America’s teams met up for the first time in four years. A lot has changed in those years: Dallas gained two new stars and the Broncos won a Super Bowl but lost Peyton Manning.

Everyone was eager to see who would prove to be America’s true team. Defense was the name of the game Sunday night as the Denver Broncos routed the Dallas Cowboys 42-17. The Broncos came in with a simple game plan, shut down the run game and the rest would fix itself. Ezekiel Elliot quickly became an elite running back in the NFL, and in just one season Elliot ran for 1,631 yards.

The Cowboys offense works around Elliot gaining yards and their quarterback Dak Prescott making big plays down the field. Sunday night, both Dallas weapons were neutralized, leaving the team exposed to a Denver onslaught.

Elliot was able to gain 104 yards on 24 carries Week One against the New York Giants. Week Two, however, the Broncos vaulted defense proved to be a nightmare for Elliot. Elliot was only able to gain 9 yards of total offense, a career low for the young running back. Prescott gained 238 yards but was intercepted twice; the night was filled with frustration for the Cowboys.

Denver, however, was all smiles, producing another quality win. Last year the defense was amazing, but the offense was missing more times than not. Over these first two games of the new season, the offense has come to play under returning Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy.

Trevor Siemian started aggressively helping the Broncos draw first blood and set the pace for the rest of the game. The first bullet pass was to Emmanuel Sanders, a 10-yard completion that put Denver up early and for the rest of the game.

The tone of the game nearly shifted a few plays later. The Cowboys forced Siemian to fumble the ball, one of Siemian’s two mistakes of the night, and quickly turned the error into points. The Cowboys seemed to have new life, only for the Denver defense to erase any hope of a comeback. Denver finished the night with two interceptions and eliminated the Cowboys run game.

Siemian ended the night with FOUR touchdown passes, 231 yards, a 69% completion rate, and a QBR of 67.1. His accuracy and quick thinking in the pocket is rapidly turning him into a superstar quarterback for our team. His new-found ability to scramble and fix a broken play is making our young QB more dangerous; When your QB is dangerous, so is your offense.

CJ Anderson and Jamaal Charles produced another strong night for the Denver run game, combining for 164 yards. Anderson finished the night with 116 yards and got a touchdown to his name.

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders finished the night with two receiving touchdowns helping the Broncos offense put away the Cowboys. Other receivers such as Demaryius Thomas ended the night with 71 yards; Vergil Green ended the night with 11 yards and a touchdown, and Cody Latimer finished the night with 22 yards. The Denver receivers had a solid night that helped Siemian get that terrific stat line, and the Broncos pick up a convincing win.

The defense continues to shine game after game. The legendary “No Fly Zone” finally has a solid front line blocking big run plays. The defense only allowed 9 yards to one of the best running backs in the league. They also only gave up 17 points, just another day in the office for one of the best defenses in the league.

A Siemian fumble and interception cost the Broncos 14 points, and a quick run up the field with time expiring in the first half gave the Cowboys a field goal. Other than that, Dallas was able to achieve nothing on offense. If it wasn’t for the Broncos giving the Cowboys a helping hand, the offense would have been completely nonexistent.

Von Miller was able to snap a five-game sackless streak with two big sacks on Prescott. Hopefully, these two sacks will get Miller back in motion. Having the disruptive superstar pass rusher operating at all cylinders will only make this defense stronger.  Chris Harris Jr was also able to get a key interception.

The big defensive play came when Aqib Talib intercepted Prescott and ran it downfield for a 103-yard return with 2:30 minutes remaining, officially putting this game away. This marked the 10^th pick six of Talib’s career and moved him to 3^rd on the all-time pick six leaderboards. Talib needs one more to tie Charles Woodson and Darren Sharper, and with many years left in him, the Broncos corner might just make history.

The Broncos continue to impress and look to keep the ball moving next Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. This will be the team’s first game away from Sports Authority Field; kickoff is set for 11 AM mountain time.

This is Alex for the Pinnacle, and remember for your action-packed recaps the Arapahoe Pinnacle is where it’s at!