The Cowboys only have the pleasure of playing the Broncos once every four years as Denver resides in the AFC.  Sunday will be the first time since 2009 the Cowboys have played in Colorado, a place they haven’t won since 1992. The dynamic duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott weren’t even born yet. The last time the two faced off, in 2013, the Cowboys hosted the Broncos at AT&T Stadium in a shootout that would be remembered for the ages.

The 2-2 Cowboys were facing the 4-0 Broncos led by Peyton Manning.  Both teams boasted a high-powered offense, but nobody could’ve expected what happened that Sunday afternoon in October.

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In total, 920 passing yards were dished out between both quarterbacks, 506 of them coming from Tony Romo.  The Cowboys had three 100-yard receivers that afternoon, with rookie Terrance Williams leading the way with four catches for 151 yards as he caught one of Romo’s five touchdown passes.

Romo finished that afternoon with a 140.0 passer rating, and needed every one of those points to keep up with Manning.

As the game went back and forth, the teams entered the fourth quarter with the Cowboys holding a slim 41-38 lead.  With just over nine minutes to go in the game, the Broncos tied the game up with a field goal from Matt Prater.  Two minutes later, the Cowboys answered with what would end up being their final touchdown of the game with 7:19 left, a four yard touchdown from Romo to Cole Beasley.

After the Broncos tied the game at 48-48 with a one yard rushing touchdown, the Cowboys got the ball back with 2:39 left to play.  This was vintage Romo time where he could be in control to run out the clock while getting the team into field goal range to finally win this epic shootout.

After being sacked on first down, Romo once again lined up in shotgun at 2:04 remaining in the game.  As he scanned the field looking for an open receiver, he threw the ball in a spot where he anticipated rookie tight end Gavin Escobar to end up.  Instead, the pass was intercepted by linebacker Danny Trevathan and returned to the Dallas 24 yard line.  From there, the Broncos would control the clock and end up kicking the game winning field goal, winning 51-48.

This game goes down as one of the most exciting in Cowboys’ history.  The only thing they didn’t do right was finish the fight.  Romo showed he was capable of putting the team on his back but couldn’t get them over the final hump.

This rematch in 2017 figures to be a bit different than 2013.  With two different quarterbacks for both teams, don’t expect a 99-point outburst.

Then again…