The Dallas Cowboys fell to the Denver Broncos 44-24 in Week 8 as the team has once again fallen under .500 for the season.
Dallas opened the game hot with an interception on the first drive of the game and a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead over Denver.
This lead quickly disappeared after back-to-back scoring drives by the Broncos, which left the Cowboys with a 14-3 deficit, and the two teams traded blows to end the half before the Broncos claimed a 27-10 lead through two quarters.
Dallas never managed to recover from this first-half deficit, as the game was seemingly out of hand by the end of the third quarter, with Dallas opting not to play its offensive starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Here are the two biggest takeaways from the Cowboys’ Week 8 loss to the Broncos:
Defensive Injuries Amplify Defensive Issues
Dallas has struggled defensively all season, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in nearly every statistical category.
Entering Monday Night Football, the Cowboys have allowed the second-most yards per game (404.6) and points per game (31.3), and currently rank tied for 19th in the league in turnovers forced (7).
Through the first eight weeks of the season, the Cowboys have also allowed teams to score at least 40 points in four games, while also allowing opponents to score at least 30 points in six of eight games.
This unit has been among the worst in the league all season.
However, these issues became even more evident due to the numerous injuries in the Cowboys’ secondary.
Players who were ruled out in Week 8 due to injuries included cornerback Trevon Diggs, safety Donovan Wilson, cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., and cornerback Caelen Carson.
As a result, Dallas was relying heavily on Daron Bland, Kaiir Elam, Reddy Steward, Trikweze Bridges, Alijah Clark, and Markquese Bell.
Crafting a game plan for these types of injuries is incredibly difficult, though not impossible.
For a defense that has already struggled even when fully healthy, creating an effective game plan against a deteriorating secondary is just not realistic.
While this Cowboys’ defense should not be trusted for the remainder of this season, there is room for growth as players return from injuries.
Season Outlook Appears Bleak
Dallas now has a record of 3-4-1 and is currently sitting in ninth place in the NFC postseason standings.
This record includes multiple disappointing losses to the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and Broncos that have prevented the Cowboys from being ranked near the top of the standings.
Dallas likely needed to stack wins early in the season due to a difficult schedule to end the year.
Realistically, the Cowboys will have to finish with a record of at least 10-7 to compete for a spot in the postseason.
Finishing the year with a record of 10-7 or better means the Cowboys will have to post at least a 7-2 record, which would result in Dallas finishing 10-6-1.
This record would likely allow the Cowboys to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh seed in the NFC, with the tie potentially playing a major role in Dallas making the playoffs in that scenario.
However, that is unlikely to happen at this point in the season.
Although the Cowboys have an easy strength of schedule overall this season, there are still multiple games that will be incredibly tough matchups for this team.
Dallas still has matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders.
Those first three matchups will come against some of the best teams in the NFL this season, with the remaining two games of that
Outside of those matchups, the Cowboys will have to take on the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders,
While some of those games should lead to victories, multiple of those teams have dealt with injuries or other factors that are not reflected in the team’s schedules.
Simply put, the Cowboys have an incredibly difficult schedule to end the season and need to finish the remaining nine weeks with a record of at least 7-2 to have a shot at the postseason.