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Dallas Cowboys humbled, not broken in loss to Denver Broncos

By Stacey Gonzales

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: Quarterback Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys is sacked by outside linebacker Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter of a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: Quarterback Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys is sacked by outside linebacker Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter of a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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It seemed nothing went right for the Dallas Cowboys in their trip to Denver. As painful as the loss was, there were some bright spots for the future.

It was an old-fashioned butt whooping issued by the Denver Broncos to the Dallas Cowboys. The offense was neutralized, the defense was exposed, and the team overall looked beat from the opening drive. But good teams learn from their losses, and there is some light at the end of the tunnel with this defeat.

DeMarcus Lawrence definitely showed up the for ‘Boys on a day where the defense surrendered five touchdown drives. He continued to pressure the quarterback and registered two more sacks to his season total including a fumble that gave the team a chance to at least be competitive in this game.

So, at least the Cowboys have a healthy war daddy they’ve lacked the last couple of years.

Also, rookie defensive back Jourdan Lewis made his league debut and registered a much-needed interception to keep the Cowboys at striking distance. He’d been bothered by a hamstring injury that kept him out of the preseason, but he looked fresh and made some decent plays in place of injured veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick.

Linebacker Jaylon Smith also continued to look like the playmaker the Cowboys expected him to be. He led the team with 10 tackles and once again was flying around the field. He didn’t get much help from his defensive line, but he shed and ducked several blocks to prevent some big plays from Denver’s playmakers.

Nobody expects this defense to be anything great, but they were on the field for the majority of the game. The Dallas Cowboys are designed to not let that happen.

For the second week in a row, Dak Prescott looked rattled, but he also faced a top-notch secondary for the second week in a row. To make matters worse, running back Ezekiel Elliott was completely taken out of the game, and the Denver defense made the Cowboys’ offense one-dimensional.

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Therefore the game was put in the hands of the defense, and it was a blood bath from there.

The ‘Boys have a tough schedule this year and face some gritty defenses so the offense as a whole will need to find ways to get themselves out of these ruts. As expected, the team was doomed when the offense couldn’t get in a rhythm.

The coaching staff need to see this loss as an opportunity to clean up the sloppiness of the defense and the play calling of the offense. The latter especially. This team found out what could happen when the run game is neutralized.

42-17 is a hard slap in the face of reality when Zeke isn’t eating.

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But perhaps this type of loss is something the team needs to propel them forward to success. I see this as a chance for coordinators Scott Linehan and Rod Marinelli to go back to the drawing board, and I’m looking forward to the team bouncing back in a big way next week on Monday Night Football.

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