Brett's Cowboys Corner

The last time the Cowboys beat the Broncos was 30 years ago. Make that 33 years since a win at Mile High. There have been some great matchups between these two teams from Aikman vs. Elway. The offensive shootout, 51-48, between Romo and Manning.

Dak Prescott talked about his game at Mile High, where the Cowboys were stunned by Trevor Siemian. and the Broncos. In his second year, Dak wasn’t fully comfortable in the environment, “every part of my game has evolved and changed and gotten better since then.”

The Denver Broncos are 5-2, on a 4 game win streak and currently lead the AFC West. For the Cowboys, they are trying to build off their divisional home win against the Commanders and get their record back on the positive side with a trip to Denver.

DALLAS	DENVER
Dak Prescott: Has struggled against Denver. Wanting to continue his MVP campaign, another great day at Mile High will make it hard not to talk about.	Riley Moss: We know Pat Surtain will do his job. Dallas will attack the other side, which is Moss. Needs to hold his ground.
Javonte Williams: A sweet revenge game. Coming off a 100 yard day, the team that gave up on him is next.	J.K. Dobbins: A physical runner, getting a lot of yards after contact. Cowboys have given up the run this year.
Donovan Ezeiruaku: The most successful blitzer on the Cowboys d-line. The line needs to get pressure on Bo Nix, who hasn’t been pressured a whole lot this season.	Zach Allen: A disruptive DT. 5th most pressures for his position in the NFL. Potentially matched up against Cooper Beebe, returning from injury.

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The Keys to Victory-

1 – Attacking Surtain.

The Broncos defense plays man coverage the 2nd most in the NFL. The big name on Denver is the reigning defensive player of year, Patrick Surtain II. He has traveled with receivers and he has shutdown halves of the field.

Denver will have to make the decision on where they play Surtain. It would too demanding to chase Lamb in the slot and outside, with all the motion all of the time. Instead the Broncos could decide to shutdown one side by keeping Surtain on one half.

Or Denver can opt to try and stop George Pickens by having Surtain follow him all day. This could disrupt the flow of the Cowboys offense, as Dak has built a confidence in Pickens and wants to get the ball to him.

It will be a test for Schottenheimer’s offense, if he can identify a strength like Surtain and try to draw up plays away from him.

2 – Dallas Secondary Holds Up.

The Cowboys will be out Trevon Diggs and Donovan Wilson, two starting defensive backs. Along with Juanyeh Thomas missing last week, and questionable for Sunday. Thomas has served as the back up for starter Malik Hooker, who remains on IR.

Markquese Bell, who played a large percentage of snaps last week and has had real defense experience in the last few seasons. Alijah Clark, a 2025 UDFA, was signed onto the active roster earlier in the month. He played 5 snaps in the 1st quarter last week, and may get the start.

The only change to the cornerback room will be the option to add Caelen Carson to the rotation. He had an early injury in training camp and could make his season debut. He started week one as a rookie in 2024 and missed 11 games with a shoulder injury to end the season.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, the Cowboys have surrendered the most passing yards (956) and touchdowns (10) on downfield throws (10+ air yards) of any defense this season. Their 132.3 passer rating allowed and 14.3 yards per attempt on such passes both rank highest in the NFL this season and would mark the highest figures allowed by a defense across the NGS era (since 2016).

Bo Nix will give the defense opportunities to make plays downfield. Nix is more successful in short throws and working underneath the defense. Downfield (10+ air yards) Nix has only completed 39% of passes, with 4 interceptions.

The Cowboys secondary will have an opportunity to change the narrative. As typically QBs have had their best downfield throwing days when playing Dallas.

3 – Get Pressure On Nix.

The Broncos have allowed a pressure rate of just 23.6% this season, the 2nd-lowest in the NFL.

The Cowboys have struggled to generate pressure and get sacks. Every week is the week they need to figure things out. But Nix has been comfortable and wins. Need to contain Nix’s rush ability and force him into arrant decisions.

Donovan Ezeiruaku had his first sack last week, time to build off that. Need to see more from Dante Fowler and want to see more snaps from James Houston.

4 – Javonte Williams Revenge Game.

Javonte Williams was a 2nd round pick in 2021 by the Denver Broncos. They had high hopes for him, and he finished his rookie campaign with 903 yards. Unfortunately an ACL injury would end his 2022 season after 4 games. During his recovery and next two seasons, according to Broncos media, Williams never could get back to his true self. His contract expired and they let him walk.

Signing a 1-year deal with Dallas, Williams has already surpassed his rushing yard total (592) compared to last season (513). He has been a consistent and powerful rusher for Dallas and currently leads the NFL in rushing 1st downs.

Javonte Williams is averaging 4.2 yards after contact per carry this season, the 2nd-most among 42 running backs with 40+ carries (Bijan Robinson, 4.6) and at least 1.4 more than he averaged in 2023 and 2024.

Now it will be a chance to show Denver what they gave up on.

I think the Cowboys offense will slow down just a bit in Denver. But this will be a big oppurtunity for the defense to step up. Force a turnover. The game will be 20-20 with 3 seconds to go. Dallas has the ball on their own 45 yard line. Instead of trying the 55-yard hail mary, Schotty opts to send out Brandon Aubrey. In the high altitude, Aubrey will line up and drill a 72-yard field goal for the NFL record and victory. 23-20 Dallas.