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Week 6 Game Recap: New England Patriots 48, Dallas Cowboys 27
What you need to know
| New England Patriots |
The Patriots came into only the fifth ever NFL match up of teams with 5-0 or better records on quite a roll. They had scored at least 34 points and have won by at least a margin of 17 in all of their games. That trend continued as the Patriots rolled behind a strong performance from quarterback Tom Brady and his stable of receivers. Brady continued to pile up amazing statistics with a 388 yard passing game and career high 5 touchdown passes.
Wes Welker led the New England receivers with his first ever 100 yard game. Welker established new career highs with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. Donte' Stallworth added seven grabs for 136 yards, including a 69 yard touchdown catch and run that is New England's longest play so far this season. Randy Moss chipped in six catches for 59 yards, including a six yard catch for the Patriots' first score.
With a heavy lean to the air, the Patriots only had nine handoffs in the first half. Sammy Morris received all nine of those carries, but found the running room hard to come by. Morris netted only 12 yards on those attempts and had a long gain of three yards. He was injured after a two yard gain on his first attempt early in the second half. He did not return. Kevin Faulk took over the bulk of the carries after Morris left and led the Patriots with 50 yards on 13 attempts.
The Patriots defense started strong. New England held the Cowboys without a first down on Dallas' first three possessions. Dallas was not able to get a first down until the penultimate play of the first quarter. However, the Cowboys were able to get on a roll in the second quarter. Including a defensive touchdown, Dallas scored 17 second quarter points. The Cowboys racked up 136 yards in the second stanza to close within four points at the half. Dallas opened the second half with the momentum and scored first. The Patriots found themselves trailing for the first time in the second half all season. However, the defense stiffened and held Dallas to a field goal for the rest of the game as the Patriots outscored the Cowboys 27-3 over the final 20 minutes of the game.
New England won the time of possession battle by 16:30.
| Dallas Cowboys |
The Cowboys started the game slowly as usual with three three and outs on their first three possessions. Dallas has now scored only once on it's last 22 opening drives (including the postseason). The Cowboys did not get a first down until the second to last play of the opening quarter. However, Dallas had a strong second quarter. With 136 yards in the second quarter, the Cowboys nearly doubled New England's output. Dallas put 17 points on the board in the second quarter and trailed by four at the half.
The Cowboys kept the momentum going and drew first blood in the second half on Patrick Crayton's eight yard touchdown reception. After the extra point Dallas had a 24-21 lead and New England faced its first second half deficit of the season. The Cowboys were unable to keep the momentum, however, and ran out of gas. The offense was able to add only a field goal for the remainder of the contest.
Tony Romo entered the game ranked second in passing yardage. He also trailed only Tom Brady in touchdown passes. Romo did his best to match his counterpart, but came up a little short. Romo completed 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards and two touchdown passes. He was intercepted once on a in the fourth quarter. Romo was under heavy pressure on the play and threw the ball behind his receiver and into the arms of Junior Seau instead.
Like New England, Dallas looked to the passing game first. Although the Cowboys averaged 6.5 yards per running play, they handed the ball to their two running backs only 14 times in the game. Julius Jones had six attempts for 51 yards, while Marion Barber gained 47 yards on eight tries.
Terrell Owens and "the other 81" had nearly identical numbers in the game. Each had six receptions and a touchdown. Owens 66 yards bested Moss by seven. After losing the game, however, Owens was probably not in the mood to celebrate with some post game popcorn.
Dallas entered the game having gone nine quarters without giving up a touchdown drive to the opposing offense; the Patriots put that streak to rest on their initial possession.
The Cowboys run defense put in a good effort, but the pass defense struggled to contain Tom Brady and the Patriot receivers. Brady completed 67 percent of his passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns. Dallas struggled to stop the Patriots on third down: New England converted seven of nine third downs in the first half and 11 of 14 for the game. The Cowboys defense eventually tired as the Patriots took control of the game in the second half.
Dallas was guilty of 12 penalties for 98 yards.
