Dak Prescott as it was not a very disciplined sequence of plays for Guyton. Also, edge rusher James Houston had a brutal offsides penalty. Had it not been for Houston lining up offside, the Cowboys would have forced Denver to punt and had the opportunity to take a two-score lead, potentially changing the course of the entire game. That’s just a few early examples of Dallas’ lack of attention to detail hurting them almost as badly as the Broncos could have. In all, Dallas committed nine penalties for 80 yards of field position. The only penalty that resulted in a positive outcome was Sam Williams’ unnecessary roughness penalty, which tempted the Broncos to attempt a two-conversion, which failed. The Cowboys were beating themselves. A defenseless defense Where do we start? Yes, the Dallas secondary is very depleted. Trevon Diggs was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, Juanyeh Thomas was inactive as was Donovan Wilson, but still the secondary is not performing even at an acceptable level given the circumstances. Despite getting an interception, Bridges was often picked on by Bo Nix and allowed multiple touchdowns in pass coverage. Also, the secondary cannot seem to get on the right page in zone coverage. Countless times this season we’ve seen the secondary lose a receiver in zone coverage, and the players on the field look confused as to whose assignment it was to pick up someone running uncovered in the secondary. A prime example was Dallas having Denver backed up on 1st-and-20 from the Dallas 25-yard line. No problem for Nix and company. The Cowboys lost Troy Franklin in the middle of their zone defense, and he caught an uncontested touchdown in the middle of the end zone. Furthermore, the secondary allowed too many runs by Denver to be bounced outside for big gains. RJ Harvey had a 40-yard score on a toss play, and JK Dobbins saw plenty of green grass outside the tackle box when Dallas cornerbacks failed to funnel the runs back inside. The front seven isn’t off the hook either. The linebackers didn’t do a good job with their eye discipline, and because of it, it opened up holes in the zone defense for Denver’s play-action passes. Lastly, as a unit, Dallas recorded zero sacks, and Nix was very comfortable in picking apart a wounded defense. Coaching Brian Schottenheimer didn’t put his players in enough positions to be successful Sunday. It starts from the beginning. Once CeeDee Lamb beat Riley Moss for a 29-yard gain to the Denver 3-yard line, and Javonte Williams got to the 1-yard line on first down, the natural process would be to run it again with Williams behind Dallas’ good run-blocking interior. Instead, Schottenheimer opted to get too cute and pass on a well-covered play by Denver which ultimately led to Guyton’s false start penalty. At the very least, you could’ve designed the play-action pass to get one of the backs or tight ends in the flat near the front pylon, but it appears Schottenheimer outsmarted himself. Then later, with his team down 30-17 and facing 4th-and-6 near midfield, Schottenheimer elected to punt instead of going for it on fourth down. Not sure why that would be the wise decision, considering how bad the defense has played up until that point. To no one’s surprise, the defense allowed the Broncos to go 12 plays for 85 yards and add another score that effectively sealed the Cowboys’ fate. Schottenheimer has done a good job until this point in his first season as head coach, but he coached much too conservatively against Denver and overthought the most obvious and easy answers. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Their activity in Week 8 is now officially over. The game took place on October 26th which is a significant time in the world of television. Annual ratings are about to be assessed and established and typically we see the NFL and its broadcast partners […] The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Their activity in Week 8 is now officially over. The game took place on October 26th which is a significant time in the world of television. Annual ratings are about to be assessed and established and typically we see the NFL and its broadcast partners get particularly strategic with how they schedule games/teams to set themselves up in as best of a position as possible. We can see this with the next seven weeks and how the NFL has strategically lined up the Cowboys. Consider that from now through Week 14 the Cowboys will play on a Sunday just one single time. Week 9: Cowboys vs. Cardinals (Monday Night Football on ESPN) Week 10: BYE Week 11: Cowboys at Raiders (Monday Night Football on ESPN) Week 12: Cowboys vs. Eagles (Sunday afternoon game on FOX in all likelihood) Week 13: Cowboys vs. Chiefs (Thanksgiving Day on CBS) Week 14: Cowboys at Lions (Thursday Night Football on Prime Video) ESPN, FOX, and CBS are among the NFL’s most major network television partners. Prime Video (Amazon) is not a traditional television broadcast partner, but obviously their commitment