Denver Broncos 51 Dallas Cowboys 48 and Epic Game

Denver 51 Dallas 48 A Game for the Ages

 

I have followed the NFL since 1979 when I was a kid and there have been some really wild games that I have enjoyed. Sunday when the Denver Broncos outlasted the Cowboys 51-48 was one of them.  This game had everything except very little defense.  Tony Romo had the most passing yards in Dallas Cowboys history.  He was 25-36 for 506 yards and 5 TD and 1 Int Peyton Manning was fantastic as well 33-42 for 414 yards 4 TD, 1 Int and a rushing TD for the first time since 2008. 920 total passing yards is like playing a video game.  This game only featured 1 punt by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2^nd quarter. It is unheard of even in the post 2003 era of the NFL when the pass interference and illegal contact rules become more strictly enforced. You can’t basically even sneeze on the WR without a pass interference being called. I love the NFL but hate this part of it. It cheapens the game in my opinion.  As a good friend of mine would say, it’s the arena league at times.

The Cowboys came out flying taking the opening kickoff and scoring on a nice 11 play 79 yard drive.  Romo came out firing the ball all over the place and looked very comfortable doing so. He used Jason Whitten and Terrance Williams to have set the Cowboys up in scoring position. Dez Bryant finished off the drive with a nice catch in the back of the end zone to give them the lead 7-0,

After a fumble by Eric Decker on a nice strip by E Sims the Cowboys pounced again.  Using the run and the passes to Jason Witten Romo set up Demarco Murray with a 4 yard TD to give Dallas a 14-0 lead. The Dallas offense would be basically unstoppable all day long for the most part.

Down 14-0 Peyton Manning did not panic as he lead the Broncos on a 3 play 80 yard drive to get the Broncos back to 14-7.  Even though Decker fumbled earlier, Manning still had confidence in him and he hit Decker on a big play of 57 yards to the Dallas 4 yard line. On the scoring play, Manning hit Julius Thomas with a little shuffle pass that seemed to surprise the Cowboys defense. Thomas would go on to catch 9 passes for 122 yards and was a force to be reckoned with the whole game. Thomas in his 3^rd season and before this year was mainly hurt. Manning has made good use of him and he is playing the Dallas Clark role that was so deadly in Indianapolis in the mid-2000s.

Dallas came right back with another good drive to get a FG to make it 17-7.  Romo mixed his passes up by hitting Witten with more passes of the middle and some nice runs including a 9 yard run by Murray.  After reaching the Denver 8 yard line, the first big play of the game for the Broncos defense was a sack by Shaun Phillips that Romo lost 17 yards on and forcing the FG.

The Broncos would take advantage of the good fortune of Dallas only getting a FG. Manning used some nice runs and receptions by Knowshon Moreno. Ever since Moreno came back last year when Willis McGahee got hurt, he has been a different player. He runs with a mean streak. He might not be the fastest in the world but he knows how to be fundamentally sound, not dance around like when he was younger and seems to always get positive yardage. Moreno plays the Joseph Addai/Edegerrin James part quite well in the Manning offense.  Moreno finished the day with 19 carries for 93 yards and a TD. He also caught 5 passes for 57 yards.  Him along with Ronnie Hillman who caught 4 passes for 42 yards always keep the defense honest. You can’t just focus on Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker.  The RBs are a nice weapon and Julius Thomas just rounds out all the options that Manning has.  Julius Thomas caught passes of 16 and 5 yards and then caught a 9 yard slant to finish the drive off.  This made the score 17-14

On the next possession Romo hit Dez Bryant for a 12 yard gain that turned out to be a big play in the game because as Bryant was going upfield, D Ihenacho forced a fumble that the Broncos recovered.  Giving Manning fantastic field position at the Dallas 41 yard line is a recipe for disaster for a Defense, especially in 2013.  The key player on this drive was Julius Thomas once again.  Thomas caught 3 passes for 30 yards and a nice 9 yard TD to make it 21-17 Denver. They scored two touchdowns in less than 4 minutes of play. The quick strike offense is very difficult for any defense to handle. The amazing part at this point of the game is the Broncos basically only had used Eric Decker for the WR. Wes Welker and D Thomas were mainly decoys.  This would change later on in the game but the WR here have proven to be unselfish as Manning is going to throw the ball to the open player and not force to keep a WR happy.

In the next possession the rarest thing happened. The Broncos stopped Dallas and they actually had to punt.  Malik Jackson sacked Romo as this is the big play of the drive.  This turned out to be the only punt during this wild and crazy game. Denver took over at their own 36 yard line and with a nice run by Knowshawn Moreno for 15 yards and 10 yards the Broncos were on the Dallas one yard line. The next play was the most surprising play of the game. Manning faked to Moreno and then did a naked bootleg wide around left end for a TD. This even faked out the CBS cameras as they did not catch it right away. As I wanted this, I was shocked that Manning could pull of a play that he has not done in years.  This takes to the smarts of Manning.  He is prepared for just about anything a defense can throw at him.  This TD put Denver ahead 28-17.

The Cowboys would not go away easily as Romo made some fantastic plays to get the Cowboys to 28-20 at halftime.  The big play was a 30 yard pass to Terrance Williams to get to the Denver 30 yard line with about 2 seconds left in the half. Dan Bailey hit the 48 yard FG as time expired in the half.

