Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs New England Patriots

Travis Frederick on phantom tripping call: ‘I don’t understand the rule, evidently’

The Cowboys center was as perplexed as everyone else at the two tripping penalties called against Dallas in New England in the Week 12 loss.

Listen to any interview ever done with Travis Frederick, and it’s clear he’s a pretty cerebral guy. He was a National Honor Society member in high school, even graduating early so that he could enroll in a spring football camp at Wisconsin. While in Madison, he earned a degree in engineering mechanics with an emphasis in computer engineering. For his pregame warmup, the 320-pound center runs detailed wide receiver route trees with linemate Zack Martin. Quarterback Dak Prescott has called him “a genius.” Suffice it to say, he’s a smart dude. So to suggest that Frederick doesn’t understand one of football’s fundamental rules would border on absurd.

Yet the seventh-year veteran was quick to question his own football intelligence after an unusual tripping penalty was called against him late in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 13-9 loss in New England.

“I don’t understand the rule, evidently,” Frederick told reporters after the game. “I need to get a clarification on that. When I tried to get a clarification on that, the umpire was nowhere to be found.”

The flag came on a 3rd-and-1 play, negating a first-down pickup by running back Ezekiel Elliott and leaving Dallas instead in a 3rd-and-11 situation that ultimately ended with a turnover on downs.

The tripping penalty is a rarity in the NFL, generally reserved for flagrant and obvious cases of a player flailing to bring another down while being desperately out of position. This was not that.

Even a by-the-book reading of the rule doesn’t really apply. As defined by the 2019 NFL Rulebook: Rule 3, Section 40, “Tripping is the use of the leg or foot to obstruct any opponent (including a runner).” Rule 12, Section 1, Article 8 makes tripping a prohibited act.

Did Frederick lift his leg as he shifted himself around to help double-team Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower? Without question. Was he attempting to trip Hightower? That’s a tough case to make.

And yet, the officials did. What’s more shocking? They did it twice.

Earlier, six-time Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith drew a tripping flag, too. It turned a 2nd-and-13 into a 2nd-and-23, effectively stalling the Dallas drive and leading to a punt that was blocked to give New England a short field (and eventually a touchdown) in the first quarter.

It turns out it has happened twice against the same team in the same game before, and it happened against Dallas, too.

One of the most seldom-seen penalties? Called against Dallas twice in the same game? Several Cowboys were understandably skeptical.

“I know it was my first time hearing the call,” wide receiver Amari Cooper told the media in the visitors’ locker room. “And then to hear it twice in one game, it was kind of… it was just different. I’d never heard that call. I don’t even know what it is. I’m guessing it’s tripping somebody? Like, putting your foot out and tripping them?”

“I mean, that’s been all season long, so it’s no surprise,” Prescott said during his press conference in reference to iffy calls working against the team. “It’s nothing new. As I’ve said before and I’ll continue to say, I’m just going to play the play. That’s my job; I’ll let those guys do their job.”

“I see the definition of whether you’ve made a move, and got your toe down,” owner Jerry Jones told a crowd of reporters, “Whether it’s tripping or not, I don’t want to go to those two particular tripping calls, if you will. I don’t want to go to that.”

Coach Jason Garrett was blunt in his reaction to the tripping flags after the game: “I’ve never seen that before.”

Most who were watching the game seemed to concur.

Even ESPN’s NFL officiating analyst weighed in.

That the penalties came in a game against the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick- with their history of leveraging every possible advantage- made the whole episode even more curious.

That theory calls to mind last season’s Week 7 game versus Washington, in which long snapper L.P. Ladouceur was flagged for a “snap infraction” on a late field goal try. The call moved the Cowboys back five yards; kicker Brett Maher missed the subsequent attempt, and Dallas lost the game. Then-Redskins coach Jay Gruden had reportedly gone to officials prior to the game and warned them to watch Ladouceur’s movements, the exact same ritual the veteran has employed in his snaps for 15 NFL seasons. Ladouceur went through his mechanics. The Redskins jumped. The flag was thrown. The Cowboys were moved backward in a critical moment.

