Orange Crushed: Cowboys Trail Broncos 16-0 Halftime
The Dallas Cowboys are hosting the Denver Broncos in a game between two teams heading in very different directions. The Cowboys are hot and on a six-game winning streak and near the top of their conference while the Broncos began the season winning three games in a row before falling in the next three, and squeaking by the Washington Football Team last week.
We may have expected to see the 'Doomsday Defense' of Dallas, but instead, it was the 'Orange Crush' on the other side that made all the difference. The Denver defense isn't terrible and is giving Dallas problems, as seen early in the game on a Cowboys' fourth-and-one conversion attempt when back Ezekiel Elliott was stuffed for a loss, turning the ball over on downs.
Dallas' defense then flexed its own muscles holding quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos' offense to a three-and-out.
The Cowboys came out aggressive early going for it on their first two fourth downs, both unsuccessful, the first one on Elliott's rushing attempt and the second on a fourth-and-two from the Denver 20 with an incomplete Dak Prescott pass to wideout Cedrick Wilson.
The Broncos took advantage after the turnover on downs and marched 80 yards on 11 plays to set up a Melvin Gordon 3-yard touchdown run. The Broncos led 6-0 after a missed extra point.
The end of the first quarter saw Bridgewater with 27 yards on 3-of-4 passing while Prescott had 37 yards on just 3-of-8 passing.
The second quarter saw the Broncos turn up the pressure on the Cowboys' defense, taking big chunks of yardage at a time on the ground and through the air.
Denver added to the lead with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Bridgewater to receiver Tim Patrick, capping off a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive that saw the Broncos lead increase to 13-0.
The Cowboys continued to falter offensively due to pressure from the Broncos' defense, and the Broncos extended their lead on a McManus 53 yard field goal with 3:46 remaining in the half, increasing the Denver lead to 16-0.
Dallas could not get anything going either through the air or on the ground in the first half, amassing just 109 total yards in the half, to Denver's 227.
The Cowboys look confused, discombobulated, and downtrodden in the first quarter, and Denver has all the momentum.
