Fresh off a dominant win over the Washington Commanders, the Dallas Cowboys hit the road this week to take on the Denver Broncos. Dallas has not defeated Denver in nearly 30 years, so the Cowboys will
look to break that long streak on Sunday afternoon.
Before the two teams square off, here are three bold predictions for the matchup.
1) Broncos’ pass rush causes big problems for Dallas’ offensive line, as Denver records five sacks in a game for the sixth time this season
The Broncos do nearly everything well on the defensive side of the ball. Their specialty is getting after opposing quarterbacks. Seven games into the season, the Broncos have recorded a league-leading 34 sacks, eight more than the second-place Los Angeles Rams.
Denver has two defenders, Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper, who have recorded eight and six sacks on the season, respectively. The 14 sacks the duo has combined for are more than 10 NFL teams’ sack totals on the year.
Last week against the Giants, while Denver’s defense did give up 32 points, it still consistently pressured New York’s quarterback Jaxon Dart. The Broncos recorded 18 total pressures, five quarterback hits, and five sacks in the game, marking the fifth time this season their defense has recorded five or more sacks in a single game.
This week, Denver’s pass rush faces a Cowboys’ offensive line that has been vulnerable at times this season. In their matchup against the Commanders on Sunday, Dallas gave up 13 pressures and nine quarterback hurries. While this only turned into one sack, a large part of that was due to Dak Prescott’s ability to dodge pressure and get rid of the ball quickly.
On Sunday, the Dallas offensive line does not get as lucky as it did last week, as the Broncos’ pass rush is dominant again. Denver records five sacks in a game for the sixth time this season, leading the way in a dominant defensive effort.
2) George Pickens continues to look like a number one receiver, recording his third 100+ yard receiving game of the season
If you were looking at positives seven games into Dallas’ 2025 season, the performance of wide receiver George Pickens would likely top the list. The first-year Cowboy has been as impressive as any player on the roster this year, looking like a legit number one wideout.
On the year, Pickens is fourth in the NFL with 607 receiving yards and tied for second in the league with six receiving touchdowns. Pickens stepped up big time in CeeDee Lamb’s absence and continued his hot streak last Sunday with Lamb back in the lineup.
As good as Denver’s defense has been this year, they’ve let some number two receivers have good days against them. Below are a couple of notable number two receivers and how they’ve performed against Denver’s defense this year.
- Wan’Dale Robinson – 6 catches, 95 yards
- DeVonta Smith – 8 catches, 114 yards
- Quentin Johnston – 6 catches, 89 yards
Pickens will follow suit, putting together another dynamite performance. The 24-year-old wideout is Dak Prescott’s favorite target of the day, recording his third 100+ yard day of the season.
3) Dak Prescott records 3o rushing yards in a game for the first time in almost a year
With the strength of Denver’s pass rush, there is a good chance Dak Prescott is going to be on the run a lot in Sunday’s game. To combat Denver’s aggressive pass rush,, the Cowboys may need to utilize Prescott in the run game, something they have been reluctant to do so far this season.
While Prescott isn’t the runner he once used to be, he still has some impressive elusiveness and can navigate the pocket as well as any quarterback in the league. On Sunday, Prescott uses that impressive pocket mobility to break a few big runs, recording 30 rushing yards in a game for the first time since his injury last November.
