There are few better fixes for an inconsistent offense than facing the Cowboys (or Bengals), who hold one of the NFL's worst defenses through the first half of the 2025 season.
Luckily enough for the Broncos, the Cowboys were their opponent this week. The Broncos entered Week 8 coming off a miraculous comeback win over the Giants last week. Denver failed to score any points before the fourth quarter, when it piled on 33 points to win the game. After finally getting their offense together at the end of the game last week, the Broncos had the perfect opportunity to continue their momentum by facing Dallas's defense, which ranked among the worst in the league in total yards, passing yards and points per game before this week.
The Broncos capitalized. They racked up 426 yards of offense as quarterback Bo Nix completed 19-of-29 passes for 247 yards, four touchdowns and a pick. Running back J.K. Dobbins rushed for 111 of the team's 179 rushing yards on the day, and the offensive line prevented Nix from getting sacked in the 44-24 win.
After the game, a reporter began to ask head coach Sean Payton about facing a Cowboys team that ranks last in the league and is dealing with injuries. Payton interjected and said, "We wanted to keep them last."
"We recognize the injuries. There's a lot of injuries, on our team, throughout the league. That was unimportant to us," Payton also said. "We just went in the game focusing really on what we do well."
Along with a great offensive performance, the Broncos' stout defense stepped up by holding the No. 1 passing offense to just 17 points while quarterback Dak Prescott was in the game. Denver intercepted Prescott twice, and held him without a passing touchdown in the game. The combined efforts of both units allowed the Broncos to move to 6-2 on the season, keeping them atop the ever-competitive AFC West.
The Broncos will look to keep this up when they face the Texans next week. Houston, who holds the top defense in the NFL, should pose a much tougher test to this Broncos offense.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sean Payton Had Savage Line About Cowboys’ Defense After Broncos' Dominant Win.