Denver upsets the Dallas Cowboys in a thriller that came down to the final seconds and final play of the game.

Going into their game with the Dallas Cowboys there  were a lot of people that did not think much of the Denver Broncos. They talked about how they had to have a miracle against Cincinnati and how they beat two bad teams in the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders. But what do those people say now?

The Broncos beat the Cowboys with excellent defense and just enough offense while showing the football world they can play well against quality teams. Denver had every chance to cave in but when the going got tough the Denver defense got tougher and the Broncos offense made the plays it needed to make.

How did Denver beat the Cowboys? First of all they used terrific defense, especially in the second half. Dallas was unable to get anything going on offense in the second half. Denver pressured Tony Romo and held the powerful Dallas running game in check.

The play of the game for the Broncos came with 1:50 to go in the fourth quarter when Orton hit Brandon Marshall down the right sideline. Marshall made a nice catch over the Dallas defender than made a beautiful run, zigzagging through the Cowboys into the end zone with the Bronco fans going crazy.

But the game was not over. Dallas moved the ball deep into Denver territory with just seconds remaining. On two consecutive slants routes into the end zone Champ Bailey had the Dallas reciever covered tightly and the Cowboys could not get the TD.

What happens now for the Broncos? Well things continue to get tougher. Denver plays the Patriots next week and will face an even tougher challenge. One advantage the Broncos might have is that head coach Josh McDaniels knows the Patriots about as well as anyone.

What this Bronco victory showed is that the Broncos can beat a good solid team. Their defense is legitimate and their offense does just enough to win. If the Denver offense can become more explosive the Broncos have a chance to be a very good team.

Dallas versus Denver: How the Broncos win this game.

Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos have a lot to prove in the fourth game of the 2009 NFL season.

Dallas is 2-1 with two wins against mediocre to really bad teams. They lost to their arch rival the NY Giants on a last second FG at home in the second week of the season.

The Denver Broncos are 3-0 with two wins against really bad teams, the Raiders and the Browns, and a miracle win over the Bengals…who appear to be a fairly solid team.

So how do the Broncos beat the Cowboys?

Denver is 3-0 but really have played a very soft schedule. The Dallas Cowboys will be their biggest test so far this year for a couple of reasons. Here is how we think the Broncos can beat the Cowboys as three point home dogs.

• Denver MUST stop the Dallas running game. The Cowboys have the best running game so far in the NFL this year and they are capable of dominating any team with their running game. If Denver cannot stop the run they have no chance to win this game.

The Cowboys have a huge offensive line so the Broncos are going to have to play fast and physical. If they allow the huge Cowboy offensive line to push them around they are done. So Denver MUST stop the Cowboy running game. As of this writing Marion Barber will play but Felix Jones will not.

• Denver must put pressure on Tony Romo. Romo has a lot of talent but also has the ability to make a lot of mistakes when under pressure. The Broncos have been really good at pressuring the QB so far this year and that will have to continue in this game. The Cowboys appear to miss T.O. in the passing game but still have enough firepower with Roy Williams, Patrick Clayton, and Jason Witten to cause Denver a lot of problems…unless Denver can put a lot of heat on Romo.

• Denver MUST run the football. Let’s face it…the Broncos are not real good on offense…at least not in the passing game. It is quite apparent that head coach Josh McDaniels doesn’t want to put the game in the hands of Kyle Orton. Orton is a manager of games, not a QB that can consistently carry a team on his back. If Denver cannot run the ball they are in big trouble.

• Kyle Orton MUST make some big plays in the passing game. The Broncos will not be able to run the ball if the Cowboys don’t respect the pass, so Orton has to make a few plays in the passing game. If he does the Broncos have a chance to make some hay against a mediocre Cowboy defense. Don’t expect Orton to go crazy against the Cowboys but he does need to make some plays to open things up a bit.

