ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 07: Tim Patrick #81 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after catching the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 07, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
It was a tough road test for the Denver Broncos as they faced off against the Dallas Cowboys, without Von Miller, Malik Reed, Drew Lock, Mike Purcell and they suffered multiple key injuries throughout the game. You wouldn't know that Denver faced so much adversity based on the absolutely dominant performance the Broncos put in on both sides of the ball.
The Broncos defense faced an uphill battle on the first Cowboys offensive drive after giving up a 56 yard kickoff return to Tony Pollard but the defense did a great job stopping Ezekiel Elliot on a 4th and 1 attempt to stall their drive at the Denver 38.
Unfortunately, the Broncos offense weren't able to capitalize on the stop as they went 3-and-out on their first drive. The Cowboys moved the ball well on their 2nd drive but again, stopped on a 4th and short attempt in Denver territory and on the Broncos 2nd drive, they didn't let the opportunity to pounce. After an 80 yard drive aided by big plays from Javonte Williams and Jerry Jeudy, Melvin Gordon punches it in from 3 yards out to give the Broncos a 6-0 lead.
The Broncos defense stymied the Cowboys offense on their 3rd offensive drive and the Denver offense, once again, was very aggressive on another 80 yard drive. Tim Patrick beat Trevon Diggs for a 44-yard touchdown on a go-route to put the Broncos up 13-0, early in the 2nd quarter.
The Cowboys offense were forced to punt after 4 plays and a deep incompletion to CeeDee Lamb for their 4th drive. Starting from their own 20, the offense survived a rare mistake from Lloyd Cushenberry on a hold that backed them up to their own 10 yard line. After a 11 yard run by Melvin Gordon, Tim Patrick got loose for a 20 yard gain on 3rd and 9 to continue the drive. Teddy Bridgewater was sacked by LB Micah Parsons at the Dallas 35 so the Broncos had to settle for a Brandon McManus 53 FG that gave Denver a 16-0 lead.
On the Cowboys 5th offensive drive, Dak Prescott was sacked by Jonathon Cooper for an 11 yard loss at midfield. After a deep incompletion, the Cowboys punted for the 3rd time. The Broncos offense started their 5th drive at their own 12 yard line with 1:39 remaining in the 2nd quarter and unfortunately after a promising drive, it ended at midfield with a Teddy Bridgewater sack heading into halftime.
To begin the 3rd quarter, the Broncos offense initially went 3-and-out with another sack by Micah Parsons before having Sam Martin's punt blocked but the Cowboys touched the ball before Caden Sterns recovered it so the Denver offense got another shot. Javonte Williams burst through arm tackles for a huge 30 yard run down the left sideline. Tim Patrick converts a big 3rd and 8, Jerry Jeudy took a catch in the flat for 21 yards. The drive stalled at the Cowboys 9 yard line so Denver settled for a McManus 27 yard FG putting them up 19-0.
The Cowboys start their 6th drive and are again forced to go for it on 4th down, coming up short on a deep attempt to CeeDee Lamb. Unfortunately for Denver, even though their drive began at the Cowboys 40 yard line, they didn't capitalize as Brandon McManus missed a 53-yard FG wide right.
Cowboys go 3-and-out and the Broncos offense gets another shot to build their lead starting at their own 15 yard line. After an 85 yard drive that took 7:30 off the clock, Teddy Bridgewater punches it in on a 1-yard QB sneak and with the 2-point conversion pass to Courtland Sutton, Denver pulls ahead 27-0.
On the next Cowboys drive, Caden Sterns picks off Dak Prescott and the Broncos punch in another Brandon McManus FG to extend the lead 30-0.
The Cowboys finally got on the scoreboard with 4:08 remaining as Dak Prescott connected with Malik Turner on a 5 yard Touchdown and converted a 2-point rush by Elliot to close the gap 30-8.
The Cowboys would punch in another touchdown pass to Malik Turner but it was meaningless to the outcome as the Broncos beat the Cowboys 30-16. The Broncos improved to 5-4 and the Cowboys fell to 6-2.
The Denver Broncos return home for their next game to host the Philadelphia Eagles and coverage on KOA begins at 8am MTN on Sunday, November 14th.
KOA Broncos Postgame Interviews with voice of the Broncos Dave Logan in order: Vic Fangio and Teddy Bridgewater.