

What were you doing on December 6, 1992, which was the last time the Dallas Cowboys won at the Denver Broncos?
The last time Dallas took care of business in Denver, the dynasty of the 1990’s had just begun, gas was $1.07, Barney was debuting on TV, the Cold War finally ended, and the Chicago Bulls won their second straight NBA title.
Quarterback and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, was the last Cowboys signal caller to lead Dallas to a win at the Broncos, 31-27, passing for 231 yards and three touchdowns on that day in December, while the defense faced off against a Broncos offense that the legendary John Elway didn’t lead but instead back-up Tommy Maddox, who, despite tossing three touchdowns, threw four interceptions.
Since then, the Cowboys have lost their next three games in Denver and, overall, are on a seven-game losing streak against the Broncos, with the last win occurring at the old Texas Stadium during the 1995 season.
Dak Prescott, who wasn’t born the last time Dallas won in the Mile High City, has quarterbacked two of those losses, including Week 2 of 2017, his second season and suffered a 42-17 loss on the road.
“That one was probably one of the uglier games of my career for sure,” Prescott said.” I remember the big rain delay or lightning delay early in the game. I remember Von Miller, Aqib Talib, Chris Harris. They had some guys. Yeah, remember that one. Fresh, obviously, going back there. Just talking to some of the guys, obviously the players that have never been up there, just talking about how loud it’s going to be, preparing for the crowd noise. Amazing atmosphere, looking forward to going back and yeah different results.”
Four seasons later, Dallas, riding a six game winning streak, hosted Denver in a Week 9 matchup that saw the Broncos dominate them 30-16. A game in which former Bronco and current Cowboys running back Javonte Williams rushed for 111 yards of 17 carries.
“This will be the third time. That game was ugly and then came back here and stopped, I want to say a four or five-game winning streak that we were rolling. Beat us pretty good,” Prescott said. “They were more physical and more dominant than us. Going up there, going up to their place is one you want to cross off when you’ve been playing for 10 years or so and you get to see these people twice or multiple times. You’re trying to get all your wins.”
Denver was well known during the 2017 season for fielding one of the best defenses in the league that paved the way to a Super Bowl title two years prior.
Like that 2017 matchup, the Broncos currently field one of the best defenses today, ranking No. 3 overall, first in pressures and sacks, and first in red zone and third-down defense.
“I named some of those older guys but Bonitto and Surtain, right, they’re just a comparison as some of those guys that I played back then. So, credit and respect to them,” Prescott said. “It’s a little bit of both. Obviously, they know that they go hand in hand for them, right. Corners can be a little bit more aggressive, sit a little bit more, play those routes, knowing that they’re getting home on defense with just their rush. Leading the league in sacks, right. Dominating on third down. So, a lot of credit or a lot of respect of them. Just continue to go in there and play my game. Starts with beating the pass rush and when you got the receivers I do, having confidence in them to win.”
This season, the veteran quarterback is enjoying arguably the best stretch of his career, at 32 years old, he has passed for 1,881 yards, 16 touchdowns, an 81.2 QBR, which ranks first in the league, has thrown just three interceptions and has not committed a single turnover since Week 3.
Overall, since his last and only regular-season road game in Denver, during that 17 campaign, Prescott has developed and elevated into one of the league’s best passers and has appeared in three Pro Bowls, a Second-Team All-Pro selection, and an MVP runner-up season in 2023.
“I think that was my second season. I hadn’t even had personalized [QB] training yet,” Prescott said. “I came in as a rookie and played so well, I was telling my coaches — no knock to any of my coaches — but I almost didn’t get coached in the details of the position because I started off so hot. ‘Don’t mess with him, don’t ruin it.’ Year 2 was tough, and that’s probably why it was a down year for me. I’m a guy who wants to get pushed, who wants to get coached hard. Didn’t have a lot of growth from Year 1 to Year 2, which is also on myself having the whole offseason. I can’t even begin. Every part of my game has evolved and changed and gotten better since that.”
While Dallas earned a big win vs. Washington in Week 7, the feeling and narratives through the air are that this team still needs a signature, convincing win to build more confidence and prove its doubters wrong. Prescott, however, downplayed that, instead citing that the focus is now on stringing together wins here on out.
“Every win build’s confidence,” Prescott said. “I think more importantly for us right now it’s about getting a streak going, it’s about winning a couple in a row and a few in a row. You can’t win, you can’t start it if you don’t win this one right here, the second one. So, it’s not necessarily about who they are, it’s about who we are. Our standard and expectations, us knowing we can go out there and start this streak and this is our opportunity.”
Sunday’s matchup will give Prescott a chance to earn his first win vs. the Broncos, who are one of two teams (Buffalo Bills) in which he has yet to beat in his career.