Dallas Cowboys Exploit, Embarrass Once-Proud New England Patriots - Top 10 Whitty Observations
Sometimes you play well enough to win, and other days you play an opponent that makes it almost impossible to lose.
The Dallas Cowboys enjoyed the latter on Sunday, exploiting the injury-riddled, mistake-prone New England Patriots for an easy 38-3 victory at AT&T Stadium. The 35-point loss is the worst defeat of Bill Belichick's 29-year career.
10. HERE WE GO! - Dak Prescott was fantastic, and also ... funny? In a rudimentary call straight out of Pop Warner football, the Cowboys' quarterback constantly got his offense to the line and just before the snap yelled "Here we go!". Though one time he might have said "Cannon ball!," which would have been even funnier. Dak had the tone and tenor of a beer vendor.
9. OUTSMARTING THE 'GENIUS' - Couple weeks ago the Patriots and Hall-of-Fame bound genius Belichick were the toast of the special teams town for a creative blocked field goal in which Brendan Schooler lined up near the sideline and timed the snap. The Cowboys and special teams coach John Fassel used the play against them, as Schooler and all 11 Patriots lined up with their hand on the ground on a second-quarter extra point. But when New England blindly rushed, holder Bryan Anger calmly raised up and lofted a pass to an embarrassingly open Chauncey Golden for a two-point conversion.
8. NAIL IN THE COFFIN - Without speed or a proven playmaker, the Patriots' offense is - to say the least - compromised. And without their top four cornerbacks, they were left helpless on defense. Christian Gonzalez - who this week was named NFL Rookie of the Month - left with an injured shoulder in the first quarter. New England, already without Jack, Jonathan and Marcus Jones, immediately gave up a touchdown pass on the first play without Gonzalez as Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb with a 20-yard touchdown over seldom-used corner Myles Bryant.
7. DAK'S REVENGE? - During this week's preview, Belichick mentioned 21 Cowboys players, coaches and front-office personnel ... but left out Prescott. The quarterback made sure the Pats' coach took note of him on the field, completing 27 of 33 for 256 yards and a touchdown without a turnover. The Cowboys improved to 2-5 against Belichick.
6. ERROR, ACCESSORIES - Lamb scored Dallas' first offensive touchdown. But he also lost something ... his necklace. After a first-quarter catch Lamb was tackled around his neck, breaking his gold necklace. He tossed the jewelry to the sideline before the next play and stayed in the game. CeeDee has also joined the NFL trend of strapping a mouthpiece to his facemask ... but never actually putting it in his mouth. Add his dangling necklace, and Lamb looks like a rearview mirror full of dangling accessories.
Cowboys' linebacker Leighton Vander Esch celebrates a scoop 'n score against the Patriots.
5. DYNASTY, DONE - Since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season, the team that won six Super Bowls is 26-29 and without a playoff win. A sad sign of the times for the Patriots: After a fourth-down sack of Prescott in the third quarter defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. ran downfield 10 years and did a celebratory dance. His team trailed, 31-3.
4. TYPICAL TRIBUTE - As history suggested, former Cowboys' running back Ezekiel Elliott received a warm welcome but also a rude reception. The team produced a touching pre-game video tribute to Zeke, who then went out gained only 22 yards on eight touches. Former Cowboys running backs Emmitt Smith, Duane Thomas, Calvin Hill and now Elliott are 1-10 coming back "home" to face Dallas. None of them rushed for more than 50 yards.
3. DALLAS, DOMINANT - After a month it's clear the Cowboys' ceiling is as high as any team in the league. Their three wins over the Giants, Jets and Pats have come by a combined, 108-13. The lone loss, which feels like an awkward aberration, came last week to the Cardinals, 28-16.
2. PERFECT 10 - The Cowboys won their 10th consecutive game at AT&T Stadium. They haven't lost since last season's opener to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's the franchise's longest home winning streak since leaving Texas Stadium in 2009.
1. MAC ATTACK - Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones has been accused of being "dirty," but on Sunday he was nothing short of "disastrous." He attempted to scramble in the second quarter but was easily chased down by Dante Fowler Jr., who produced a strip-sack. The resulting fumble was scooped up by Leighton Vander Esch for an 11-yard touchdown and an 18-3 lead. Two possessions later, Jones rolled right and inexplicably lobbed a pass to the opposite side of the field. It was easily picked off by DaRon Bland for a walk-in, 54-yard touchdown. And to add to Mac's comedy of errors, he became the first NFL quarterback to screw up the "tush push." On 4th-and-2, Jones ran the crowded quarterback sneak but fell down - on his own - a good yard short of the first down. After a ridiculous overthrow of an open receiver in the third quarter, Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe.