It worked for Washington in 2018. And it’s certainly plausible that Belichick used the same strategy this past weekend in Foxborough.

Even if officials were badgered by a coach into seeing trips that weren’t really there, Frederick took the high road afterward.

“I don’t know how, exactly, the calls come out. I don’t know how that works, and we’re frankly not allowed to talk about the referees and their calls. It’s a call that was made, and you’ve got to try to put yourself in a better situation so that something like that doesn’t make a tremendous impact on the game. You’ve got to able to try and take those type of things out of the game altogether.”

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said, as a defender, he knows what tripping actually looks like.

“I get tripped up every time,” Lawrence said in postgame interviews,  “but, I mean, it’s cool. I ain’t going to sit here and cry about it. If the refs want to call [expletive], let them call the [expletive]. It’s all about what we do… Everybody knows it was no such thing, that a foot was thrown out or anybody was tripped.”

“It’s all up and down,” Lawrence concluded. “They make the rules; we just play the game.”

After one of the rarest penalties in the sport was called on Dallas twice in the same game, it sure seems like the Cowboys weren’t the only ones playing games on Sunday.

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Cowboys, refs and weather botch great matchup, Patriots win 13-9

With the game on the line, the referees decided they would continue to call a woefully flawed game, and Jason Garrett and his coaching staff continued to miserably fail the talent accumulated on the sidelines. The Dallas Cowboys squared off against …

With the game on the line, the referees decided they would continue to call a woefully flawed game, and Jason Garrett and his coaching staff continued to miserably fail the talent accumulated on the sidelines.

The Dallas Cowboys squared off against the league’s best defense, and some of its worse referees, and despite facing those formidable odds and having to overcome some of the worse special teams preparations seen since the term third phase was coined, Garrett still decided being conservative was the way to go on not one, not two, but three trips deep into New England Patriot territory. Of course the final result was a three-field goal performance and a 13-9 loss in a winnable, miserable game in horrible weather conditions.

The Cowboys had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but a series of failed plays inside the 10 led to another cowardly field goal with around seven minutes remaining.

Patriot QB Tom Brady milked much of the time off the clock, but the defense was able to give the offense one more try.

It was really just one more chance for the referees to interject themselves into the game. Dallas made a huge third-down conversion only to get it called back by a phantom tripping penalty on Travis Frederick.

The refs must have been looking for symmetry as they called another phantom trip on Tyron Smith in the first half that also cost Dallas points.

It’s hard to say which was more at fault, the refs, the coaching decisions or the abject failure of the special teams to be prepared for the contest by Keith O’Quinn.

A missed field goal, a blocked punt and three muffed kickoffs just added to the dysfunction in the pouring rain and swirling winds. The muffed kickoffs were the most frustrating part, because the club refused to move their returner up out of the end zone when the kickoffs were clearly landing between the 10 and 20-yard lines.

There was absolutely no adjustment to the weather, or the obvious trends of the game as it went along.

The Cowboys will have to regroup on a short week after falling to 6-5 on the year as they will return home to host the 8-3 Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving.

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Week 12 Inactives: Brady playing, Sanu and Dorsett both out, Cowboys Collins in

A look at who’s in and who’s out in the Week 12 tilt.

The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots are now less than two hours away from one of the biggest NFL matchups of the year as Week 12 rolls along. The high-powered and league-leading offense of Dallas will have to not only face the league’s best defense, but also brave the horrible conditions of driving rains and gusting winds that will reach above 35 miles per hour.

As for the participants, the inactives list are out, and as all expected, Patriots QB Tom Brady will in fact play after being a late addition to the injury report when he received a questionable designation on Friday. The Patriots tend to list a ton of people as questionable, but there is some word Brady does indeed have an elbow issue, although no one sees it as much of a concern.