Denver took the 2^nd half kickoff and left off right where they were in the first half.  By mixing runs by Moreno and the first big pass play to Demaryius Thomas of 27 yards, the Broncos were in business at the Dallas 36 yard line.  Another short pass over the middle to D Thomas led Denver inside the 20 yard line. A couple of runs and short passes to Moreno and Hillman led Denver to the 2 yard line. Manning then hit Wes Welker with a TD pass to get the lead to 35-20. Welker who had been very productive with the NE Patriots, usually did not catch more than 6-9 TD passes per season. Well this season in 5 games he has 7 TD catches and seemingly will set a career high of TD receptions.

The next drive proved why the Cowboys and Tony Romo were going to fight this game to the very end.  I had been so impressed with Dallas at this point on how Romo had used Witten, Bryant and Williams.  After a short run by D Murray, Romo went deep to Terrance Williams for about a pass that was 40 yards in the air.  The Broncos defensive back then missed the tackle which led to Williams eventually scoring on an 82 yard TD reception.  The lead was cut to 35-27.

On the following possession by the Broncos, Manning led them again with his precision passing. The big play was a 29 yard throw to J Thomas to get the Broncos in Dallas Territory. Another short pass to R Hillman that went for 19 yards that eventually led to a Matt Prater 48 yard FG that stretched the lead to 38-27 from what we learned earlier in this game, do not count the Cowboys out on this date.  The big plays in the drive were throws to Dez Bryant for 27 yards and pass to C Beasley of 23 yards.  Romo through his 4^th TD of the day to Bryant to make it 38-33. Dallas went for a 2 point conversion and did not get it.

Once Manning got the ball you thought it may be a nice long drive to extend the lead. This was not the case. Manning underthrew a pass to Decker on the left sideline on a deep route and M Claiborne picked him off to set up in great field position at the Dallas 49 yard line.  At the start of the 4^th quarter the Cowboys were primed to take the lead back.  A couple of nice throws to Witten for 15 and 16 yards set up Dallas in prime position. Witten would have a fantastic game catching 7 passes for 121 yards and a TD. Witten has been so consistent over the years and Romo always looks for him in any tough situation when he needs a 3^rd down conversion.  Terrence Williams caught a 10 yard TD and a 2 pt. conversion to give the Cowboys a 41-38 lead.

After the Cowboys took the lead, Manning went back to work. He used some short passes to Knowshawn Moreno and then finally used Welker with a nice 13 yard completion.  After a short pass to Decker to get the ball to the Dallas 37 yard line, the drive stalled. Matt Prater hit a 50 yard FG to tie the game at 41. When I was watching this, I would not remember the last time I saw an NFL game that had it tied at 41.  This was unbelievable at how good both quarterbacks played. It was pure artistry in my opinion.

Romo took over and just as the game seemed like it was going he led them down the field to take the lead 48-41. After a couple of short passes it seemed like Dallas was stalling and with a 3^rd and 6 at their 17, Romo hit Bryant with a laser for 79 yards to go all the way to the Bronco 4 yard line.  Bryant was dominant with 6 catches for 121 yards and 2 TD. The next play Romo hit C Beasley with a 4 yard TD.

Manning got the ball back with 7:19 left to try to tie the game.  Manning was still very patient using his running backs both Moreno and Hillman with some short passes to move the ball to midfield.  Wes Welker who did not have a big game came up with a nice catch of 14 yards to move to the Dallas 36 yard line.  Welker did catch 5 passes for 49 yards and a TD.  Next were passes to Damaryius Thomas for 26 yards and then a pass to Welker to move it to the 1 yard line.  Knowshawn Moreno then scored a 1 yard TD to tie the game at 48.  This was so unbelievable on how each defense had no answers for the other team’s offense.

Dallas took the ball with 2:39 left in the game. The first play Romo got sacked by S Phillips which was a huge play.  The next play Romo was under huge pressure and LB D Trevathan made a diving interception at Dallas 24 yard line.  I hate when people call Romo a choker. He is not a choker. This was a nice defensive play to set up Denver in prime position to win.

Manning took over and then hit D Thomas for 13 yards to the Dallas 11 yard line.  Then hit him again for 8 yards to the 2 yard line. Denver then had 3^rd and 1 with 1:35 left. Moreno got the 1 yard and Dallas used their last time out.  I had a discussion with a good friend of mine and he said that they should let Denver score a TD with that amount of time left to give Romo a chance. As it turned out Manning kneeled down 3 times before Matt Prater hit a 28 yard FG to win the game 51-48. 

As a long time Bronco fan I was on the edge of my seat in this exciting game.  I gained such a large amount of respect for the Cowboys and Romo after this game. The hung with the best offense in the NFL and no one else has even come close this season.  The Cowboys are clearly the best team in the NFC East and should run away with it as the Giants and Redskins have struggled and Philly has been okay and it tied with Dallas.

I wonder if we will see a game as wild and exciting this year. This was truly and epic game and reminded me a lot of the 1982 playoff game between the Dolphins and Chargers which SD won 41-38 in OT.  Thank you all for taking the time for reading the blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.