ENGLEWOOD • The Dallas Cowboys were in town Thursday for a joint practice ahead of their preseason game against the Denver Broncos on Saturday. And despite an effort to keep fights to a minimum, the two teams had several scuffles during the two-hour practice at UCHealth Training Center.

While some players spent most of their day in the middle of fights, other Broncos were having arguably their best practice of camp so far. It was certainly a competitive practice with both sides having their fair share of individual wins and losses. But it did appear the Broncos had the better day, with the offense and defense each clicking.

Here are the top observations from the joint practice between the Broncos and Cowboys:

Stars of the day: Sutton, Chubb, Okwuegbunam, Bonitto

Several Broncos players stood out during the twohour practice — wide receiver Courtland Sutton and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on offense and outside linebackers Bradley Chubb and rookie Nik Bonitto on defense.

Sutton had a hot start to the day, catching a 20-plusyard pass on quarterback Russell Wilson’s first throw of the team period. Sutton went on to catch several more passes for large gains. Over the past week, he’s slowly become Wilson’s top target.

“He’s got an amazing skillset in terms of his ability to catch the football down the field,” Wilson said. “But he’s extremely, extremely bright. He could play quarterback if he wanted to. He’s that smart. He takes all the information in. He understands what the defense is doing. He is one of the best receivers I’ve seen in terms of understanding what’s going on. I’ve played with some amazing receivers — obviously D.K. (Metcalf ) is special, Tyler (Lockett) is special, and I’d definitely put Courtland up there as well.”

If Sutton is Wilson’s top target right now, Okwuegbunam is not far behind, especially in the red zone. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound tight end has had a really strong week of practice and he topped it off with a nice day Thursday. Okwuegbunam had a handful catches, including a bobbling catch in the end zone during the red zone drils, which was the highlight of the day.

“Albert was exceptional today,” Wilson said. “He’s been working at his craft every day. I’ve been pretty hard on him. We’ve been pushing. He’s been taking all the information and working his butt off every day. His ability to get open, to read concepts and understand what he’s trying to do right now — I’m really proud of him. He’s going to have an exceptional year, I believe.”

On the defensive side, Chubb and Bonitto played welll along with the entire defensive line. Chubb had a couple sacks and tackles for loss, while Bonitto had four sacks on the day. It was especially apparent that the Broncos’ front seven controlled the line scrimmage in the run game, which has been an emphasis in camp.

“It’s going to be good, man,” Chubb said. “Just the players we’ve got. The grit and the determination we’ve all got for stopping the run. (Defensive line coach Marcus Dixon) preaches every day that stopping the run and being the No. 1 run defense is going to help us get all those sacks that we want; get us to those third and long situations.”

The fights: Broncos defense gets chippy

Before practice, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said they didn’t come to Denver to fight during the joint practice. As expected though, that was not the case Thursday.

Several fights broke out, all of which were between the Broncos’ defense and Cowboys’ offense. None took place on the other field between the Broncos’ offense and Cowboys’ defense.

“Tempers flared a little bit, but that’s just the nature of football,” Chubb said. “Everybody’s out there competing.”

It appeared most of the fights were instigated by the Broncos’ defensive line and Cowboys’ offensive line, as Dallas was frustrated that Denver’s players were getting too close to hitting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Chubb, Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Purcell, McTelvin Agim and Marquiss Spencer were often the ones in the scuffles for the Broncos. Purcell at one point threw a Cowboys’ helmet across the field. And Spencer was involved in the biggest fight of the day, throwing punches at Cowboys guard Matt Farniok.

“I think defensively it’s one of those things where guys kind of come in your backyard, and as a kid, try to take your ball and leave with it, or something like that,” said safety Kareem Jackson, who tried to play peacemaker throughout the practice. “I think defensively, that’s just how guys are. That’s how we are as a unit. We have to bring that intensity and sometimes it gets a little chippy. It’s football. You’ve got 11 guys out there with egos.”

The offense: Run game takes off

Thursday might have been the best the Broncos’ offense has looked in training camp. Wilson was able to find several different receivers for big gains and toss touchdowns to Okwuegbunam and receivers Jerry Jeudy and Kendall Hinton. He also found rookie receiver Montrell Washington for a couple first-down completions, as Washington continues to have a good camp.

“Started off hot, it felt like. ( We) had a bunch of good plays early,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said of the offense’s day. “And then we started to focus a little more on the run game and got some runs going. ... It seemed like it was good. I wish the two-minute would have been better. The red zone seemed like it went really well.”

The red zone was definitely where the Broncos excelled the most, scoring at least three touchdowns. They did struggle in the two-minute drill, with the first-team offense finishing the first drive with a successful 62-yard field goal from Brandon McManus and turning the ball over on downs on their second attempt. The Broncos also struggled to block Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons — who was last year’s defensive rookie of the year. He got to Wilson a couple times, beating right tackle Calvin Anderson.

But maybe the best sign for the Broncos’ offense was the run game. Running back Javonte Williams broke free for several big runs and it was clear the Broncos’ offensive line was creating holes and getting a strong push up front.

“It’s always critical to be able to run the ball,” Hackett said. “That’s the No. 1 thing to help yourself protect the quarterback, set up the shots down the field and do all the things we want to accomplish. For where we’re at right now, you’re never really going to know until you’ve got to tackle somebody.”

The defense: D-line wins trenches

The Broncos’ defensive line might have been the most dominant unit of the entire practice, as the Cowboys struggled to run the ball and protect its quarterbacks. Chubb and Bonitto led the way, with defensive end Dre’Mont Jones also being disruptive in the backfield.

“I’m not going to say we’re going to win the Super Bowl after today, but we got a lot better throughout camp as well,” Chubb said. “And today was just icing on the cake. We just have to keep pushing forward.”

The one area of concern for the Broncos, though, might be their lack of depth at corner. Starting cornerback Ronald Darby (chest) and nickelback K’Waun Williams (knee) did not participate in the team periods, with Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey replacing them, respectively. Ojemudia and Bassey both had rough days, with Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb beating both several times for big catches. Lamb caught a touchdown during the two-minute drill, beating Ojemudia on a double move.

There were some bright spots in the secondary, with safety Justin Simmons coming up with an interception in the end zone and rookie cornerback Damarri Mathis shining during the red zone period.

“I think we got some great work,” Jackson said. “Couple of preseason games coming up and we’ll continue to go against our guys day-in and day-out. I think we’re where we need to be defensively.”

Injuries: Dulcich has setback

No Broncos were injured during the joint practice, but several guys did not participate, most notably, tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring), running back Melvin Gordon (foot) and K. J. Hamler (knee). Hackett said Dulcich had a “little bit” of a setback with his hamstring injury, while Gordon has a foot contusion. As for Hamler, Hackett said they’re just being extra cautious as he returns from an ACL injury.