Broncos Look To Stay Undefeated Against Dallas

NFL News - October 1st, 2009 - Written by Scott

The Denver Broncos will look to remain undefeated on Sunday as they host the Dallas Cowboys (2-1) in an AFC vs. NFC matchup. Both teams are coming off wins last week. The Cowboy's slipped by Carolina 21-7 and the Broncos eased passed Oakland 23-3. The two teams last met in 2005 on Thanksgiving Day and the Broncos came away with a 24-21 win on a 55 yard field goal by Jason Elam.

Despite the win last week, the Dallas Cowboy's starting quarterback Tony Romo needs to step it up a notch. He played very conservative in last week's game, a game that the win was sealed on an interception return by Terance Newman that resulted in a touchdown. They will need to rely heavily on Romo's arm as their running back situation took another hit with Felix Jones nursing a sprained ligament. His status for Sunday's game against Denver is uncertain and this is extremely crucial as starting running back Marion Barber missed their last game with a strained thigh. Tashard Choice will get the start if they can not go on Sunday and Dallas will have to bring up a running back from their practice squad in order to have two backs available. Defensively, the Cowboys finally did something they had not done in their first two games against Carolina. The Dallas defense brought the kind of pressure they had expected from the beginning and recorded 3 sacks and 3 takeaways.

The Broncos have been running the ball really well this year behind the rushing duo of Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno. They have combined for a total of 414 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Denver is averaging 193 yards per game on the ground and it will be interesting to see how they perform against a Dallas defense that is only allowing 114 yards per game rushing. If the rushing game gets stuffed, they will have to rely on quarterback Kyle Orton. Orton has passed for 663 yards and 3 touchdowns, but more importantly, he has not thrown an interception this year. The Broncos defense, which ranks first in the league, will get their first real offensive test against the Cowboys. They have faced arguably the worst two offensive teams in the league the past two weeks and will now face a Dallas offense which ranks third.

The Cowboys are favored by 3 over the Broncos on Sunday according to Betus Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 42 1/2. Dallas has won eight out of their last eleven games against AFC teams and the Broncos have not started 4-0 since 2003.

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