to the league from a financial standpoint is significant and the league is appeasing them as a result. NBC is the fourth major television partner that the NFL has. and while the game is on a Sunday which disrupts the uniqueness of this stretch, the Cowboys’ Week 15 game is against the Vikings on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The NFL has made sure that every outlet cutting a check is getting their fair share of their most visible team. While the Cowboys will host the Chargers in Week 16 in a standard early window game, their next contest after that in Week 17 on the road against the Commanders will be on Netflix. This is one of the league’s newest financial investments and the first time that the Cowboys are appearing on their platform. If we add the significance of the stretch after Week 14 we can consider that the Cowboys are going to be on primetime or in a standalone game in seven of their next eight games. That is crazy. Week 9: Cowboys vs. Cardinals (primetime and standalone game) Week 10: BYE Week 11: Cowboys at Raiders (primetime and standalone game) Week 12: Cowboys vs. Eagles (Sunday afternoon game but will cover most of the country) Week 13: Cowboys vs. Chiefs (standalone game) Week 14: Cowboys at Lions (primetime and standalone game) Week 15: Cowboys vs. Vikings (primetime and standalone game) Week 16: Cowboys vs. Chargers (Sunday early game) Week 17: Cowboys at Commanders (standalone game) Get ready for the Cowboys to be center stage for all things NFL, exactly how they wanted it to be this time of year. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys just don’t have it in them to win two in a row. For the third time this season, they have followed up a good win with a disappointing loss, this time losing to the Broncos 44-24. Any time this team provides us with an ounce of goodness, they turn around and remind […] The Dallas Cowboys just don’t have it in them to win two in a row. For the third time this season, they have followed up a good win with a disappointing loss, this time losing to the Broncos 44-24. Any time this team provides us with an ounce of goodness, they turn around and remind everyone that they just don’t have what it takes to make a strong push this season. This game had a few things to get excited about as they fell behind early and never could put a dent in the lead. Here are 10 thoughts on this latest Mile High letdown. 1. A great start The game couldn’t have started any better when the Cowboys’ defense got off the field after just three plays. Denver’s first two offensive plays yielded seven and then 11 yards, but when Bo Nix tried to hit receiver Patrick Bryant II on a slant, the ball was thrown behind him and landed in the arms of Cowboys’ cornerback Trikweze Bridges. Just like that, the Cowboys had the ball near midfield and were ready to strike first blood. 2. An unfortunate stallout The Cowboys quickly drove down the field on their first offensive possession and were set up nicely to get into the end zone first when Dak Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb on a nice 29-yard gain that set the Cowboys up first-and-goal at the three-yard line. After a two-yard run put them out the one, they oddly went away from the run and tried to pass it in. Then, a false start from Brock Hoffman backed them up five yards, and after another failed passing attempt, the Cowboys were forced to settle for a chip-shot Brandon Aubrey field goal. In a game where the margin of error was small, the team couldn’t capitalize on a great opportunity. 3. Another damaging penalty It was frustrating that a false-start penalty helped stall out a chance to punch it in at the goal line, but that frustration grew even further when another opportunity was squandered on the Broncos’ next possession. The Cowboys appeared to have forced the Broncos into a three-and-out after a Bo Nix pass to Courtland Sutton fell incomplete; however, James Houston was flagged for lining up offsides. The Broncos’ drive stayed alive, and they took full advantage, scoring a 40-yard touchdown three plays later. Instead of getting off the field, the defense faltered, and the Cowboys quickly found themselves trailing 7-3. 4. Run defense struggles The Broncos’ rushing attack finished with 179 yards on the ground at a tune of 6.4 yards per carry. J.K. Dobbins handled most of the workload, rushing for 111 yards at a rate of 7.4 yards per carry. His sidekick, R.J. Harvey, added another 46 yards at 6.4 yards per carry himself, with most of them coming on a 40-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The defense constantly allowed the Broncos to run through gaping holes with no glimpse of being able to stop them. The only thing that kept them from rushing for even more yards was the ease with which they were able to dissect the Cowboys’ passing defense, which leads us to our next item. 5. Depleted secondary Everyone knew it was going to be tough sledding for the Cowboys’ defense with so many defensive backs out of action. Both their starting safeties, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson, were out, as was their top backup safety, Juanyeh Thomas. They were also without cornerback Trevon Diggs, who they just placed on injured reserve. This meant a lot of snaps for bottom-roster guys like Trikweze Bridges, Reddy Steward, and recently called-up Alijah Clark. Nix took full advantage, spreading the love as three different receivers (Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and Patrick Bryant II) had catches of at least 20 yards. Nix had all day to throw, as he was never sacked and finished the game with four touchdown passes. 