Elliott, Cowboys hit wall in rout
Running back touches ball 13 times for 22 yards in Broncos’ win
Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys offense disappeared in Denver.
Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing last season, had just 8 rushing yards on nine carries in the Cowboys’ 42-17 loss to the Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Until midway through the third quarter, Elliott didn’t have a single yard.
The Cowboys won easily in Week 1, when they were rarely challenged by the floundering New York Giants. But this was an embarrassing offensive performance against a veteran defense.
“This creates a lot of work, but frankly we knew we had a lot of work coming in to this,” owner Jerry Jones said.
Dallas’ loaded offensive line should have presented an edge against a Denver front still dealing with injuries and depth issues. Yet Elliott found little room to run early in the game. As the Broncos built a 21-7 lead by late in the second quarter, the Cowboys were forced out of the comfort zone of their ball-control offense.
Instead, Prescott was left to throw a career-high 50 times. He was sacked twice by Denver linebacker Von Miller and threw two interceptions, which were rare missteps for a quarterback who threw just four picks as a rookie.
“I simply didn’t make enough plays,” Prescott said. “There’s no excuse for it.”
The Cowboys cut the Broncos’ lead to 35-17 in the fourth quarter, but cornerback Aqib Talib sealed Denver’s win with a 103yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute of the game.
“They played better than us, clear as night and day,” Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant said.
Dallas now stands at 1-1 and will need to spend the next week figuring out how to better use Elliott — if the running back is indeed allowed to play.
The NFL has filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court for a stay of an injunction issued by a district court judge that has put Elliott’s six-game suspension on hold. Elliott was initially punished for a violation of the personal conduct policy after an allegation of domestic violence last year.
The Cowboys also face questions about their defense after allowing the Broncos to rack up 380 yards (including 246 in the first half ). Siemian threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns, including two to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, along with the one interception. Running back C.J. Anderson had 118 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had two sacks to bring his season total to four, but the Cowboys could not con- sistently generate a pass rush against the Broncos offensive line, leaving Siemian with plenty of time to allow Sanders and receiver Demaryius Thomas to get open.
The Cowboys lost two cornerbacks during the game, with Chidobe Awuzie injuring his hamstring and Nolan Carroll suffering a concussion, leaving Dallas extremely thin in the secondary with starter Orlando Scandrick already out with a broken hand.
“I don’t think this is a picture of what our team is like at all,” Jones said.
The Broncos move to 2-0 to stay tied atop the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders.
Denver’s biggest question moving into Week 3 is on the offensive line after rookie left tackle Garett Bolles appeared to suffer a serious left leg injury in the second half. Bolles, the Broncos’ first round pick, had to be driven off the field on a cart.