START OF GAME: Using a pink coin for breast cancer awareness, the Cowboys won the toss and have elected to receive the ball first.

Q1 15:00: Matt Prater boots the opening kickoff five yards deep into the Dallas end zone. Miles Austin returns to kick to the 19-yard line before being tackled by Darrell Reid.

Q1 14:50: Marion Barber gains one yard on first down and is stopped for a gain of four on second down. For the Cowboys, Tony Romo is at the helm. Barber is at running back and Deon Anderson is positioned at fullback. The wide receivers are Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten is at tight end. The Dallas offensive line consists of Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo.

The Broncos defense has taken to the field to start the game, and the starters are Ryan McBean, Ronald Fields and Kenny Peterson on the line, Mario Haggan, Andra Davis, D.J. Williams and Elvis Dumervil at linebacker, Champ Bailey and Andre’ Goodman at cornerback and Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill at safety.

Q1 13:45: On 3rd-and-5 it looked as if the Broncos defense forced a three and out, however, Brian Dawkins was called for defensive holding, continuing Dallas’ first offense series.

Q1 12:38: After Romo found Barber for a 1-yard gain on first down, Barber juked his way through a hole on second down, moving the chains again for the Cowboys. Denver has taken a timeout.

Q1 12:00: Out of shotgun, Romo fakes a handoff to Tashard Choice then finds Sam Hurd for a gain of four on first down. On second down, Choice does receive the handoff and is tackled for a 3-yard loss by Brian Dawkins and Kenny Peterson.

Q1 11:00: On 3rd-and-9, Elvis Dumervil sacks Romo for a loss of one, forcing Dallas to punt.

Q1 10:40: Eddie Royal signals for a fair catch at the Denver 14 on a 47-yard punt by Mat McBriar. Peyton Hillis is called for holding on the play, starting Denver’s first offensive possession of the half back at the 7-yard line.

Q1 10:38: The Broncos offense has taken to the field for their first drive of the game. Kyle Orton is behind center and Correll Buckhalter is at running back. The wide receivers are Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney. Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler are at tight end. The offensive line features Ryan Clady, Russ Hochstein, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper and Ryan Harris. Hochstein is filling in for left guard Ben Hamilton.

Q1 9:47: After Orton finds Royal for a 5-yard reception on first down, Harris is called for a false start, bringing up a 2nd-and-10.

Q1 9:38:The Cowboys defense features a front seven of Marcus Spears, Jay Ratliff, Igor Olshansky, Anthony Spencer, Bradie James, Keith Brooking and DeMarcus Ware, with Terence Newman and Michael Jenkins at cornerback and Ken Hamlin and Gerald Sensabaugh at safety.

Q1 9:23: After Orton misfires to Marshall on second down, he can’t connect with Royal on third and long, forcing Kern to punt from his end zone. The punt takes a Denver bounce, finally stopping at the Dallas 31-yard line. Kern is credited with a 62-yard punt.

Q1 9:15: Dallas guard Leonard Davis is called for holding on first down, moving the Cowboys back 10 yards to their own 21-yard line.

Q1 9:10: On 1st-and-20 Romo throws a screen pass to Barber, who heads upfield for a 26-yard gain and a Dallas first down.

Q1 7:17: Choice rushes for 11-yards to move the chains again. After Choice picks up 7-yards on first down, Romo finds Choice for 3-yards, giving Dallas another first down at the Denver 32-yard line.

Q1 6:11: After Barber rushes for 4-yards, Romo throws wide of Patrick Crayton bringing up third down.

Q1 6:06: Out of shotgun on 3rd-and-6, Romo hands the ball to Choice, who is stopped for a loss of three by Robert Ayers.

Q1 5:56: Nick Folk connects on a 49-yard field goal, giving Dallas an early advantage.

Cowboys 3, Broncos 0

Q1 5:50: Dallas kicker David Buehler launches his first kickoff of the afternoon to the goal line. Kenny McKinley makes a nice move on the kick and returns the ball to the Dallas 30-yard line.

Q1 4:50: Orton throws incomplete to Gaffney across the middle of the field on first down and Moreno gains 5-yards on second, bringing up 3rd-and-5 at the 35-yard line. Harris is called for a false start before the play begins, setting up 3rd-and-10.

Q1 4:30: With Orton pressured on third down, Gerald Sensabaugh steps in front of a pass intended for Gaffney.

Q1 4:24: Kern punts 51-yards to the Dallas 19. Crayton returns the punt 10-yards and after a holding penalty on Haggan, the Dallas offense takes over at their own 39-yard line.

Q1 4:00: Romo throws a swing pass to Choice on first down, and the Cowboys gain 28-yards on the reception. The ball is at the Denver 33-yard line.

Q1 3:00: After Choice gains 1-yard on first down, Romo finds Martellus Bennett for a gain of 13-yards on second down, sending Dallas into the red zone.

Q1 1:35: After a short run by Barber and a Dallas incompletion, the Cowboys faced 3rd-and-7. On the play, Romo finds Williams for a 14-yard gain, placing the ball at the Denver 2-yard line.

Q1 0:43: On 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Barber finds his way into the end zone, extending Dallas’ lead.