He will not have two of his top targets though, as both Mohamed Sanu (ankle) and Phillip Dorsett (concussion) will miss the contest. On defense, corner Jason McCourty (groin) will miss his first game of the year.

Not a member of the injury report this week is LT Isaiah Wynn, who was activated off IR this week.

For the Cowboys the focus is on the offensive linemen as both left guard Connor Williams (knee) and right tackle La’el Collins (knee) will play.

Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch will miss the contest with a neck injury. Joe Thomas, who was one of several Dallas players to suffer from the flu this week, will be available as the Sam backer and backup to Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee.

The rest of the inactives are healthy scratches for the Cowboys.

Official Week 12 Inactives

Patriots

WR Mohamed Sanu
WR Phillip Dorsett
CB Jason McCourty
RB Damien Harris
TE Ryan Griffin
TE Ryan Izzo
OT Korey Cunningham’

Cowboys

LB Leighton Vander Esch
DE Joe Jackson
DT Trysten Hill
WR Devin Smith
WR Cedrick Wilson
S Donovan Wilson
OT Brandon Knight

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Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots odds, lines, picks and best bets

Previewing the Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots Week 12 match up, with NFL betting odds, lines, picks and best bets

The New England Patriots (9-1) host the Dallas Cowboys (6-4) Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX. We analyze the Patriots-Cowboys odds and lines, providing sports betting NFL picks and advice around this key Week 12 matchup.

Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots: Week 12 preview, betting trends and notes

Get some action on the games by betting at BetMGM. New customer offer: RISK-FREE First Bet (up to $500!) paid in free bets.

  • The Patriots barely bested the Philadelphia Eagles last week, winning 17-10. It wasn’t pretty, and QB Tom Brady didn’t look sharp, hitting just 55.3% of his 47 passing attempts.
  • The Cowboys were given a run for their money from a bunch of Detroit Lions’ backups, but Dallas was able to pull out the 35-27 victory.
  • Dallas QB Dak Prescott has thrown for three touchdowns in each of the past three games. The Patriots are 2nd best vs. the pass, allowing 152.6 yards/game. They’ve only given up four passing touchdowns all season, so this will be a big key to the game.
  • These teams haven’t met since 2015 and the Patriots have won the last five games, dating back to ’99. Dallas had won the previous seven encounters.
  • The Patriots are the No. 1 defense in the league, allowing just 10.8 points and 249.9 yards per game. Dallas is the No. 1 offensive team, averaging 444.6 yards per game. Dallas is 4th in points scored at 28.6 points/game.
  • The Cowboys allow 322.1 yards/game, seventh best in the league, and are tied at seventh allowing 19.7 points/game. The Patriots average 359.9 yards/game offensively, 16th best in the league, yet they are third at 28.7 points/game. They just haven’t looked good recently and their ground game needs a major boost.

Cowboys at Patriots: Key injuries

Brady (elbow) was a surprise injury report addition Friday, when he was limited. He is questionable. His top-three receivers are also questionable, as Julian Edelman (shoulder), Mohamed Sanu Sr. (ankle) and Phillip Dorsett II (concussion) were all limited Friday.

The Cowboys are relatively healthy, but keep an eye on WR Amari Cooper (knee), who has dealt with a knee issue.

Cowboys at Patriots: Odds, betting lines and prediction

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Patriots 24, Cowboys 20

Moneyline (?)

The PATRIOTS (-278) are the chalk pick here, but this should be closer to a toss up. The Cowboys (+220), however, like to throw in stinkers to keep us on our toes. Regardless, that’s a lot of tax to pay on New England. New to sports betting? A $10 wager on the Pats returns just $3.60 profit with a victory.

Against the Spread (?)

