Inside The Star
As the Dallas Cowboys prepare for a high-altitude showdown with the Denver Broncos this Sunday, the matchup carries extra meaning beyond just midseason momentum.
Dallas enters the contest at 3-3-1, a team that has flashed offensive brilliance behind QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb but remains shaky on defense due to a string of injuries to key starters and a new scheme under DC Matt Eberflus.
Meanwhile, the Broncos have quietly become one of the AFC’s hottest teams.
QB Bo Nix, in his sophomore season, has led Denver to a 5-2 record, including a four-game winning streak, while the defense, anchored by standout CB Patrick Surtain II, has been among the stingiest units in the league.
This game is a battle of opposites: Dallas’ explosive offense versus Denver’s disciplined defense, but for the Cowboys, it’s also about rewriting a painful chapter of history.
They’ve struggled mightily against the Broncos over the past few decades.
Here are two ways the Cowboys can finally buck history and escape Denver with a statement win.
For Dak Prescott, Sunday may be his last realistic opportunity to notch a win over the Denver Broncos, one of two AFC teams he’s never beaten (Buffalo Bills).
Prescott is 0-2 lifetime against Denver, and both losses were decisive.
His first encounter came in 2017, a nightmare in the thin air of Mile High Stadium.
The Broncos completely suffocated Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys’ offensive line, holding Elliott to just eight rushing yards, while Trevor Siemian and the Denver offense lit up the Dallas secondary in a 42-17 rout.
Prescott’s second attempt in 2021 wasn’t much better, as Dallas fell 30-16 at AT&T Stadium.
The offense failed to find rhythm until garbage time, while Denver’s run game, led by then-rookie Javonte Williams, now ironically a Cowboy, punished the defense with 111 rushing yards.
This time, Prescott must flip the script.
He’ll need to stay aggressive early, use quick reads against Denver’s talented pass rush, and trust his chemistry with Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and George Pickens.
If Prescott can sustain drives and avoid turnovers against Surtain and company, he could finally bury the Broncos curse and claim one of the few wins missing from his career résumé.
The second major hurdle is just as daunting: Dallas hasn’t won in Denver since 1992. That’s right, not since Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, the legendary Triplets, led the Cowboys to a 31-27 victory at old Mile High Stadium.
That game required a defensive masterclass, with Dallas forcing five turnovers to barely edge out the win.
Since then, the Cowboys are 0-3 in Denver, and those losses haven’t been close.
The thin air, the noise, and the Broncos’ defensive identity have consistently spelled trouble for visiting teams, and Dallas has been no exception.
For the Cowboys to finally end that 33-year drought, the defense must channel that 1992 energy.
Even shorthanded, they’ll need to force takeaways, win the turnover battle, and contain...
