Again, this isn’t necessarily a surprise given the young players involved, but eliminating these kinds of fouls is still key for the team that led the league on penalties last season and totaled 14 in its playoff loss to San Francisco last January. A game, coincidence or not, was also ruled by Alex Kemp.
Perhaps the brightest point this time around was the Cowboys’ attack on offense and their defense on the other side of the ball. Dallas averaged 5.0 yards per carry with owner Davis leading the way 51 yards in eight attempts, averaging 6.4. Meanwhile, the Cowboys only allowed 1.8 yards per carry, and neither Denver gained more than 20 yards in the competition.
Behind the middle, Cooper Rush started second last season, the start and was hoping to show the coaching staff he deserved to keep the position. After this, the battle with Will Greer to see who will bring back Dak Prescott will be more intense than ever. Playing in the third quarter, Rush completed 12 of his 20 pass attempts for 84 yards without a touchdown and a single interception for a disappointing 48.8 pass rating.
With Grier out of the squad due to injury, Ben DiNucci handled passing assignments the rest of the way and completed 9 of 16 for 112 yards with a single touchdown and a rating of 99.0. Brandon Smith only had one catch, but he went for 40 yards, which resulted in the Cowboys getting yards.
In the first round, Tyler Smith got his initial taste of the NFL game and looked pretty impressive at times. As would be expected in any debutante, he has had his share of fouls, including two penalties, but his strength was quite evident as he attacked his defender on several occasions.
Neither attacker could do much of anything at first, with both teams going triple in their first possession. The Cowboys offense finally made a slight lead on its third attempt, thanks to an 18-yard completion of Dennis Houston that made Dallas through the midfield.
They made it to 38 homers, but in fourth and second place, instead of giving a chance to one of the two players battling for a spot on the roster, coach Mike McCarthy decided to do it. Under heavy pressure in the middle, Rush’s pass to Galen Tolbert was picked up, and the push was over.
Soon, Denver found itself in a similar situation, facing fourth and second in the 29-yard line from the Cowboys. But Dante Fowler broke through the line from his right defensive position and put pressure on quarterback Josh Johnson, who threw the ball away incompletely.
The second frame started with the Cowboys again failing to convert a fourth and 2, this time Tolbert was unable to hold a pass over the middle. Unfortunately, that gave Denver possession on the Dallas 47-yard line, and three shots later, Josh Johnson reached out to Brandon Johnson on a 40-yard completion. The Broncos then crowned the push with a high pass to Seth Williams, who took the ball down to score the first score of the match.
In Denver’s next series, the Dallas defense appeared to be thrown off the field after the third and thirteenth pass attempt failed. But Tariel Basham was called in to interfere with the pass, giving the Broncos new life. They seized the opportunity, adding another seven points after Kendall Hinton jumped on the back of a Cowboys corner kick from Nachshon Wright to pull in a touchdown pass from 24 yards.
Dallas returned to themselves again before the inning. The Broncos missed a 57-yard field goal as time ended, but Kelvin Joseph was called up for an offside kick, giving Denver another chance for the nearest five yards. And this time it was a good try, as the Broncos entered the beak with a 17-0 lead.
Penalty kicks started where they left off. In their first possession in the second inning, the Cowboys decided to go for him in fourth and one on the Denver 41-yard streak. However, a false start pushed them back five yards and then they were disqualified 25 yards due to a hanging call. With that, Dallas bet.
As the rains began for their next series, the Broncos walked from their 1-yard streak all the way to Dallas 4. But there the Cowboys’ defense held up, keeping Denver out of the end zone in four goal-line attempts.
DiNucci took charge as the Cowboys’ next possession approached the final frame, and brought a spark to the offense. He at least brought the team back to midfield, and while McCarthy decided this time to try a field goal, Yarim Hajrallah’s 56-yard attempt sailed right after Brian Unger struggled to tackle a wet ball on hold.
Then the Cowboys finally got to the plate with less than five minutes remaining. Starting at their 5-yard streak, the offense made 16 plays with rookie Davis lunging three times for 16 yards and pulling a pass for another nine. DiNucci finished it off with a 12-yard hit to Simi Fehoko for the touchdown, and Dallas at least managed to avoid closing.
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