The Cowboys are being spotted 6.5 (-110) points and that hook, as usual, scares me. The Patriots have covered in 70% of their games (7-3), but they’ve played some really poor opponents; that shouldn’t be the case Sunday. Dallas is 6-4 ATS. Expect this one to be close; even if New England has a lead, they are struggling to put better opponents away. DALLAS (+6.5, -110) is the play.

Over/Under (?)

Dallas is 7-3 vs. the O/U, while New England is 3-7. Something has to give, and it likely won’t be the New England defense. Continue to ride the UNDER (-125) with this set at 46.5.

Want action on this game? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @RyanBonini and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Ryan’s NFL-pick record: 21-10

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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News: Vander Esch ‘week-to-week’, Gallup ‘No.1 receiver’, Belichick calls Dak ‘super impressive’

Previewing Sunday’s showdown between Dak Prescott and Tom Brady, outsmarting Bill Belichick, and cashing in on Dak’s pregame dance moves.

So much to discuss as Sunday’s showdown draws ever nearer. The Cowboys look like they’ll be dealing with a surprise scratch in the middle of the defense, while there’s plenty of talk about the two quarterbacks this game will feature. Everyone is trying to predict what Patriots coach Bill Belichick will or won’t do, and what the Cowboys should or shouldn’t do in this one… all while one of the player units in Dallas suggests it’s all just business as usual.

All of that, plus an early look ahead at running back contracts and unrestricted free agents for 2020, breakdowns of both the Dallas offense and defense, and the perfect holiday gift for the Cowboys fan who’s still trying to learn “How to Dak.” That’s ahead in this edition of News and Notes.

Sources: Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck) out vs. Patriots :: ESPN

Updating Thursday night’s big news, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is expected to miss Sunday’s matchup with New England.

“Vander Esch’s injury flared up in practice, which led to an MRI. He will have another MRI in three weeks, according to a source,” reports ESPN’s Todd Archer. Also citing sources, Archer says the second-year star is now considered “week-to-week.”

Longtime veteran Sean Lee will take over for Vander Esch as the team’s weakside linebacker. Joe Thomas is slated to move into Lee’s spot on the strong side, but he has missed two practices this week with an illness.

–TB

Brady vs. Prescott: A one-sided battle is on tap in Cowboys-Pats :: Cowboys Wire

Metrics nerds, get your popcorn ready. Travis Somers presents all kinds of graph goodness in this look at the two quarterbacks who will lead their teams against one another at Foxboro Stadium on Sunday.

Come for the visual eye candy of data plotted out on an X/Y grid and all the pretty colors; stay for the eye-opening conclusion about how the Cowboys’ young star actually compares to the most decorated passer in league history.

–TB

Belichick: Prescott is ‘Super Impressive’

Not much else to say here but watch the reverence  (second vid) the Patriots head coach has for the Cowboys QB ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

— KD

Tom Brady: I’ve disliked the Dallas Cowboys since birth :: Boston Herald

As a San Francisco kid who grew up during the 49ers’ dynasty of the 1980s and saw Dwight Clark make “The Catch” in person as a four-year-old, Tom Brady was perhaps genetically hardwired to hate America’s Team.

“I’ve really not liked the Cowboys since coming out of the womb,” the Patriots quarterback said this week.

“They’ve actually had a great, winning organization, and have got a lot of great players in their history,” Brady said. “Guys that I, just as a Niner fan, you know — you play the Cowboys and every time they’d hand it to Emmitt Smith, it’d be a 5-yard gain. And you’d pull your hair out.”

Brady is 4-0 in his playing career against Dallas.

–TB

Cowboys not changing mentality for defending champ Patriots :: The Mothership

For all the hype and hoopla surrounding Sunday’s showdown with the New England Patriots, the guys in the trenches say they’re approaching this week’s game like any other.

On the Miller Lite Cowboys Hour, offensive linemates Zack Martin and Travis Frederick dispelled any notion that they’re changing their mentality for Week 12 simply because they’ll be squaring off against the defending Super Bowl champions.

