The Denver Broncos completely dismantled the Dallas Cowboys over four quarters of football on Sunday. They would score multiple touchdowns in three of those four quarters on their way to a 44-24 romp. Since the final quarter in Week 7, Bo Nix has been on fire with 465 total yards and eight touchdowns while leading the Broncos to 77 points in five quarters of football.
At 6-2, they are poised to make another return to the playoffs. However, the AFC West is a close race. If the Kansas City Chiefs win tonight, both they and the Los Angeles Chargers will be nipping at the Broncos heels at 5-3. Denver must keep winning. It’s as simple as that.
Here is what our Mile High Report staff learned from this Week 8 victory:
1. Broncos might actually be good.
Don’t look now but the Broncos lead their division and have swept their NFC opponents on their way to the second best record in the league.
I know people will point to Dallas having a terrible defense, and they do, but this was the most points Dallas has given up all year, and a team boasting one of the hottest offenses and QBs in the league was held to basically 17 points with starters.
Denver so far this year has passed every test. Beating up on lesser opponents, knocking off Super Bowl champions, coming back after starting slow, and now dominating from start to finish.
A defense that can shut down a top offense, and an offense that can hang 44 in the NFL is a pretty dangerous combo.
Consider the league still on notice. – Jeff Essary
With the offense finding its stride over the last 5 quarters, it is safe to say the Broncos are as complete a football team as there is in the NFL. The defense is a known quantity, and has been. The special teams play has been solid. Now, with the running game getting going, and Bo Nix settling in, the Broncos are good in all three phases of the game. There are still areas that need attention. Denver is not perfect. Hiccups in every part of the game are still going to happen. But there is never a moment where the Broncos are just completely outmatched. We call it complementary football, and the Broncos have it. – Adam Malnati
2. The defense CAN cover a tight end.
Jake Ferguson entered the game as one of the more productive tight ends in the NFL this season. He had 51 receptions for 334 yards and 6 touchdowns coming into the game, and that’s the amount he had leaving the game. Ferguson saw 1 target for 0 catches in a game where Dallas trailed for most of it. The achilles heel of Vance Joseph’s defenses has been covering the tight end, and we have seen that this year, but they stepped up and did well against a matchup that I thought was going to burn them throughout this game. – Scotty Payne
3. JK Dobbins deserves a multi-year extension.
While much of their success on Sunday and through this season has come off the backs of the offensive line blocking at a near-elite level, there’s been countless times where Dobbins has made them right. And if we still had last years’ backs with this years’ blocking I doubt the run game would be as productive as it currently is. This duo of Dobbins and RJ Harvey can serve as one of the most productive tandems in the league for years, even when Harvey eventually takes the reigns. – Ross Allen
4. Secondary depth matters, and Denver HAS IT.
Non-Broncos fans could easily be excused for not realizing that Denver played the entire 2nd half without reigning Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Despite playing a Cowboys offense that still ranks #1 in passing yards and passing TDs after Sunday’s game, nothing changed when PS2 didn’t return after half time. That’s not to say Denver didn’t miss him- you always miss a guy like that. But Vance Joseph’s guys had the answers. A half of football that, last season, would have turned out unsettlingly similar to the Browns or Bengals games instead continued to be a defensive clinic as Riley Moss stepped into CB1 duties while Kris Abrams-Draine and 1st round rookie Jahdae Barron back-filled so well that Prescott, Lamb, & Pickens bowed out early, leaving Dallas’s 2nd team to add a meaningless garbage time touchdown. – Taylor Kothe
5. The Broncos youth movement? Yeah, it’s for real!
There was a lot of chatter about Denver’s 2025 NFL Draft class not performing great to date. Yesterday, Jahdae Barron, R.J. Harvey, and Pat Bryant all had huge plays that made an impact for the Broncos. On top of that, second-year wide receiver Troy Franklin had the best game of his career, and several other young players had big moments in the Broncos’ big win over the Cowboys. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of time and patience for a plan to come together. Hopefully they produce well during the second half of the season. The youth movement in Denver seems to be working out well thus far. When’s the last time Denver has been 6-2? It’s been a while! – Chris Hart
What is the one thing you learned from the Broncos-Cowboys game? Share in the comments section below.
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