The Dallas Cowboys suffered a humbling 44-24 defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos, halting their momentum after a Week 7 win [9, 16]. The Broncos dominated from the start, showcasing their best offensive performance of the season [10, 18]. The Cowboys struggled on both sides of the ball, with inconsistent offense and a porous defense contributing to the lopsided loss [7].
Key Moments
Early penalties hampered the Cowboys, giving the Broncos opportunities for big gains [17]. Dak Prescott's interception-free streak ended with two picks, one to Jahdae Barron and another to Dondrea Tillman [14]. Denver's offense shined, with Javonte Williams scoring two rushing touchdowns [14]. The Cowboys' offense struggled to establish a consistent rushing attack, managing only 108 net rushing yards on 31 carries [14]. Outside of an errant throw from Bo Nix that was picked off and a dropped touchdown by Courtland Sutton, the Broncos did no wrong against the Cowboys [4].
Player Impact
Dak Prescott, named among the week's biggest losers, expressed frustration with the team's inconsistency [2, 4, 6]. Prescott offered a brutal answer to questions about the team's identity [19]. The Cowboys' defense, already considered one of the league's worst, struggled mightily against the Broncos' offense [4, 13]. Jerry Jones acknowledged the Cowboys are more than "one player away" from fixing their defensive issues and that the answers to Dallas’ defensive problems are internal [3, 5, 11]. Jones also backed defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus [11].
TL;DR
- The Denver Broncos defeated the Dallas Cowboys 44-24, exposing Dallas's defensive vulnerabilities [9, 10].
- Dak Prescott struggled, throwing two interceptions, and the Cowboys' offense failed to establish a consistent rushing game [14, 4].
- Jerry Jones admitted the Cowboys' defensive problems require more than just one player and backed defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus [3, 5, 11].
- Penalties and big plays by the Broncos contributed to the Cowboys' deflating Week 8 loss [14, 16, 17].