6. A let-down at the end of the first half The Broncos drove down 65 yards on six plays to score a touchdown to go up 20-10 with just under four minutes left in the half. It was crucial that the Cowboys’ offense answer back and, at the very least, get a field goal to cut it to a one-score game. But instead of scoring, the offense went three-and-out, giving Denver one last crack before halftime. And sadly, they took advantage, going 72 yards on seven plays, scoring another touchdown, aming the lead now 27-10. The offense still had a chance to get in Aubrey range with 39 seconds left, but they squandered that when Prescott threw into coverage and the ball was picked. The Cowboys have been masterful this season in punishing teams right before the half, but in this one, they were the ones being punished. 7. Turnover streak is over The Cowboys were coming off four-straight games without committing a turnover. You might be shocked to learn that this was the first time in the team’s storied 66-year history that they had ever accomplished such a feat. Sadly, the streak is no more as Prescott threw two interceptions in this game. They almost had a third turnover when rookie running back Jaydon Blue had the ball pop out after being sandwiched, but the team was fortunate to have Brock Hoffman jump on it and hang on for dear life as he convinced the referees that he was the one who recovered it. 8. Playing scared Not only did Schottenheimer have some questionable playcalling in this game, but he also made an unusual decision to punt the ball away with just over three minutes left in

The Denver Broncos wiped the floor with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It was more of requirement for them to fulfill as a game on their schedule than one that was up for grabs. While the Cowboys put the first points of the day on the board the Broncos made sure to be the team […] The Denver Broncos wiped the floor with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It was more of requirement for them to fulfill as a game on their schedule than one that was up for grabs. While the Cowboys put the first points of the day on the board the Broncos made sure to be the team that did it most frequently. It was another day in which we wondered just what the Cowboys defense does well and right now that question seems to escape only the people most in charge of answering it. You will not be shocked to find that our Stock Report for the week is full of all downs. This was a game with very few redeeming moments for Dallas and that is putting it kindly. Stock Down: Brian Schottenheimer There are a lot of places to point fingers at following Sunday’s debacle, but it starts and ends with the head coach. That he is the offensive play-caller and that they were moribund only adds to the case. Beyond the fact that Schotty called his worst offensive game to date, he also showed his most serious misunderstanding of the game at large from a head coaching perspective. As the second half of this game wore on and the Cowboys were down multiple (3!) possessions, he showed a clear sense of urgency early by declining an easy Brandon Aubrey field goal on 4th and 3 from the Denver 27-yard line. Schotty’s offense rewarded him with a touchdown there, but one possession later he exemplified the complete and total opposite disposition. He chose to punt on 4th and 5 from his own 44-yard line and the best possible explanation here is that he was forfeiting the rest of the game. Looking beyond tactical decisions… the Cowboys had an enormous amount of pre-snap penalties in this game. The situation became so evident that the CBS broadcast even started joking about it. This starts and ends with discipline that is supposedly coming from the head coach. Stock Down: Matt Eberflus I’ll be honest with you and say that it makes me uncomfortable to call for anyone’s job. I believe, at least I want to believe, that the Cowboys have defensive staffers and players who are trying very hard and right now that very hard is nowhere close to being even kind of good enough. The win against Washington was obviously nice, but the totality of what we have seen from the Cowboys over the season suggests that the Commanders offense must have some serious problems more than that the Dallas defense stood tall for a particular day in October. It feels exhausting