ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –On Monday, the Broncos had the chance to go back and examine the film from Sunday's 51-48 win in Dallas. The reactions were mixed.
The offense put up more than 50 points for the second week in a row and put together more than 500 yards on their way to edge past the Cowboys.
Getting the chance to watch that performance was enjoyable, according to wide receiver Eric Decker.
"I think anytime you win a ball game it's always fun to watch the next day because the mistakes don't hurt as bad – little things that you feel that you could have done better game day aren't has hard," Decker said Monday. "It's just fun to be in there and know that every game we have potential to win. We have a great team. Our biggest focus is, like I said last week, is to stay on the grind, have the edge, make sure that we come out and play our best football week-in and week-out. The rest will take care of itself."
On the other side of the ball, the Broncos gave up more yards and points to the Cowboys than they had all season. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for more than 500 yards and five touchdowns.
Though ultimately the defense stopped the Cowboys when it mattered most and paved the way for the narrow win, safety Duke Ihenacho said that it felt like a loss.
"It hurt a little bit," Ihenacho said of watching the film. "It was tough, actually. Watching the tape, it doesn't look as bad as it felt, but there were a lot of plays out there that we have to improve on. Obviously, when you let somebody throw for 500 yards, it's a bad game. We got the win, so that's the most important thing. But at the same time, we've got to have more pride in shutting guys down and limiting guys to (less than) 500 yards. Stuff like that. It was a bad game for us defensively. We will try to improve this week."
Head Coach John Fox said Monday that there is always room for improvement on both sides of the ball.
But overall, Fox described the game as a character win.
"I'm very pleased with our team. It was a very tough environment to play in, against a division-leading team for an opponent. I think any time you go on the road in this league you're happy to get out with a win," Fox said. "Concerns—you're concerned with everything. There are a lot of things we can improve at. I kind of like the fact that we were down 14 and I got to watch the grit.
"And then we came up with a huge play when we needed it, defensively. Without that, I'm not sure what happens. So overall, I'm just really happy with the nitty-gritty performance by our team."
