Cowboys Country

Broncos 17, Cowboys 7; Top 10 Whitty Observations: Flag Football At Its Worst

Highlights were as sparse as raindrops in DFW this Summer, as the sloppy Cowboys committed 17 penalties in losing to the Broncos in their preseason opener.

Richie Whitt

Looking for a positive from Saturday night's 17-7 preseason loss by the Dallas Cowboys in Denver? No player suffered a major injury. They didn't get shut out.

The end.

On a soggy, sorry night for - and of - football, the Cowboys picked up in 2022 where they left off in 2021: With an ugly, penalty-riddled loss.

10. DAZZLING DEBUTS? - Zilch. Not in this preseason opener. When you know, you know. Like in 2005 when DeMarcus Ware forced two fumbles, had an interception and produced a sack in Seattle in his first NFL game. Or in 2016 when a fifth-round rookie named Dak Prescott showed eye-popping poise and accuracy in going 10 of 12 for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the L.A. Coliseum. None of this year's crop of Cowboys rookies - or any player, for that matter - had a game worth remembering, much less praising.

9. FANTASY FOOTBALL - Thankfully, exhibitions are all about player evaluation over team results. Because this one simply continued a trend of the Cowboys being dismal in the preseason. While the Baltimore Ravens have reeled off an unfathomable 21-game winning streak in games that don't matter, the Cowboys are now 6-15 in the previous five Augusts and have lost their last six preseason games. Alarming? Not a bit. Remember, they went 0-4 last Summer and went on to a 12-5 record in the regular season. I remember in 1989 chronicling a perfectly giddy 3-1 Cowboys' preseason, only to watch them pratfall to 1-15.

8. TYLER'S TROUBLES - First-round draft pick Tyler Smith struggled mightily in his debut. 

He stonewalled defenders in pass protection, but was called for two holding penalties in the run game. (One of the calls was questionable; the other obvious.) It's the continuation of a troubling trend for Smith, who was flagged 16 times in 12 games last season at Tulsa.

7. CASE FOR KELVIN - After a turbulent offseason in which he was questioned by Dallas police in conjunction with a drive-by murder outside a night club, cornerback Kelvin Joseph has waited all Summer to get back on the field. He'll have to wait at least another week to let his positive plays erase his negative, off-field troubles. 

In the second quarter Joseph was beaten for a touchdown pass, then was penalized for lining up offside on a Broncos' missed field goal. Denver took advantage, making the second attempt for a 17-0 halftime lead.

6. FLAG FOOTBALL - The referee in this game was Alex Kemp. Ring a bell? He was also in charge of Dallas' controversial loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card playoff game last January. No doubt about, the Cowboys are an undisciplined team that was the most penalized in the NFL last season. In this game they were flagged a ridiculous 17 times for 129 yards. But maybe Kemp has a little to do with it. In consecutive games with him as ref the Cowboys were called for 31 penalties for 218 yards. The two teams amassed a gaudy 25 penalties.

5. RANDOM RECEIVER? - Cowboys have well-documented questions at receiver with the departures of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson and injures to Michael Gallup and James Washington. There have been suggestions that they should sign free agent Odell Beckham Jr. But another talented-but-troubled target is volunteering for a job. Last seen stripping on the field in New York.

4. NO. 1 AT NO. 2 - Cooper Rush proved his worth last season by guiding the Cowboys to a key October victory in Minnesota in place of an injured Prescott. As the incumbent with at least one skin on the wall, the backup quarterback job is his to lose. And with Will Grier injured for this opener, Rush got almost three quarters to secure his stronghold. But ... did he? He went only 12 of 20 for 84 yards with a sack and an interception. In other words, the door is ajar for Grier.

3. SUPER MEMORY - On Jan. 15, 1978 the Cowboys beat the Broncos, 27-10, to win Super Bowl XII. Zero relevance to this game. And, hideous as it was, this game was much more competitive than the last time these teams met last November at AT&T Stadium when Denver built a 30-0 lead. Just wanted to write something positive. To be fair, fourth-string quarterback Ben DiNucci deserves credit for firing a strike to receiver Simi Fehoko for a 12-yard touchdown that finally got the Cowboys on the board with 4:56 remaining. Though we're not real sure Dallas can count on the DiNucci-to-Fehoko combo for points when it matters this season.

2. ICING THE KICKER - The Cowboys' offense was so woeful that it created only two chances to sort out the team's kicking conundrum. In a steady rain, Lirim Hajrullahu pushed a field goal wide right from 56 yards. Veteran Brett Maher, who will likely by the Week 1 kicker, made the extra point after Dallas' lone touchdown.

1. FIRST-HALF FOLLIES - Dallas' dreadful first 30 minutes included a partially blocked punt, an interception, two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, a sack, a dropped pass by rookie Jalen Tolbert, two touchdown passes allowed, no points, only seven first downs and nine penalties - including two on Randy Gregory replacement Dante Fowler, two on Smith and one on Joseph just before halftime that allowed the Broncos a field goal and a 17-0 lead. It was the ugliest Cowboys' sight in Denver since Tony Dorsett finished his Hall-of-Fame career with a carry for the Broncos in 1988. 

Said an angry Mike McCarthy, "Not good enough football. We've gotta be better."

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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