What you ought to know
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 31 - 46 - 388 - 5 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 5 - 0 |
Brady is having a phenomenal season. With a career high five touchdown passes, Brady has now thrown for 21 touchdowns in six games. He has thrown for at least three touchdown passes in each of the initial six games of the season and is the only quarterback in NFL history to accomplish that feat. Brady has been deadly accurate as well. He has completed better than 72 percent of his passes and has thrown only two interceptions. Brady had been sacked only three times entering the game, but the Cowboys were able to get to him three times. Greg Ellis' sack forced a Brady fumble that was recovered by Jason Hatcher and returned 29 yards for a touchdown.
Brady ran twice for three yards each and converted a first down. He was also credited with a one yard loss, when he kneeled down to close out the first half.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 13 - 50 - 0, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (4 targets) |
Faulk took over to lead the Patriots in rushing after Sammy Morris left the game with an injury. All 13 of his attempts were in the second half. He also hauled in three passes, including an 18 yard catch and run.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 10 - 14 - 0 |
Morris struggled to find any running room. His long run netted three yards. His best run of the day went for eight yards, but was negated by a holding penalty. Morris' nine first half carries totaled 12 yards. Morris was injured early in the second half and did not return. He left the field gingerly with what was diagnosed as a "chest injury."
| RB Kyle Eckel, Rush: 3 - 6 - 1 |
Eckel ran three straight times for six yards, including a one yard touchdown run on fourth down with 23 seconds remaining in the game. It was the first touchdown of his career.
| RB Laurence Maroney |
Maroney missed his third consecutive game with a groin injury.
| WR Wes Welker, Rec: 11 - 124 - 2 (17 targets) |
Welker was targeted a game high 17 times and had a breakout game. Welker established new career highs with 11 receptions, 124 yards, and two touchdowns. Welker did fumble twice, but recovered the first one himself. The second one went out of bounds and New England retained possession.
Welker averaged 12 yards on three punt returns including a hard charging 18 yard return where he ran with his pads low to the ground and broke tackles. The return set up the Patriots in Dallas territory and led to a field goal.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 7 - 136 - 1 (7 targets) |
Stallworth caught all seven of his targets and led New England in receiving yardage. More than half of the yards came his 69 yard touchdown catch and run. Brady hit him in stride on the play. Stallworth then, stiff armed cornerback Jacques Reeves to the ground and was off to the races.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 6 - 59 - 1 (16 targets) |
Moss' six yard touchdown on a third and goal play got New England on the board. It was his only catch of the first half. Moss chipped in five more receptions after halftime. The Patriots tried to find Moss with the deep pass throughout the game, but were unable to connect. Brady overthrew him twice, when he had a step. Moss did a great job to get both feet down, while at full speed on a 43 yard bomb, but the replay official overturned the play by ruling Moss did not have control of the pass. Moss lost another 19 yard touchdown, when officials ruled he pushed the defender to get open. However, Moss also benefited from a questionable pass interference penalty in the end zone that gave the Patriots the ball at the one and set up a Kyle Brady touchdown catch.
Moss leads the NFL with eight touchdown catches on the season. He had his first drop of the season on a pass that was knocked out of his hands by Jacques Reeves.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gaffney caught passes of six and ten yards.
| TE Kyle Brady, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (3 targets) |
Brady was open in the back of the end zone after play action for a one yard touchdown. The catch was just his third of the season.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 1 - 28 - 0 (2 targets) |
Watson caught a 28 yard strike deep down the middle of the field. He also had a six yard catch that was negated by a penalty. On the play, Watson injured his ankle and did not return. He was able to walk to the locker room under his own power.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 2 - 2 FG, 6 - 6 XP, 12 points |
Gostowski had a perfect day. He converted all six of his extra point tries and hit field goals of 45 and 22 yards. The 45 yard field goal is Gostkowski's longest of the season so far.
| NE Rush Defense |
The Patriots run defense held Dallas under 100 yards for the game, but did allow 6.5 yards per carry.
| NE Pass Defense |
The Patriots' defense was up and down in the game. It took Dallas almost an entire quarter to get a first down. However, after that, Tony Romo got into a rhythm and put points on the board on three straight possessions. New England found themselves trailing in the second half for the first time all season. The Patriot defense stiffened, however, and Dallas would add only a field goal for the remainder of the game.
Rodney Harrison and Ty Warren contributed sacks. Junior Seau intercepted his third pass in the past two games.