Cowboys 10, Broncos 0

Q1 0:40: Buehler boots his second kickoff into the back of the end zone, causing McKinley to take a knee for a touchback.

Q1 0:11: After Buckhalter rushes for 5-yards on first down, a holding penalty on Dallas nose tackle Jay Ratliff helps Denver move the chains. On the final play of the first quarter, Orton completes an 8-yard pass to Gaffney.

Q2 14:38: The second quarter starts with a 2nd-and-2 from the Denver 38-yard line. Buckhalter picks up 3-yards on the play to give the Broncos another first down.

Q2 13:31: Orton looks deep downfield to Marshall on first down, but Jenkins breaks it up. On second down, Buckhalter rushes for 6-yards. Facing a 3rd-and-4, Orton is sacked by Stephen Bowen for a loss 7-yards.

Q2 13:11: Kern’s punt sails 53-yards. After a 5-yard return by Crayton, Dallas takes over at their own 12-yard line.

DALLAS INJURY UPDATE: Sensabaugh has been taken into the locker room with an injury to his right thumb.

Q2 11:31: After Romo connects with Crayton for 9-yards on first down, Choice rushes up the middle for a yard on second down, but is short of the first down marker, setting up 3rd-and-inches. Barber bounches to the outside for a 4-yard gain, moving the chains again for Dallas.

Q2 11:12: Romo throws incomplete on first down and Andre Gurode is called for tripping on second down, setting up 2nd-and-20 for the Cowboys from their own 15-yard line.

Q2 10:10: Dawkins brings down Austin after a 6-yard reception on second down. On 3rd-and-14, Hill forces a Romo fumble. D.J. Williams recovers the ball, giving Denver’s offense the ball at the Dallas 9-yard line.

Q2 10:08: The Broncos’ offensive unit immediately takes advantage of the turnover, as Orton finds Moreno for a 9-yard touchdown reception. Prater connects on the extra point, inching the Broncos closer.

Cowboys 10, Broncos 7.

Q2 10:00: Prater’s kickoff lands at the Dallas 3-yard line and Austin has a nice return, bringing the ball out to the 31-yard line.

Q2 9:02: Barber gains 6-yards on first down and Romo connects with Williams on second down, giving the Cowboys a first down at their own 43-yard line.

Q2 7:12: Barber continues to run hard, rushing for another 6-yards on first down. On second down, D.J. Williams sacks Romo for a loss of 1-yard. Choice rushes for a first down on third down, however, the officials call a delay of game penalty, forcing 3rd-and-10.

Q2 6:28: Romo connects with Austin for 2-yards on third down, and Dawkins tackles the receiver well short of the first down marker. McBriar’s punt sails 43-yards and Royal signals for a fair catch. The Denver offense will take over at their own 12-yard line.

Q2 6:00: Waiting patiently for a hole to open up on first down, Moreno gains 5-yards on first down. Orton can’t connect with Royal on the left side of the field, bringing up third down. Before third down begins, referee Walt Anderson instructs for all play clocks to be shut down as their is a malfunction to the one located behind the north end zone.

Q2 5:45: On 3rd-and-5 Orton finds Buckhalter for a gain of 23-yards. On the very next play, Scheffler is called for offensive pass interference.

Q2 4:10: Orton looks as if he is starting to find his groove. After a 15-yard pass to Graham, the signal caller found Buckhalter for a gain of 9-yards, helping Denver move the chains again.

Q2 4:05: Moreno finds a seam and bursts upfield for a big gain. The play, however, is coming back as Wiegmann was called for holding.

Q2 3:00: The Broncos continue to rack up penalties. After Orton found Marshall across the field, Clady was called for tripping, sending Denver’s offensive unit backwards.

Q2 2:11: With Denver facing 3rd-and-25 from their own 39-yard line, Dallas takes its first timeout of the half to preserve clock.

Q2 2:08: Both play clocks are now operating according to Anderson. On the final play before the two-minute warning, Orton connects with Graham for a 13-yard reception on third down. Looks as if the Broncos will try to pin the Cowboys deep.

Q2 1:51: On 4th-and-12, Kern’s punt sails 41-yards to the Dallas 7-yard line, where Crayton signals for a fair catch.

Q2 0:55 After Choice rushes for 1-yard on first down, Romo gives Dallas’ offensive unit some more breathing room by finding Witten for an 8-yard reception, setting up 3rd-and-1.

Q2 0:33 Choice rushes up the middle, gaining enough for the first down. On the next play, Dallas gets more aggressive, as Romo finds Austin for an 11-yard gain. The ball is at the Dallas 29-yard line.

Q2 0:20 Romo fumbles the snap on first down and throws incomplete down the right sideline. On second down, he finds Choice for a 3-yard gain. Surveying the line of scrimmage on third down, Romo elects to allow time to run out, sending the Cowboys into the locker room with a three-point lead.

Q2 0:00 The Cowboys lead the Broncos 10-7 at the half. A ceremony to honor 100 breast cancer survivors is scheduled for halftime. See you for the second-half blog.

– Zach Eisendrath, DenverBroncos.com

Tags: Dallas Cowboys, First Half Live Blog, Week 4

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