Denver's gritty Broncos, fueled by late comebacks, face a revitalized Cowboys defense and potent offense in what's sure to be a brutal, four-quarter showdown.
After a statement 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 7, the Dallas Cowboys are turning their attention to their Week 8 matchup with the Denver Broncos. After a stretch of games against .500 or below teams, the 5-2 Broncos present Dallas’ toughest test since their Week 4 contest against the Green Bay Packers.
The Broncos have earned that record the hard way, with multiple fourth quarter comebacks, including wins over the New York Giants (down 26-8 with 10:14 left) and Philadelphia Eagles (down 17-3 entering the fourth), while all but one of their games have been decided by eight points or less. Suffice it to say, this will be a four quarter battle for the Cowboys.
While Denver quarterback Bo Nix is a true dual threat, that may actually play into Dallas’ hands as they’ve excelled at limiting quarterbacks in that mold, including Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts. That’s not to say that Nix is only a threat with his legs, but to point out that the Cowboys have done well at forcing that type of player to be truly one dimensional.
For most of the season, that didn’t matter much as Dallas’ secondary was struggling to contain leaks. But after Week 7, it would appear that the team has turned a corner in that regard, as evidenced by a season-high coverage grade of 68.0.
That mark isn’t exactly head turning, but it does show signs of a revival in the defensive backfield. Oddly enough, it coincided with star cornerback Trevon Diggs sitting the game out due to a concussion.
As relatively impressive as the defense was, the story of the Cowboys is still written by Dak Prescot and co-authored by the other positional units. With Javonte Williams bouncing back and CeeDee Lamb integrating himself back into the offense seamlessly, the team showed in Week 7 that the offense is still elite.
The Broncos, of course, are perceived to have a defense on par with the Dallas offense. And while their overall unit grade of 68.6 is No. 10 in the league, there are real cracks in the armor. Their run defense grade of 75.1 is No. 6 league-wide, but the overall grade is dragged down by a surprising coverage grade of 52.3, good for No. 23 in the NFL.
We’ll delve more into how the Cowboys can attack that weak spot throughout the rest of the week, but needless to say, this game will be a slugfest from start to finish, one that could propel Dallas on a real run if they can find a way to come out victorious.