Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not happy that his team is 3-4-1 eight games into the season.
“I am not happy at all with winning three ball games. At all,” Jones said after Sunday’s loss in Denver. “Can we play better? Of course we can play better.”
Jones said he will consider making trades if they can bring in players who will help the Cowboys contend.
“If I saw a proposition for us to help this team, no matter what this score was today, then I would look at it on the merits of helping this team. And if you’re talking about trading for a player or trading a player, I would completely look at it on the merits of the team, both for next week or the weeks after or for the longer term,” Jones said. “Today would not affect a decision on trading for a player.”
Asked if he anticipates shopping any players before the trade deadline, Jones answered, “Not now, no.”
The Cowboys have plenty of ammunition to make a trade, given that they have their own draft picks and the Packers’ next two first-round picks from the Micah Parsons trade. General managers looking to trade a veteran player for future picks would be wise to give Jones a call.
The Broncos won their eighth consecutive game against the Cowboys, dating to a Dallas win in September 1995. Sunday’s game wasn’t close.
The Cowboys led 3-0, and after that, it was all Broncos.
The Broncos beat up the Cowboys 44-24, leading by as much as 27 as they built on what they did in the fourth quarter last week. Denver rallied last week with 33 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Giants.
Denver is 6-2, and Dallas is 3-4-1.
The Broncos did not need a comeback on Sunday, leading 27-10 at halftime and sending Dak Prescott to the bench after the quarterback threw an interception with 10:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. Jahdae Barron and Dondrea Tillman each had a pick of Prescott, who also took sacks from Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers.
The Broncos outgained the Cowboys 426 to 339 with Dallas depleted in the secondary.
R.J. Harvey had 46 yards on seven carries, scoring on runs of 40 and 1, and he had a 5-yard touchdown catch on his only reception. J.K. Dobbins ran for 111 yards on 15 carries.
Bo Nix went 19-of-29 for 247 yards with four touchdowns and an interception, with Troy Franklin catching six passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Pat Bryant had two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown and Courtland Sutton had four catches for 67 yards.
Prescott was 19-of-31 for 188 yards and two interceptions, and Javonte Williams had 13 carries for 41 yards and two touchdowns against his former team. George Pickens caught seven passes for 78 yards and CeeDee Lamb seven for 74.
Joe Milton threw the Cowboys’ touchdown pass in mop-up duty, hitting Jalen Tolbert for a 35-yard score.
The Broncos have ruled out cornerback Pat Surtain.
Surtain injured his shoulder on the Cowboys’ next-to-last play of the half on a 7-yard reception by George Pickens. Surtain was seen working his shoulder after the play.
He did not return to the field with his teammates in the second half, and the Broncos initially listed him as questionable to return.
The reigning defensive player of the year missed one play in the first half after injuring his lower leg.
He made five tackles and a pass defensed against the Cowboys.
The Broncos lead 30-17 nearing the end of the third quarter.
The Cowboys list rookie defensive back Alijah Clark as questionable to return with a rib injury. They began the game short-handed in the secondary as it was.
Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain, the reigning defensive player of the year, did not return with the defense to start the second half.
He remains in the training room with a shoulder injury and is questionable to return, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson reports.
The injury is unrelated to the one that took him out for a play in the first half.
Surtain injured his lower leg in the end zone on the Cowboys’ first possession.
He has five tackles and a pass defensed.
The Cowboys have closed to within 27-17 on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run. He has eight rushing touchdowns, including two on Sunday against his former team.
Broncos cornerback Riley Moss had two pass interference penalties in the end zone in a three-play span that set up Williams’ touchdown run.
The Cowboys haven’t beaten the Broncos in seven consecutive games, dating to a 31-21 win by Dallas over Denver in September 1995. The Cowboys will need a second-half comeback to end their losing streak.
Rookie running back RJ Harvey has rushed for two touchdowns, and Bo Nix has thrown two as the Broncos lead the Cowboys 27-10 at halftime.
The Cowboys, who rank first in total offense and 32nd in total defense, were outgained 264 to 152 in the first half. Dallas scored on only 2 of 6 possessions, with three punts, including two three-and-outs against Denver’s third-ranked defense, and Dak Prescott threw an interception on the team’s final possession of the half.
The Cowboys had Brandon Aubrey in position to try a 70-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the half, but Jahdae Barron picked Prescott on a pass intended for Jake Ferguson. It was Prescott’s first interception since Week 3 at Chicago.
Troy Franklin caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Nix in the first quarter, and rookie Pat Bryant had a 24-yarder with 39 seconds left in the first half. The Broncos also got touchdown runs of 40 and 1 from Harvey.
Nix is 13-of-17 for 169 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Franklin has five catches for 82 yards and Bryant two for 40. Courtland Sutton’s only catch went for 11 yards.
Prescott is 9-of-17 for 97 yards and an interception, and Javonte Williams has rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown on eight carries against his former team. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have combined for six catches for 66 yards.
