Cowboys Cover? CBs Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright Struggle in Loss at Broncos
On a night free of most first-teamers, backups had a chance to shine in the preseason opener.
Dallas Cowboys reserve cornerbacks certainly did not.
Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright, a pair of second-year players, were both beaten badly for touchdowns in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 17-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday night at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Cowboys played it conservative with their stars and key contributors. On the offensive side, quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, and linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin were among those to sit.
Defensively, the Cowboys were even more cautious. In addition to linebacker Micah Parsons and corner Trevon Diggs, linemen DeMarcus Lawrence, Osa Odighizuwa and Dorance Armstrong, linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jabril Cox, and secondary members Jayron Kearse, Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown were out.
Joseph and Wright made an impression, especially in the first half, for all the wrong reasons. The two second-team cornerbacks were a big part of Denver’s 17-0 run to close out the second quarter.
The Broncos scored on their last three possessions of the half behind Russell Wilson’s backup Josh Johnson. The Cowboys made the journeyman, who’s had stints in the spring leagues like the XFL and AAF, look every bit the Super Bowl-winner Wilson is.
Joseph, a second-round pick in 2021, was outmuscled by Broncos receiver Seth Williams on a 1-yard score early in the second quarter for the game’s first touchdown. Williams began the play in the slot and cut to the sideline to pull down a lofted throw from Johnson.
The subsequent Denver touchdown was even worse for 2021 third-round pick Wright. Kendall Hinton turned around Wright, who got lost on a 24-yard TD that put the Broncos up by two scores.
Wright and Joseph were also infamous parts of Denver’s last-minute drive to close out the half. Wright was burned on a 23-yard pass to Hinton that got the Broncos into Dallas territory.
The Broncos would miss a 57-yard field goal to end the quarter, but Joseph was called for being offsides. With a retry five yards closer, kicker Brandon McManus split the uprights to go into the locker room up 17-0.
Johnson went 16-23 for 172 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in the first half for a 120.2 quarterback rating.
The Cowboys feel good about first-team corners Diggs, Brown and Lewis, but capable bodies are needed throughout games and backups are only one play away from starting. Joseph and Wright are the next men up on the depth chart … and their 2022 preseason debuts were less than promising.
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