Epic Finish in Dallas: Broncos Defeat Cowboys in Shootout

Manning remained perfect, just barely.

Defense was abandoned almost immediately at Cowboys Stadium Sunday afternoon, with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos scoring on nearly every possession of the game and combining for 99 points.

It was the second-highest scoring game in regulation since 1970, which was the year of the NFL-AFL merger. Although they didn’t break that record, there were records broken by each quarterback.

The Broncos Peyton Manning connected on a touchdown pass with Julius Thomas in the second quarter, his 19th through five games. The TD broke the previous record of 18 set by former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper in 2004.

And he was just warming up. Manning went 33-of-42 on the day, amassing 414 yards, four TDs and throwing one INT. He averaged a phenomenal 9.9 yards per play.

Manning also received plenty of help on the ground, courtesy of a surprisingly effective rushing attack led by suddenly relevant running back Knowshown Moreno, who carried 19 times for 93 yards and a TD.Ronnie Hillman added another 17 yards on seven carries.

Romo didn’t disappoint his detractors.

If Peyton Manning had a great day, then Cowboys starter Tony Romo an even greater day—at least on the stat sheet. When the Cowboys went up 14-0 in the first quarter, it became evident that the undefeated Broncos were going to have a tough road to 5-0.

Romo went 25-of-36 passing for 506 yards, five TDs and one INT. He averaged an incredible 14.1 yards per play and received relatively little help from running back DeMarco Murray, who added just 43 yards on 12 carries.

The over 500 yards were a career best for Romo, as well as a franchise record, and he looked to be in a great position to win the game for his team when they got the ball back late in the fourth quarter.

Denver had tied it 48-48, but left a comfortable 2:39 seconds on the clock, plenty of time for Romo and the Dallas offense, which had looked all but unstoppable from start to…almost finish.

Unfortunately he proved unable to close it out, throwing a fatal interception inside two minutes, which was intercepted by the Broncos Danny Trevathan. An ending that has become all too familiar to Romo in recent years.

Matt Prater is one of the only sure things in football.

The Cowboys were backed up well into their own territory at the time of the pick, which put the Broncos immediately—and very comfortably—within field goal range. They let the clock run down through three plays before handing the game over to kicker Matt Prater, who literally doesn’t miss in these game-winning situations.

And he didn’t miss for the Broncos on Sunday. Prater’s field goal put the Broncos ahead 51-48 as time expired, which was like a punch to the gut for Cowboys fans—not to mention owner Jerry Jones, who was visibly upset in his box—who must have felt the game was theirs just two minutes prior.

The win put the Broncos record at 5-0 on the season, while the loss Cowboys dropped to 2-3.