In a rain-filled defensive battle the New England Patriots edged out a 13-9 home win over the Dallas Cowboys dropping them to 6-5 on the season. Here are the four biggest takeaways from today’s game.
1. Defense
The Cowboys defense did everything they could to keep themselves in the game. Holding quarterback Tom Brady to 17-of-37 for 190 no matter the elements is impressive. The front provided constant pressure and notched two sacks rarely giving Brady a clean pocket to operate from. They also did a good job defending their territory forcing four field goal attempts in which two were missed. The Patriots managed just 282 yards on 66 plays and were just 3-of-14 on third down. Heck of a game by maybe one of the most underrated units in the league.
2. Weather
No doubt this would’ve been a better game if it were played under better elements. Both Brady and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was forced to cede their high octane passing attacks to the running backs today as both teams combined for 53 carries. Weather also wreaked havoc on both kickers as there was a combined three misses two by the Patriots. While this was a defensive fan’s dream I can’t help but feel shortchanged in this hyped battle of quarterbacks.
3. Tyron Smith
Another rough game giving more and more credence to the thought that maybe its time for him to consider hanging the cleats up. While he has been a stalwart for many years today showed why that might be coming to an end. A couple of holding calls, pressure allowed and subpar run blocking is not a good sign coming from a left tackle. It’s been evident that he’s lost a step but today was definitely one of his worse performances. He needs to turn it around quickly moving forward.
4. Lack of Cooper
Zero catches on targets. That was Amari Cooper’s stat line today. While he was relegated to the sideline due to the heavy use of two tight end personnel it’s still shocking to see him with such few targets. However, he still had a chance to make the play of the game with a huge fourth-down catch to keep the game alive. He would drop it symbolic of the offense as whole today.