–TB

Examining what the Cowboys are up against in Bill Belichick’s singular coaching mind :: The Athletic

“Take away what they do best,” they say. Well, no one’s better at it than New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who has been making winning look easy for going on two decades. The Cowboys offense will present a unique challenge in Foxborough, but here’s a look at what has made things in New England so different for so long.

–TT

Should the Cowboys focus on blitzing Tom Brady? :: Blogging the Boys

The Patriots do just about everything well, but if there’s a weakness to be found, it may in Tom Brady’s performance when under duress.

Connor Livesay writes: “Heading into last week’s matchup against the Eagles, Tom Brady ranked 28th in yards per attempt (4.0), 27th in passer rating (47.9), a 4:3 TD:INT ratio, and is only completing 34% of his passes when under pressure.”

Harassing Brady will be of critical importance, but only if the Cowboys can do it without sending too many blitzers. That’s because one of Brady’s strengths is utilizing screen passes to backs James White, Rex Burkhead, and Sony Michel… and unfortunately, stopping the screen attack hasn’t been something the Dallas defense has excelled at in 2019.

–TB

Classic matchup: Dallas Cowboys’ ‘America’s Team’ vs. New England’s ‘We are all Patriots’ :: ESPN

A comparison between two of the best runs in NFL history, the Dallas team that garnered the “America’s Team” moniker and the Bill Belichick version of the New England Patriots. There’s a trip down memory lane, an NFL record that’s on the brink, and a look at the animosity that the two teams’ success has wrought over the years.

–TT

Amari Cooper confident in WR depth vs. Pats :: The Mothership

Given the Patriots knack for shutting down the thing that’s working best for their opponent, it’s fair to say that keeping wideout Amari Cooper in check will be a priority for the New England secondary. That unit “has been outstanding, ” team staff writer David Helman notes, “anchored by strong play from Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty, and nabbing 19 interceptions on the year.”

Cooper himself, though, thinks that strategy is a double-edged sword. “We have a lot of guys that can make plays, so if they try to take me away and just focus on me, I don’t think that’d be the wisest approach,” he said. “You saw what Gallup and Cobb did last week, going for over 100 yards. If they do try to take me away, we have other guys that can make plays.”

–TB

2 under-the-radar keys to Cowboys finding weakness in Belichick’s defense :: Cowboys Wire

Joey Ickes breaks down a favorite New England technique for negating an opponent’s primary receiver and offers a pair of strategies that Kellen Moore could use in response.

The entire article is worth the read, but one of those tactics has been screamed at the TV by every Cowboys fan out there at some point this season: let Dak Prescott use his running ability.

The second ploy involves a few names that the casual fan- and hopefully the Patriots- might not expect. And a former New England assistant confirms that this particular plan of attack hits one of Belichick’s personal bugaboos.

–TB

All the NFL running backs who could get paid in 2020, and why recent deals look like disasters :: ESPN

Ezekiel Elliott’s is among the running backs’ deals examined in this piece by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, and the results aren’t pretty. Elliott is very good, but he hasn’t recaptured that dynamic play that he flashed throughout his rookie season when he took the league by storm. This year, the new rookie in town, Tony Pollard, has made the Cowboys more efficient when he spells Elliott. Caveat: sample size.

Elliott isn’t holding the Cowboys back by any means, but they have actually been slightly more efficient on offense with backup Tony Pollard on the field than him. Elliott has been on the field far more frequently, but the offense has generated 0.21 points of additional expected points per play with Pollard on the field and 0.17 points with Elliott in the lineup.

–TT

Decoding Kellen Moore: Explosive passes become routine as Cowboys offense transforms before our eyes :: The Athletic

A team’s record has the capacity to make the general NFL fan either overestimate or underestimate a team on that fact alone. This is certainly the case with the Dallas Cowboys, whose offense is as good as any in the league. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and quarterback Dak Prescott have their half of the team rolling in terms of explosive plays and third down conversion. That and more in Bob Sturm’s weekly breakdown of the offense.