to consider that the Cowboys defense may have to have four coordinators in as many years with 2026 changes, but right now it is hard to see any other future. Matt Eberflus continues to play soft defenses and stick with his zone principles and it is hindering things on almost a play-by-play basis. Stock Down: Osa Odighizuwa We could toss Kenny Clark in this mix, but we do not play offensive line for the Broncos so we won’t do so. More specifically, Kenny is still a newbie relative to the Cowboys roster. Osa Odighizuwa was given a contract extension and is expected to be counted on more. That is in no way happening here. The Broncos ran all over the Cowboys on Sunday and did so before ever being touched. The middle of the defense exists only in theory at this point in time and Osa has to be held accountable for that, particularly because of the expectations as noted. Stock Down: Sam Williams Remember back after The Trade™ how there were murmurings about an extension for Sam Williams? That really happened. What could the front office have possibly seen that warranted even talking about the idea out loud? Sam Williams has been one of the worst defenders on the team this season to date. On Sunday he was pushed around for the latest time and to make matters worse he got involved in extracurriculars at one point in time by getting in the face of Broncos players after they scored a touchdown. Trying to push your opponent around after they moved you into the endzone you are supposed to defend is quite the choice, although the sequence hilariously saved Dallas a point as the Broncos failed the two-point conversion they attempted as a result of it all. The main point is that these are poor decisions that Sam Williams continues to make on a very regular basis. Stock Down: Dak Prescott It is clear and obvious that Dak Prescott has to play perfect football for the Cowboys to have a chance at competing. As unfair as this idea is I imagine that Dak would still sign up for the challenge. The unfair expectation of playing perfect is one we can all reconcile as impossible to live up to. Expecting Dak to not press and make matters worse is totally fair game and he certainly failed in that regard in Denver. Prescott looked uncomfortable from just about the moment the game began, although there were tiny bits of optimism sprinkled in throughout the chaos. He finally threw an interception and felt so comfortable with the idea that he did it again. In just about every sense it was a throwaway performance and easily the worst of his season so far. Stock Down: Will McClay We need to have a serious conversation about the Cowboys and their drafting prowess. I know that we revere Will McClay and hold him in high esteem, but the shape of the roster is rather rough and the person

Game Recap: Cowboys in Denver, 44-24- Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com Re-live the beatdown. 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 […] Game Recap: Cowboys in Denver, 44-24- Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com Re-live the beatdown. 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. Prescott presses as Denver dominates defense, Broncos embarrass Cowboys, 44-24- K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire The up-and-down 2025 Dallas Cowboys season continues. They bounced back in Week 7, destroying the rival Washington Commanders, 44-22. And then they returned to Denver to take on the Broncos, a team they hadn’t defeated since 1995. Low and behold, there was nothing there. After an early interception led to a disappointing three points, the Cowboy were ran over, ran through and thrown past all afternoon long. The Broncos took the Cowboys to the woodshed in a 44-24 win. The loss dropped Dallas back under .500 with a 3-4-1 record. They’ll return home to take on the well-rested Arizona Cardinals coming off their bye week. QB Kyler Murray has owned AT&T Stadium since his high school days, a narrative challenge eerily reminiscent to the Broncos’ three-decade talk that flavored the last week. As for this game, fans finally saw quarterback Dak Prescott wilt under the pressure of having to carry his team’s lackluster defense. Prescott threw two ill-advised interceptions, and failed to throw for a touchdown for the first time all season. Prescott wasn’t helped by his team’s incessant addiction to pre-snap penalties, and a defense that started without their top three safeties loss a fourth, Alijah Clark, midway through the game. Broncos Beat Up the Cowboys in 44-24 Week 8 Denver Dud- Mark Heaney, Inside The Star It was a bad experience all around for Cowboys fans. It’s hard to fault the Dallas offense entirely when the defense gives up 44 points, and the Broncos unit is one of the best in football, but they were just not good enough. To start the game, Dak Prescott & Co. got the ball off an opening turnover, and they failed to punch in a crucial seven points in favor of a chip-shot field goal. They need a touchdown there. They