On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys go for it on fourth down and easily get it, as Barber gets into New England territory on a run up the middle. However, an unnecessary holding penalty by Kyle Kosier on Tedy Bruschi negates the gain, and Mat McBriar comes on for the punt.
If there’s anything that has gotten in the way for Dallas this season, it’s penalties. Today, they’ve picked up a dozen, for 98 yards. If the Cowboys can’t win today, they’re going to look back at the amount of penalties and the third-down conversions they gave up as what hurt them the most.
12:21: The Patriots, as the Patriots do, make the Cowboys pay as Brady hits Stallworth for a 69-yard touchdown to extend the lead to two scores. New England has scored 17 unanswered points, and Brady has a career-high in touchdown passes with five.
12:08: Tyson Thompson ignites the crowd with a 72-yard kickoff return that puts the Cowboys at the New England 23. That’s instant momentum for you.
Romo quickly finds T.O. for 13 yards, and the Cowboys into the red zone in one play. It’s certainly not over folks, so don’t leave your seats, your couches, or in my case, your bed.
10:07: The first and goal play is a sack, and the second-down play gets the Cowboys a manageable third and goal from the five. But, Romo’s third-down pass to Hurd in the end zone is incomplete, and the Cowboys are forced to kick the field goal, which Folk makes from 23 yards out. Going for it on fourth down might have seemed like a nice idea, but it might still a little too early to have gone for it on fourth down and risk not getting anything. Dallas has all three timeouts, and there’s plenty of time left, so a quick stop gives Dallas a chance to come back and not have to hurry.
8:00: After a kick return by Welker give the Pats excellent starting field position at the 35, two completions to Moss get New England into Dallas territory, and a run by Faulk and a completion to Welker has the Patriots inside the 35. DeMarcus Ware got shaken up on the play, so we’re in a timeout right now.
If the defense can make a stand here and hold New England to another field goal, it’d still basically be the same situation as it would have been already, as Dallas would still need two scores. But, from the looks of it, Dallas might need three, if they can’t stop the run.
5:51: Moss unnecessarily pushes off on a touchdown catch, and the Patriots are pushed back from the 19 to the 29. The Cowboys are starting to look a little defeated now, but the clock hasn’t run out yet.
It doesn’t need much mentioning, but the absence of Anthony Henry is big. Brady might have had a big day anyway, but Henry would have at least helped provide some resistance.
3:59: The defense makes a little stand and keeps New England out of the end zone, so the Patriots can only increase their lead to 14. Monday night’s game shows that it’s not over until it’s over, but now it is, after Junior Seau picks off Romo on the first play of the drive.
While it’s going to be a disappointing loss for the Cowboys, it’s going to serve as a learning experience, because Dallas will know what they have to do and not do in order to be a championship-caliber team come January.
Going down 14-0 early on puts you in a bad position, no matter what personnel you have, and while Dallas’ comeback and the way that they never really were out of it until the end is commendable, it goes without saying that you can’t make mistakes or show your weaknesses in even one area against a team like New England and not pay for them, because a close game can turn into a whipping in a hurry.
But, Dallas should come out of this one much better, because, as I said, if anything, it should serve as a learning experience, and when it comes time for you to play the best of the best, the experiences, both good and bad, are big, if you take the right lessons from them.
The Patriots let one of their rookies get a late rushing touchdown, and that puts a capper on this one, as New England outscores Dallas 27-3 in the last 20+ minutes to remain unbeaten and hand the Cowboys their first loss. I’ll have my analysis later on.
2 comments ↓
That loss hurt. The game plan for the secondary was pitiful. Why not hit the receivers at the line of scrimmage so those little dink passes didn’t work. It seemed like the receivers were always wide open. And the penalties, my golly!
If there’s one thing the defense needs to work on, it’s stopping those little short passes, which has been a big problem in the last couple of weeks.
When you’re dealing with speed, stop it before it has a chance to burn you.
And, if there’s anything that separates a champion from a mere contender, it’s the little things, including penalties.
The guys know what they need to do now, and hopefully they’ll do it, because if they do, they can beat a New England or an Indy, without a doubt.
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