All day, it was tough sledding for the Cowboys to get their run game going. When it's on, it helps not just in the ground attack but opening things up in the play action game too. When it can't find a rhythm, things sputter and get much more difficult to put into place.
Part of the issue on Sunday could have been miscommunication. Brian Schottenheimer talked after the game about how Denver's defense aligns itself super wide, wider than most teams, and you see the side effects of dealing with that on a play like this. Talanoa Hufanga is lined up at the opposite hash, and has his eyes in the backfield the entire time even through KaVontae Turpin's motion, which is instead picked up by rookie slot CB Jahdae Barron.
At the snap, Hufanga crashes down and there's no one to block him. Wait, the Cowboys had two tight ends out there making it 7 on 7 in the box, where did everybody go? Well, Luke Schoonmaker takes away Nik Bonitto. That's one defender out of the equation. Brevyn Spann-Ford comes across to pick up Malcolm Roach, who Tyler Booker let by to get to the second level. That's two. Terence Steele handles Jonathon Cooper in his one-on-one assignment. Up to three. Tyler Smith takes his 1 on 1 out of the equation and makes a path for Blue, with Tyler Guyton and Tyler Booker getting up to the second level and taking out the linebacker. Two more defenders gone.
The last two left are Hufanga, who was unaccounted for, and Eyioma Uwazurike, who got off of Brock Hoffman's block and helped Hufanga make the tackle. Despite all the other assignments being picked up and accounted for, the one that was left open and Hoffman not being able to move his man ultimately leads to no gain. That begs the question, should it have been Guyton's assignment? Rarely do you see two linemen, much less on opposite sides of the line, climb to the second level and double team to take out one linebacker. Denver's front on defense had a lot of those moments, which in part was why the Cowboys couldn't get their run game off the ground on a consistent basis.