Broncos at Cowboys: Emotion, EDGE and 5 Keys to a Dallas Win
ARLINGTON - For the first time in three weeks, Dak Prescott will be back in charge of the offense on a Dallas Cowboys gameday.
For the first time in a decade, Von Miller won't be in charge of the defense on a Denver Broncos gameday.
Normally, in this series - which has featured six straight Denver wins, Dallas not recorded a success since 1995 - Miller (earlier this week traded to the Rams) vs. Dak (returning from a calf injury) would be ... the key.
But now, for this NFL Week 9 noon start here at AT&T Stadium? The keys get spread around a bit. Here's five of them:
1) Funnel the Emotion: Dak's back, and it's "Salute to Service'' Day and the National Medal of Honor Museum and the Bicentennial Throwback red-stripe helmet ... lots of reasons for the Cowboys to be riding high.
Breathe.
The rest of the roster must follow Dak's lead. We often talk about the Cowboys centerpiece QB as a leader who "doesn't get too high or too low.''That will come in handy here as the 7-1 Cowboys try to stay red-hot and to win a seventh straight game.
2) Victimize Denver's Run Defense: Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott might only have two 100-yard rushing games on the season, but that doesn't begin to tell the real story. He’s averaging 4.8 yards per carry and has scored six touchdowns. Now as elusive as he was as a rookie, he's forced 12 missed tackles and totaled 16 explosive runs of 10 yards or more.
The Cowboys again have a splash-play runner (two of them, really, with Tony Pollard, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, which ranks No. 1 in the NFL.) Denver, meanwhile, doesn't have linebackers who are both good and healthy.
Dallas' top two receivers, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, have nagging injuries but will play. And they'll get the ball. But in the running game?
A soft spot exists.
3) Match Diggs: A tough task for "the other corner,'' Anthony Brown, though he's been up to the task lately. Cowboys' second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs, everybody knows. He's snagged seven interceptions in seven games, including two pick-sixes. He'll also stick his nose in there, with 24 total tackles and to go with his 11 pass deflections.
Maybe Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater won't even test Diggs. Can Brown and friends handle their business when Denver lines up Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy elsewhere?
5) Randy Gregory and Micah Parsons on the Loose: Broncos starting left tackle Garett Bolles is out. In comes backup tackle Calvin Anderson, who played in high school in Austin and in college with the Longhorns (and lost games here at AT&T Stadium at both levels). Anderson is in his third year with Denver after going undrafted out of Texas in 2019.
Anderson is not a starting-caliber player - not, anyway, against Cowboys edge rusher Gregory who has five sacks, two forced fumbles, three tackles for a loss, 11 QB hits and 17 hurries.
(Sidebar: Yet another example of Dallas' depth advantage. Today, no Tyron Smith? No problem. Read more.)
Broncos coordinator Pat Shurmur is going to have to dial up lots of help for Anderson on Gregory ... but also look for linebacker Parsons to play some end, too.
The Broncos will have their hands full here with the 10-point-favorite Cowboys ... who seem to hold all the keys to this one.
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