followed that drive with two consecutive punts that put them in a 14-3 hole. That drought was ended with a six-minute touchdown drive to former Bronco Javonte Williams, but that became the final meaningful score for Dallas. Two interceptions and two punts followed that drive, while a third-quarter score and garbage-time Joe Milton III bomb to Jalen Tolbert added points to the inevitable final score. Give the Broncos defense credit, but don’t excuse blame from Prescott, the offensive line, the play-calling, etc. Jerry Jones just confirmed Cowboys fans’ worst trade fears after blowout loss- Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Dallas still considers themselves buyers in the trade market. “A loss is discouraging, but as far as my temperament, if I saw a proposition for us to help this team, no matter what this score was today, then I would look at it on the merits of helping this team,” Jones said. “If you’re talking about trading for a player or trading a player, I would completely look at it on the merits of this team, both for next week or the week after, or the long term.” That is absolute nightmare fuel. Even with the impending return of DeMarvion Overshown, this team would be lucky to make the playoffs. With the loss, the Cowboys are now 10th in the NFC with a 3-4-1 record. They are 2.5 games behind the 49ers, who own the third Wild Card spot with a 5-3 record. They are also looking up at the 4-3 Bears and 4-4 Panthers, both of whom own the tiebreaker over Dallas. With upcoming games against the Cardinals and Raiders, the Cowboys have a real chance to be 5-4-1 entering the hardest part of their schedule. The season didn’t end on Sunday, but it was the latest proof that they can get picked off by any team. What’s it going to take to get Dallas Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus fired?- Tyler Reed, Sports Illustrated At this point in the season, it’s a fair question. The Cowboys gave up 426 total yards of offense in their Week 8 loss. Coming into the game, the unit was allowing just a little over 400 yards per game to their opponents.

There should be a law that the Cowboys can’t play the Broncos anymore. The Cowboys haven’t beaten this organization, in Denver or Dallas, since 1995. And they’ll have to wait even longer to break that streak, as they fell apart at the seams this week on the road. All the good will that was built […] There should be a law that the Cowboys can’t play the Broncos anymore. The Cowboys haven’t beaten this organization, in Denver or Dallas, since 1995. And they’ll have to wait even longer to break that streak, as they fell apart at the seams this week on the road. All the good will that was built up from last week’s win was blown out of the water. Things started off great, though. The Broncos started with the ball and Trikweze Bridges, making his second start, picked off Bo Nix on the third play of the game. Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb on a huge 29-yard gain to set up first and goal, too. But some broken plays and a false start penalty resulted in settling for a field goal. And things pretty much went downhill from there. An offsides penalty wiped out a third down stop for the Dallas defense, which was missing four different starters plus their top backup safety. A few plays later, RJ Harvey went 40 yards for a touchdown, taking the lead. The Cowboys offense promptly went three-and-out afterwards, and Denver scored another touchdown in just four plays. The Cowboys later scored a touchdown, with Javonte Williams getting a taste of revenge against his former team. That cut the Broncos lead to 14-10, but the defense couldn’t get a stop. A 32-yard pass interference penalty on Alijah Clark flipped the field for Denver, and they scored another touchdown soon after. Another three-and-out for Dallas led to another touchdown, putting the game virtually out of reach at 27-10 in the end of the second quarter. Still, the Cowboys tried one last-ditch effort to score points before halftime, made more valuable by the fact that they’d get the ball to start the third quarter. But Prescott tried to force a ball downfield to Jake Ferguson that was picked off, swiftly extinguishing any hope of creaking open the door for a comeback. A Cowboys touchdown to start the third quarter helped, but it was simply too little, too late. The game was over at halftime, and the defense only got worse as the game wore on. Unlike previous games this season, Dallas couldn’t rely on their offense to score in bunches, which is how teams get blown out. By the time the final whistle blew, Joe Milton was handing off to Malik Davis to run out the clock on a 44-24 blowout. It’s the third straight game between these franchises that saw Dallas lose by multiple scores, and it drops the Cowboys to 3-4-1. They have yet to be above .500 this season, and their earliest chance to do so won’t come until after their bye week. Of course, the Cowboys have a lot of soul searching to do before even thinking about that. