FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys' last trip to Denver in 2017 didn't end very well, with a 42-17 blowout loss to head coach Vance Joseph's Broncos in Dak Prescott's second NFL season.
Now eight years later, a much more seasoned Prescott leads the NFL's best offense to face off against Joseph, now the defensive coordinator for Denver, and the Broncos' top five defense.
What're three keys to the game for Dallas to come away with a victory and get above .500? Let's dive into them in this week's Here We Goooo:
Handle Denver's talented pass rush
Well, that's certainly easier said than done.
Nobody has been able to consistently nullify the Broncos' pass rush this year. Denver leads the league in sacks with 34, eight more than the next closest team behind them. Whether it be disguising blitzes or simply just having better personnel, Vance Joseph is doing a great job of setting his players up to get home.
The two biggest threats that the Cowboys will face are DE Nik Bonitto, who is third in the NFL in sacks with eight, and defensive tackle Zack Allen, who has contributed three sacks. Together, they've combined for 35 quarterback hits so far in 2025, first and second in the NFL in that category.
When you have a defense with players that can generate interior pressure and pressure off the edge, especially on the same side of the alignment, it's not fun to play against it.
So how do the Cowboys offensive line and Dak Prescott match up? Well, it'll be one of their biggest tests of the year. Prescott was a surgeon at getting the ball out quickly against Green Bay's pass rush and has only been pressured on 29.8% of his drop backs this year, good for the seventh-lowest rate in the league.
There'll need to be a good balance of Prescott's offensive line holding up for him, as well as getting the ball out quickly. The only problem is, either way, Denver's talented secondary will still be waiting on the back end, creating an all-in-all fascinating chess match to watch between two of the league's best units at their respective positions.
Fly to the ball in the screen game
To a lot of people, Bo Nix's success during his rookie season was a big surprise. So far, he's carried some of that success over to start the year. Why has he been this good up to this point? Because he's doing what he's being asked to do very well, and it isn't really a lot.
That's not a knock on Nix at all, more of a compliment if anything. He's a perfect fit in the Sean Payton system and is getting the ball to Denver's playmakers with low-risk, high percentage throws that help move the offense down field. Nix averages 3.9 air yards per completion on underneath throws, the fourth-fewest in the league.
Additionally, Nix has thrown a screen pass on 14.8% of his passing attempts this year, the second-highest rate in the league. He's completed 35 of his 38 attempts for 216 yards, the most in the NFL on those kinds of passes. It makes sense, as he's got speedsters like Marvin Mims that can do a lot of damage with the ball in their hands and space in front of them.
So with that being the case, the Cowboys' cornerbacks are going to need to be strong at the point of attack to shake off blocks from wide receivers, and fly to the football against screens to take away any chance for a big play coming on one of those kinds of throws. Tackling hasn't necessarily been the strongest facet of this defense this season, and if it isn't again on Sunday, it could be trouble.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens need to be… CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
This article is centered around numbers and statistics and how they play into the game, which you will still get in this third and final portion of Here We Goooo. Sometimes though, in this beautiful game we all love and enjoy, a key to the game can simply be elite football players being elite football players.
That is what the Cowboys will need from CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens on Sunday against one of the more talented secondaries in football, led by the reigning defensive player of the year in CB Pat Surtain. There really isn't anything Surtain can't do. He can cover in zone, he can cover in man, he can tackle, it's exactly what a corner is supposed to look like.
As much of a challenge as this is for the Cowboys offense though, it'll equally be as difficult of a challenge for the Broncos' secondary with Lamb, Pickens, KaVontae Turpin and Jake Ferguson making a lot of guys to account for in the passing game. Lamb and Pickens are one of two duos on the same team that are top 10 in deep receiving yards (20+ air yards).
Against deep throws this season, the Broncos defense has allowed five receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns, coming in at 10th in the NFL. It'll be difficult to manage, but it can be done for Dallas if schemed up the right way, which essentially is just let Lamb and Pickens do what they do best.