• The Denver defense needs to create turnovers. So far this year the Broncos have been really good at creating turnovers and in this game they will need to get some more. If the Broncos lose the turnover game they are almost assured of losing…like most teams are. Since Denver is not explosive on offense as of now, the more chances they have to score the better for them.

In conclusion

This is big game for both teams but particulary the Broncos. How good are the Broncos? It is hard to say. They beat two really bad teams and it took a miracle play for them to win the other game. But the fact remains they are 3-0 with a defense only allowing 5.3 points a game. A win over the Cowboys would be confirmation that they are better than most everyone thinks and that their 3-0 record is legit.

It is going to be tough for Denver to beat a team that has a talent advantage at most positions. But this Bronco team is well coached and play a tough physical brand of football. If the Broncos can create some turnovers they have a solid chance of winning.

Denver beats the Raiders to move to 3-0 and becomes a surprise team in the NFL 2009 season.

Does anyone reading this story really believe they thought the Broncos would be 3-0 to start this season? Well they are and they are doing it with DEFENSE!

The Broncos had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season but through three games that defense (with mostly the same players) has given up only 16 total points! Yes, you read that right…only 16 total points in three games!

What is the difference with these Broncos? Well on defense they are solely playing the 3-4 and are a much more physical defense. They fly to the ball, they are creating pressure on the QB, and they are getting turnovers. Ya, we know…they haven’t played a tough schedule yet but it really doesn’t matter….they still have only given up 16 points this year…a paltry 5.3 a game!

On offense they are not flashy. They are steady. The Broncos, as usual, run the ball well and do just enough in the passing game to put points on the board. It is pretty obvious that eventually the passing game is going to need to be more productive. Kyle Orton has not thrown an interception so far this year, but he also hasn’t gotten the passing game into high gear. He continues to miss open receivers and except for the miracle against the Bengals the Broncos have not made many big plays.

The Broncos special teams have been ok, nothing great but nothing real bad. The coaching has been outstanding, especially on defense. Mike Nolan has so far made all the right calls with the Broncos D. On offense head coach Josh McDaniels has realized what he has in Kyle Orton and doesn’t ask Orton to do too much.

Can the Broncos make a serious playoff run? It is far to early to tell but one main concern for the Broncos is their upcoming schedule. It is brutal. Absolutely brutal for the next eight games and it starts in game four with the Dallas Cowboys. If the Broncos can split the next eight they will be 7-4 and probably in contention for the AFC West title and a wild card spot.

So far the Broncos have been the surprise team in the NFL and if they stay healthy they should get better. But teams will start taking a harder look at Denver and not be overlooking them. We think Denver now has a chance to realistically win eight games. But more wins might be possible. The schedule gets so tough. Things will be interesting.

 The Denver Broncos are 2-0 and travel to Oakland today to take on the hated Raiders. Can the Broncos make it 3-0? It would be very surprising to see the Broncos lose to the Raiders but then again, it is surprising to see that the Broncos are 2-0.

Denver was impressive last week against a bad Cleveland team and won on opening weekend in a miracle finish against the Bengals.

The Raiders 1-1 and coming off a rather pathetic win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders biggest problem at this point with the Raiders is their QB position. Jamarcus Russell simply has been terrible in their first two games.

So how do we see this game being played out? As we mentioned earlier we see the Broncos winning this game and possibly winning easy, but the Broncos will need to play better offensively to score an impressive win against the Raiders.

Denver should be able to move the ball against the Raiders while the Bronco defense should be able to control the anemic Raider offense. We look for Kyle Orton to play better this week and put up some decent numbers. One guy the Broncos need to get going is their number one draft pick Knowshon Moreno. He has not been much of a factor in the first two games and the Broncos could really use him in the running game.

The other guy the Broncos need to get going is Brandon Marshall. Marshall has been almost invisable the first two games but should be healthy and have a better understanding of the McDaniel playbook.

We see a Broncos win 27-13.