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys continue to play Jekyll and Hyde this season, and unfortunately came out on the losing end of the Week 8 matchup with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos pretty much dominated the Cowboys from the start in all three phases of the game, leading to the 44-24 victory. Overall, this is a pretty […] The Dallas Cowboys continue to play Jekyll and Hyde this season, and unfortunately came out on the losing end of the Week 8 matchup with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos pretty much dominated the Cowboys from the start in all three phases of the game, leading to the 44-24 victory. Overall, this is a pretty poor performance from the Cowboys. It was mostly bad and ugly for the majority of the game. There was maybe a little good sprinkled in, but you really have to dig deep to see it. Below is what we believe to be the good, the bad, and the ugly from this Week 8 matchup with the Broncos. THE GOOD – Javonte Williams Any player getting to face off against their former team/teammates always wants to put on a good show and Javonte Williams is probably no exception. If you’re going by his stat line alone he didn’t have a very good outing, rushing for just 41 yards on 13 attempts. However, he was responsible for two of the Cowboys three touchdowns and ran with authority when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, the Cowboys were playing behind most of the game, causing them to try to play catch-up by passing the ball more instead of sticking to the running game. It would be easy to point to the defense and how poorly they played, but that was to be a little expected considering they were so shorthanded in the secondary. What was worse was the self-inflicted wounds and boneheaded mistakes the Cowboys made in this Week 8 matchup against the Broncos. Lining up in the neutral zone, false starts, and illegal formations were just a few of the penalties that ended up helping sway the game in the Broncos favor. This has been a problem for them in the past and unfortunately seems to be so still. THE UGLY – Dak Prescott Until this Week 8 matchup with the Broncos, Dak Prescott was performing at an MVP level. Sadly, arguably one of the best defenses in the league, if not the best, caused him to crush back down to earth. Prescott only completed 19 of 31 passes for 188 yards and zero touchdowns. To make matters worse, he also threw two interceptions, something he was doing a pretty good job of avoiding this season. This is just one game where he floundered a bit, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t bounce back with the weapons he has. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys were losing 30-17. It was 4th-and-5 from their own 44-yard line. A few minutes remained in the third quarter. Brian Schottenheimer chose to punt. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when the Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday as they were outmatched in just about every way. An argument could […] The Dallas Cowboys were losing 30-17. It was 4th-and-5 from their own 44-yard line. A few minutes remained in the third quarter. Brian Schottenheimer chose to punt. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when the Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday as they were outmatched in just about every way. An argument could be made that it was over the moment that officials flipped a coin in the air to establish who would receive the opening kickoff. What we can pinpoint though is the point of no return that the Cowboys faced on the day. It was here. It was when Brian Schottenheimer chose to trust his defense, the one that’s reputation preceded itself before the game, during the game, and at this moment that you are reading these words. Who would trust them? Why would anyone do so? What argument could be made for it? To be clear, Schottenheimer seemed to understand this on the Cowboys’ previous possession. Circumstances were a bit different as Dallas was facing 4th-and-3 from the Denver 27-yard line, but he went for that when they were in easy field goal range. He turned down points in the name of more points. He understood, seemingly, the stakes and how precious points were given the deficit and state of the defense. So what changed one possession later? You could argue the field position obviously, but the counter is that the remaining time in the game makes that a wash. Even if you want to get stuck in the minutia of this argument, consider that the Broncos did what everyone thought they would as they marched down the field and scored a touchdown that put the game even more on ice. Then, for good measure, they proceeded to score another one. Choosing to punt felt like Schottenheimer waving the white flag at best. At worst it seemed like a head coach who was unaware of how not trustworthy his defense is these days. Neither are good. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster