Apologies to those who thought the Washington game represented a turnaround, however slight, for the Dallas defense.

For those of us who thought the Washington game represented even the slightest turnaround for the Dallas defense ... my apologies. A 44-24 afternoon in Denver proved it was nothing of the kind.

Mile-high disappointment: See photos as Cowboys get thumped in Denver 46 imagesView GalleryOffense

There was no chance Dak Prescott was going to continue this perfection streak (four straight games of passer ratings over 120, all with three TD passes or more and zero interceptions) the rest of the season. But no TD passes and two picks, and not nearly as much production from Javonte Williams in the run game and pre-snap penalties galore ... it was a mess. Even with Patrick Surtain lost for a half, the Cowboys got one touchdown before a garbage-time score.

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Grade: D

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Bo Nix didn't wait until the fourth quarter this week to do all the damage (33 points against the Giants last week). He put 27 on the board before halftime even with a first-possession interception. That came with 264 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes. Denver is a good, not great offense. The Cowboys let Troy Franklin and RJ Harvey have their way in a feeding frenzy against the depleted secondary and listless pass rush of the Cowboys.

Grade: F

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It was a disappointment that Brandon Aubrey didn't get to try a bomb of a field goal in the mile high air. A big kick return against Dallas by Marvin Mims made the Broncos' first second-half points (a field goal) easier than they should have been. Dallas didn't punt poorly Sunday, just too often (five times).

Grade: C

Coaching

Schotty got too cute at the one-yard line early instead of letting Williams bang it in, and the Cowboys settled for a field goal. In a 20-point loss that seems inconsequential but Dallas' only hope was a big, bright start in Denver, and that series of goal-to-go plays after the Trikweze Bridges interception was costly. He's not playing with a full deck when it comes to defense, so -- just like with Dak -- the smallest mistakes are killers.

Grade: D

Overall

Cowboys lost their safeties before the game, no one has any idea what's happening with Trevon Diggs on IR, so they are playing with a second-string secondary. On a team without a pass rush, that's a terrible thing to even try, and Nix -- a solid second-year quarterback -- took full advantage to make it another easy win for Denver over Dallas. Broncos own this rivalry.

Grade: D

X: @TimCowlishaw

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Tim Cowlishaw's Cowboys-Broncos report card: No 'D' in Denver, but plenty in the grades