Cowboys Country

Cowboys Coach McCarthy Dismisses Penalty Connection from 2021 to Debacle in Denver

Follow along as we keep you up to date on Saturday night's preseason matchup versus Dallas and Denver.

Logan MacDonald

In this story:

The Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos kicked off at Empower Field in Denver on Saturday, as fans and the media got their first in-game look at the 2022 Dallas Cowboys.

In game updates will appear below ... But first ...

"I think we all recognize that this isn't the regular season," Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said after a 17-7 loss marred by 17 Cowboys penalties.

McCarthy's point was to try to separate last year's penalty-marred season from this preseason outing.

"I understand your question, (but) last year was last year,'' he said. (See "Flag Football''). "I think last year as far as trying to establish a play style and an identity, it took us a while to get that and once we did, we won a number of games. This is really the starting point that you go through every year.

But ... does it have to start with 17 flags for 129 yards?

Said McCarthy: "This is preseason. I don't think this has anything to do with last year. But I didn't like the number of penalties. I made it clear. I talked about it at halftime and I talked about it briefly in there (the locker room). We'll take a long look at it."

The Cowboys receive the ball first and it's a touchback through the back of the end zone.

First quarter

The Cowboys start off the game with two short runs by Rico Dowdle to result in a 3rd and 6, their first third down situation of the night. Meanwhile, Denver's starting middle linebacker Jonas Griffith goes down with an apparent injury after the two runs. However, Griffith walked off the field on his own power shortly after.

On third down, quarterback Cooper Rush sails it just over the receiver's head on a deep-out route. The Cowboys punt to Denver 14 yard-line and Denver returns to the 32.

Broncos Interception

Facing a 4th and 2, Rush fired a pass out to the right on a short-out right to Jalen Tolbert. Rush was pressed - maybe rookie Tyler Smith got beat? ...

And P.J. Locke got his head around and picked it off for Denver and now the Broncos take over at the Denver 36-yard-line.

Broncos Turnover on Downs

Dante Fowler was too much to block as he busted through the left side of the offensive line on 4th and 2. 

Broncos quarterback Josh Johnson rolled out to the right on a rollout pass before Fowler hit him as releasing. The ball fell incomplete into the turf due to the pressure and the Broncos turn it over on downs. Dallas now takes over at their 29-yard-line after the near-sack for Fowler.

Broncos 7-0 Cowboys

With a 3rd and 8 on the Dallas 45-yard-line, Johnson drops back for Denver and delivers a 40 yard strike to receiver Brandon Johnson. 

The Dallas defense commits two penalties on the play, but Denver declines both in exchange for the big play.

Three plays later, Johnson finds receiver Seth Williams in the front-left of the end zone for a touchdown pass on an athletic jump ball catch.

Broncos 14-0 Cowboys

Oh. ....

And then came another Denver TD. Dallas is down 14-0.

Halftime: Broncos 17-0 Cowboys

Starting at their own 17-yard-line with 1:02 left in the first half, Johnson went 5-6 for Denver and slowly marched the Broncos offense down to the Dallas 39-yard-line. Brandon McManus then lined up for the 56 yard field goal ... but then it was wide left ... but then it wasn't. Denver got another try due to a Dallas penalty, which has been an issue all day for the Cowboys, and drilled it from 51 yards. Denver goes into halftime up 17.

And a bugaboo from last year's otherwise good work remains ... penalties. And yeah, coach Mike McCarthy is still angry about it.

"That's not good enough football,'' McCarthy said.

Broncos Turnover On Down

The Broncos came out firing in the second half, with a 42 yard pass from quarterback Brett Rypien on their fourth play of the half. 

To continue their second drive of the half, Denver then took a twelve play drive all the way to the Dallas three-yard-line. Rypien looked for an out route short to the right, but Cowboys cornerback Kyron Brown jumped the pass for a near interception.

Deflecting the pass to the ground, Brown forces the Denver turnover on downs. Dallas now takes over at their own three-yard-line.

Dallas Field Goal No-Good

The kicker position has been an ongoing concern with Dallas this offseason, as kickers Lirim Hajrullahu and Jonathan Garibay struggled all of training camp. Garibay was waived on Tuesday, while Hajrullahu isn't easing those concerns tonight. His 56 yard field goal was wide right just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter, giving the Broncos the football on their own 46-yard-line as a result of the miss.

Broncos 17-7 Cowboys

A Broncos shutout? Not so fast. It took Dallas 16 plays, but Ben DiNucci finds Simi Fehoko in the end zone for Dallas' first score of the night. Fehoko has impressed all training camp, and now gets his first touchdown of 2022.

Cowboys Turnover On Downs

On 4th and 8, down by 10 points with less than two minutes left to play, Ben DiNucci dropped back just to be sacked by Broncos defensive end Jonathan Kongbo. The fourth down sack seals the game and secures a Broncos win.

Final Score: Broncos 17-7 Cowboys

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Logan MacDonald
LOGAN MACDONALD

Logan MacDonald

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