With the season half over, the Denver Broncos finally played their first back-to-back home games. It was their ninth consecutive victory at Empower Field, an NFL best. Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys was a complete Broncos victory, a 44-24 rout that gave Denver its third October win over an NFC East opponent.

The win on Sunday was significant for the Broncos on different levels. First, it was the number one overall offense, led by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, going against Denver’s elite defense. Except for a closing scoring drive in garbage time, led by the Cowboys’ backup quarterback, the battle of the best was dominated by the Denver defense, wearing the uniforms of the Orange Crush era.  After eight weeks, the Broncos’ defense ranks number one overall in the NFL in sacks with 36, number one in red zone defense, third down defense, and touchdowns allowed.

“I loved the fact that we took one of the top defenses in football against one of the best offenses, and we won on that side of it,” said Head Coach Sean Payton after the game. “And then the other side of it, it wasn’t close, so I was proud of our defense. We challenged them like, ‘Hey, we’ll get a chance to see, we’re not playing maybe some of the teams we’ve had prior,’ but they responded.”

On the other side of it, there were accolades to go around. Running back J.K. Dobbins had his second game of the season with over one hundred yards, finishing with 111. He moved up to the number three spot in the NFL with 634 yards, passing former Bronco and now Cowboys running back Javonte Williams by one yard at 633. Williams did score two of the Cowboys’ three touchdowns at Empower Field

Also scoring multiple touchdowns against the Cowboys were the Broncos’ rookie and second-year players. For the second straight week, second-year quarterback Bo Nix posted four touchdowns in one game; this week, it was four touchdown passes. His former teammate at Oregon, Troy Franklin, caught two touchdown passes in the win. The rookies also had their day in the complete team win. RJ Harvey scored three touchdowns, Pat Bryant scored his first NFL touchdown, and cornerback Jahdae Barron caught his first NFL interception.

“Those guys are starting to find a good rhythm, understanding more and more, and knowing more of what they can do. I’m proud of them,” said Broncos’ quarterback Bo Nix. “I’m proud of the work they put in. They are practicing hard, they show up to work, they are great teammates, great team players in the locker room, very humble guys, and just want to make the next play.”

After being the sixth quarterback taken in last year’s draft, Bo Nix leads the 2024 class in total touchdowns with 52, followed by Jayden Daniels in second with 40. This season, Nix is also first in that class through eight games with 1800 passing yards, which is seventh overall in the NFL.

With a 6-2 record, the Broncos lead the AFC West. Looking at their six wins, only one came against a first-place team: their win over the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles. Their other five wins came against teams with a losing record. Four of the Broncos’ next five games are also against teams with losing records. Next up are the 3-4 Houston Texans on the road. Game time is 11:00 AM MT.

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