Mike McCarthy: Cowboys Were 'Outcoached ... Outplayed All the Way Through' by Broncos

The Dallas Cowboys might have only lost to the Denver Broncos by two scores, 30-16, but head coach Mike McCarthy thought it was as comprehensive defeat as you're going to find in Week 9.

"We were outcoached, we were outplayed all the way through," McCarthy told reporters. "This is the first time I felt our energy didn’t exceed our opponent’s, and that was disappointing. … We weren’t the most physical team today." 

This was probably the kind of showing fans expected last week, when Dak Prescott was ruled out because of a calf injury.

Prescott was back under center on Sunday and had his worst performance of the season. He finished 19-of-39 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His stats got inflated by a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, when the outcome was already decided.

Dallas' defense, meanwhile, surrendered 407 yards to the Broncos. Javonte Williams needed just 17 carries to hit 111 yards, while Melvin Gordon III added 80 yards on the ground. Teddy Bridgewater was pretty efficient through the air, going 19-of-28 for 249 yards and one touchdown.

In general, the Broncos seemed to take the trade of Von Miller as a bit of a challenge.

The 20-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 seemed to cement the Cowboys as contenders. They held firm at No. 6 in Bleacher Report's most recent power rankings.

Perhaps this was simply a bad day at the office, and if that's the case, then Dallas wasn't alone Sunday. The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Cleveland Browns by 25 points. The Buffalo Bills mustered just six points in a loss to the previously one-win Jacksonville Jaguars. The New Orleans Saints allowed Matt Ryan to throw for 343 yards.

The Cowboys play the Atlanta Falcons, winners in three of their last four, in their next game. A victory one week from now will allow for a lot of fans to quickly forget about what transpired today at AT&T Stadium.