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 18 - 29 - 199 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Romo entered the game second in both passing yardage and touchdowns. He was at his best running a hurry-up offense on Dallas' last drive of the first half. On the drive, Romo kept the New England defense off balance and completed eight of his nine passes for 104 yards (over 100 due to penalties), including a 12 yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. His only incompletion on the drive also should have been complete, as Terrell Owens was clearly pushed out before he could get both of his feet down. Romo only completed half of his other 20 passes during the rest of the game, but his eight yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton gave the Cowboys the lead in the third quarter.
Romo's interception in the fourth quarter sealed the Cowboy's fate. Romo was under heavy pressure on the play and threw behind his receiver right into the hands of Junior Seau.
Romo lost one yard on a kneel down play after Dallas had conceded the game.
| RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 8 - 47 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Barber rushed eight times for 47 yards. His most exciting play gained only two yards. The play started from the Cowboys' ten yard line. Barber had no room to run and was hit in the backfield. Instead of going down, he kept his legs churning. The problem was that he wound up in his own end zone. However, he was able to outrun the defense around the end and made it all the way back to the 12 yard line before being tackled for a two yard gain. Barber was very close to taking a safety, but he was equally close to taking the run all the way for a touchdown.
Barber's long gain was a 17 yard dash. He added two receptions for 12 yards.
Barber fumbled, but was able to recover the ball on a play that was negated by a penalty.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 6 - 51 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones led the Cowboys with 51 yards on six attempts. 43 of them came on consecutive runs early in the second half. One each, play, Jones was able to burst through a big hole and get into the secondary. Jones ran hard and was able to break tackles. He would have benefited from more attempts.
Jones caught a two yard dumpoff from Romo early in the game. He had a 16 yard reception called back by a penalty on his other target.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 66 - 1 (10 targets) |
Owens was targeted a team high ten times. He caught six of the passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Owens did a nice job of getting his feet down in bounds on a 13 yard out route in the second quarter. He lost a 23 yard grab to an illegal shift penalty. Owens also lost a nine yard catch just before halftime, when he was pushed out before he could get both feet down. However, he caught his 12 yard touchdown pass on the next play. Owens was guilty of a false start penalty. He also dropped his fifth pass of the season on a slightly underthrown Romo pass.
Owens has 16 touchdown receptions in his last 18 games.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 5 - 46 - 1 (9 targets) |
Crayton caught five passes for 46 yards, including and eight yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Crayton had a dropped pass on a crossing route, when he tried to make a one-handed catch on a pass where it looked like he could have gotten both hands on the football.
| WR Sam Hurd (1 targets) |
Hurd was targeted once in the end zone on a quick pass, but Romo threw the ball too high for Hurd to reach it.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 3 - 47 - 0 (6 targets) |
Witten had his lowest receiving totals since week two, when he caught two passes for 27 yards. Witten's catches came on three consecutive passes late in the first half during a scoring drive.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 1 - 26 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fasano caught his only target for a 26 yard gain down the seam of the Patriots' defense. Fasano was called for offensive pass interference, negating a 16 yard catch by Julius Jones.
| PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Folk had a perfect day hitting all three extra point attempts as well as field goals of 38 and 23 yards.
| DAL Rush Defense |
The Cowboys held the Patriots to 75 yards on the ground. Sammy Morris was unable to gain more than three yards on any of his ten attempts. Kevin Faulk had some success and Kyle Eckel added a late touchdown, but the Dallas defense did a mostly good job when New England tried to run the ball.
| DAL Pass Defense |
Dallas struggled to stop the New England passing attack throughout the contest. Tom Brady passed for 344 yards and five scores. New England was able to convert 11 of 17 third downs (plus a fourth down conversion) to keep drives moving and put points on the board. The Cowboys were able to sack Tom Brady three times, but did not put enough pressure on him to consistently make him uncomfortable.
Terence Newman contributed eight solo tackles, an assist, and a forced fumble. DeMarcus Ware had six solo stops plus four assists and a sack. Nate Jones also had a sack. Greg Ellis' sack forced a Brady fumble that Jason Hatcher returned for a 29 yard touchdown.
