• E-mail

DENVER – It's just the Cowboys' second preseason game, so there's no need to overreact.

Honest.

That said, the Cowboys' offensive and defensive starters turned in a pathetic performance Saturday night against Denver.

Actually, that might not be strong enough. What about putrid? Or abject. Maybe you prefer appalling.

You get the idea.

Whether you want to focus on the offense or the defense doesn't really matter, because each was equally inept in the Cowboys' 23-13 loss against Denver at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Most of you have watched enough preseason football to realize the final score isn't really that important. Sure, the coaches and players want to win, but it's more important for the starters to demonstrate they're going to be ready to roll when the regular season starts.

That didn't happen in Denver.

Let's begin with the offense since that's the best part of this team. And let's start with Tony Romo since the Cowboys are only going to go as far as he carries them.

He didn't play particularly well in the joint practice sessions the Cowboys had with the Broncos this week, and it carried over to the game. He wasn't awful, completing 6 of 9 passes for 33 yards, but he was hardly the electric player we've seen for much of his two seasons.

And when he had an opportunity to make a big play, Romo overthrew Sam Hurd for what should have been a 74-yard touchdown. Just so you know, Romo spent much of this week overthrowing receivers on deep balls.

Under Romo's direction, the first-team offense generated 54 yards and three first downs in two possessions. The Cowboys did not have a play of more than 10 yards.

"It comes down to executing. If they man up or play zone, we still have to make plays," Romo said. "We still have a vanilla offense and don't want to show our hand this time of year."

The defense was just as bad.

Jay Cutler completed his first 12 passes as the Broncos scored on their first two drives. At times, the game must have seemed like a 7-on-7 passing drill to him because the Cowboys rarely pressured him, and his receivers were wide open.

After Brandon Marshall's 3-yard touchdown catch gave the Broncos a 14-0 lead, the Broncos had outgained the Cowboys, 161-49.

The Broncos ran the ball with ease in the first quarter, gaining 35 yards on eight carries as Selvin Young and Andre Hall ran through arm tackles and dragged defenders for extra yardage.

"It's good to have a game like this so we can battle back defensively," Cowboys linebacker Bradie James said. "We definitely have to stop people, but sometimes you can't stop everybody."

There were the dumb plays like James' late hit that helped the Broncos convert a third-and-16 and sustain a scoring drive. There also was Marc Colombo's penalty for unnecessary roughness on the Cowboys' first drive.

Didn't Wade Phillips make the players sign a pledge last year that they wouldn't get any more penalties like that? Well, it must be time for them to do it again.

Maybe this team has been reading its press clippings or listening to the national pundits praise them. Perhaps they've been mugging for Hard Knocks instead of focusing on the task at hand.

Surely they don't believe they're entitled to something because they have 13 Pro Bowl players and still managed to significantly upgrade their talent level in the off-season with two first-round picks, along with Zach Thomas and Adam Jones.

These Cowboys have to do more than show up and have the opposition kiss their rings and hand them the game.

They won 13 games last year. They're going to get everyone's best effort – even in the preseason – because they're the measuring stick for most teams.

It's time the starters realized that and started playing like it.

They get another chance Friday.