Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos: What to watch for

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ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 10: Tyron Smith #77 of the Dallas Cowboys and Travis Frederick #72 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrate the touchdown by Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of a game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

After facing a good cornerback in Janoris Jenkins, the task for Dez Bryant does not get any easier this week. Denver has two top notch corners in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris. Regardless of where Bryant lines up, he’ll be facing a former All-Pro.

I would not expect to see Bryant end up with just two catches and 43 yards like last week. I would not expect a big day out of him either. The offense will continue to feed the open man, be it Cole Beasley, Jason Witten or Bryant. I think you’ll see a little more of Bryant lining up in different places to get him more looks however.

Speaking of passing targets, last week the Broncos saw just two passes thrown to a tight end. Expect that number to change this week. The Los Angeles Chargers elected to keep their tight ends at home to protect their quarterback.

Dallas can be a bit more aggressive given their tackles are far superior to what the Chargers roll out there. I would definitely expect to see certain situations where they provide help with chips from the running backs and the occasional blocking tight end scheme. I just don’t see Witten getting only two targets.

Defensively, the Cowboys have another opportunity to keep the score low here. The Broncos offense is not what it was the past few years.

Even with accomplished receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Denver will lean on their running game to protect a young quarterback. Last week, they ran the ball 36 times to 28 pass attempts. If the Cowboys can continue to their dominant run defense, it could force Trevor Siemian to try to become a playmaker. If that’s the case, I like the chances of the Dallas defense.

Next: Cowboys tackle La’el Collins facing trial by inferno

Another week, another stiff test for this Dallas Cowboys squad. Walking out of Denver with a win in tow will be a difficult task. The Cowboys have started a season 2-0 just once in the Jason Garrett era. The good news is that this team is equipped with the appropriate recipe to pull of the feat.

The prediction: Cowboys 20, Broncos 17

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