by PegNews wire

Dallas' Keystone secondary blows it in the final minutes.

The Dallas Cowboys blew it in the final seconds Sunday night against the Broncos, losing a close-fought game 17-10 in Denver. The loss dropped Dallas to 2-2, tied for last place in the NFC East with Washington, and two games behind the 4-0 NY Giants.

Photo not provided by the Dallas Cowboys

It was another rough day for the Dallas secondary (pictured).

The game was tied 10-10 until the final minutes, when Denver capped a late drive with a ridiculous 51-yard touchdown catch-and-run by offseason distraction Brandon Marshall. Marshall caught the ball over the head of Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman, then proceeded to make the Dallas secondary look like the Keystone Cops, deking five defenders in the middle of the field before running it in untouched along the right sideline with just 1:46 left on the clock.

But the Cowboys, who had been impotent during the entire second half, stormed back in the final minute and a half. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo led the team down the field, including converting an unlikely 4th-and-3 by escaping a sack and dishing a pass on the run to Sam Hurd, who rumbled 53 yards with the ball. On the final two plays, however, Romo threw quick passes to Hurd -- who was covered by All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey -- in the end zone, the second of which was batted away and ended the game.

Romo finished 25-of-42 for 255 yards, no touchdowns and one costly interception, while the Dallas rushing attack, ranked #1 coming into the game, was held to a pedestrian 74 yards on just 25 carries. It was the second straight week Romo was held without a passing touchdown.

The Cowboys' next game is a road tilt against the hapless Kansas City Chiefs, who at 0-4 are one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Posted by Todd M.