Broncos Win Final Preseason Game Over Cowboys 27-3

It was a good night for the Denver Broncos (3-1) reserves in Big D as they cruised to a 27-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys (0-4) at AT&T Stadium on Thursday night.

Brock Osweiler returned to form after a difficult game last Saturday against the Houston Texans. Osweiler led four scoring drives as he played late into the 3rd quarter, finishing 9-of-13 for 190 yards and demonstrated his mobility by rushing twice for 29 yards. His longest run came on a 26-yard sprint in the third quarter that set up Kapri Bibbs’ second rushing touchdown of the night from 9 yards out.

"He's matured so much in our system," Broncos head coach John Fox said of the third year quarterback. "He's gotten those live games reps that are so critical in a quarterback's development. I think he showed pretty well again tonight."

The Broncos first scoring drive of the game came as a result of an interception of Brandon Weeden by a diving Tony Carter at the Dallas 38-yard line. After a 3-yard run by C.J. Anderson to the 35-yard line, Osweiler unloaded a 34-yard pass to a diving Andre Caldwell who rolled out-of-bounds at the Broncos 1-yard line. Anderson followed with a run up the middle for a touchdown as the Broncos grabbed a 7-0 lead with 2:06 remaining in the 1st quarter.

The Cowboys quickly responded with a scoring drive of their own. Weeden took the Cowboys on a 14-play, 74-yard drive that included a completion of 26 yards to LaRon Byrd to put the Cowboys on the Denver 9-yard line. A false start on tight end James Hanna two plays later backed the Cowboys up to the Denver 13-yard line and set up a third-and-goal. Weeden would hang on to the ball on the next play and scramble 7 yards before being taken down by linebacker Steven Johnson at the 6-yard line. Dan Bailey came on to kick a 24-yard field goal and make it a 7-3 Broncos leads with 10:45 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

With 1:46 remaining in the first half, the Broncos took over on their own 22-yard line following a unnecessary roughness call on cornerback Tyler Patmon after he made contact with Isaiah Burse who had called for a fair catch on the punt

On the first play of the drive from the shotgun, Osweiler completed a 28-yard pass to Burse at the 50-yard line. Running back Juwan Thompson, battling for one of the last remaining roster spots on the team, completed runs of 9-yards and 2-yards to put the Broncos at the Dallas 41-yard line. Facing a second-and-1 the Broncos called for their first timeout with :52 remaining.

Two incompletions later, Osweiler converted the first down with a 14-yard pass to Burse to put the Broncos at the Dallas 25-yard line. The Broncos called their second timeout with :30 remaining.

Defensive end Kenneth Boatright sacked Osweiler at the 31-yard line to force the Broncos to use their final timeout with :19 seconds remaining. Osweiler would complete one last pass of 29 yards to tight end Cameron Morrah at the 2-yard line. With the clock running, Osweiler spiked the ball with :02 left. Brandon McManus, acquired from the New York Giants in a trade on Tuesday, kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 10-3 lead at the half.

The Broncos offense began the second half like they ended the first, firing on all cylinders. With a third-and-3 at their own 31, Osweiler completed a 57-yard pass on a crossing route down the middle to second round pick Cody Latimer who was finally pushed out of bounds at the Dallas 12-yard line. Latimer had been having a strong camp and exhibited why the coaching staff was so high on their second round draft pick.

A defensive holding call on linebacker Dontavis Sapp moved the Broncos to the Dallas 7-yard line. One play later Bibbs ran the ball in from the 1-yard line for a touchdown and a 17-3 lead with 11:21 remaining. Osweiler’s final drive of the night would cover 42 yards on just three plays and result in a 9-yard touchdown run by Bibbs to increase the Broncos lead to 24-3 with 3:25 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Zac Dysert would come in and complete 4-of-7 passes for 43 yards. Dysert had limited opportunities in games this preseason, playing in the final two games and completing 12-of-18 (66.7%) passes for 106 yards. He had a good training camp, keeping up the pressure on Osweiler and forcing the Broncos into a difficult decision as the mandatory 25 cuts are made before the 2 PM MDT deadline on Saturday. The Broncos know that Dysert will not clear waivers so they can place him on the practice squad. The Broncos will have to put him on the 53-man roster or lose him to another team.

McManus went 2-for-4 with field goals in his Broncos debut. The Broncos traded for McManus in hopes he would replace the suspended Matt Prater. Known for possessing a strong leg, McManus missed field goals of 52 and 54 yards. The Broncos gave up a conditional 7th round pick for McManus. If they decide to go in a different direction prior to the start of the season they will not lose the pick.

The Broncos ended the preseason 3-1 and feeling pretty good about their prospects for the upcoming season. The first team offense and defense performed well in all three games they played. The offense showed they were still explosive and could jump to a sizeable lead quickly. The defense was stingy, keeping the first-team offenses of the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Houston Texans contained and mostly out of the endzone .

The Broncos also showed that they may have their deepest roster in several years, especially on defense. As the names of those players cut in the coming hours are revealed, recognizable names of players who made an impact last season will be on the list.

"Without a doubt this was the strongest roster we had in our four years here," said Broncos general manager John Elway.

As they enter the regular season, the Broncos believe they are a better team than the one that made the Super Bowl seven months ago. With the challenge of playing the equally talented teams of the NFC West during the regular season, the Broncos must go out and prove it.

Coming Up

The Broncos open up Week 1 of the regular season at home against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football, Sept. 7, 2014 at 6 PM MDT.

The Dallas Cowboys open up Week 1 of the regular season at home against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 7, 2014 at 3:25 PM CDT.