–TT

The Richard Report: Cowboys defense allows Detroit a worrisome number of big plays :: The Athletic

It takes two to tango, and in Week 11 the defense failed to hold up their end of the bargain. As explosive as the offense has been, the defense let a backup quarterback match them in that regard. That kind of performance is the exact opposite of the “bend but don’t break” approach that’ s been preached for years in Dallas.

–TT

Top 50 pending NFL unrestricted free agents for 2020 :: The Athletic

The Cowboys dominate this list of upcoming free agents with five players listed on it. Two of them, Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, are guaranteed to continue their careers in Dallas, but the others on the list have futures that are up in the air, including one of the newest members of the team.

–TT

‘How to Dak’ shirts now available :: Cowboys Pro Shop

Nobody knows how to push their brand quite like Jerry Jones. First, it was the “Zeke Who?” shirts that poked fun at the owner’s perceived slight of Ezekiel Elliott during the star running back’s holdout. Then it was the fun the team had with the black cat who appeared during the Week 9 win over the Giants, even putting him on the stadium’s video screen during player intros the following week.

Now it’s Cowboys Nation’s ongoing love affair with quarterback Dak Prescott’s pregame warmup routine.

The 100% cotton tee is available in all sizes for both men and women, and features the above graphic on the back. On the front, the Cowboys star and Prescott’s jersey number appear above the left breast. The shirt sells for $24.99.

–TB

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Witten on Cowboys-Patriots tilt: ‘There are defining games that happen.. this is one’

The 16-year veteran knows some games are bigger than others, and Sunday’s showdown in New England could be a season-defining one for Dallas.

If Sunday’s upcoming Cowboys-Patriots matchup feels like a more monumental game than normal, that’s because it is, with both squads trying to maintain their spots in the postseason chase. It’s the dangerous and streaky Dallas offense against the stifling and surprising New England defense. It’s rising star Dak Prescott’s chance to outgun the veteran Tom Brady and perhaps even signal a changing of the guard of sorts among the league’s quarterbacks. It’s one coach who’s still trying to cement a reputation as a brilliant football mind and motivator matching wits with the unparalleled genius on the opposite sideline. It’s the sport’s two marquee franchises in a regular season showdown that will be a ratings bonanza and spur plenty of wouldn’t-this-be-a-great-Super-Bowl talk among even casual fans.

Most players tend to stay on an even keel when looking ahead to their opponents, being careful not to undersell or overhype any team on the schedule. But the fact is, any-given-Sundays aside, some games are just bigger. Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has been in quite a few over his 16 seasons. And he says the Week 12 clash with the Patriots is a measuring-stick kind of game.

“Yeah, I think it is,” Witten said, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “There are defining games that happen. You look at last year’s season… and you beat a good New Orleans team. This is one of those games. There’s still a lot of games out there, so I don’t think it’s make-or-break. But at the same time, to be able to go on the road and play against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and their team, they’re 9-1 like they are. A great opportunity for us.”

While Dallas has overcome slow starts in several of their six wins this season, early errors have also dug deep holes in all four of their losses. Witten knows that the Cowboys can not afford to similarly waste the first quarter in Foxborough against this particular Patriots unit.

“They’re going to pounce on any mistake you make,” Witten said. “They’re prepared. They’re fundamentally sound. Their in-game adjustments are just at a higher level than anybody else in the league. [Belichick has] done it at that level for so long. And specifically as an offense going [against] him, I think his defense right now, when I watch them on tape, if it’s not the best defense he’s ever had, it’s got to be up there in the top. It’s a big challenge for us. So much respect for him. Greatest coach to ever coach in the NFL.”

A slow start is tough to overcome against a Belichick team. But turnovers are downright fatal. As NFL.com’s Nick Shook points out, “New England owns a plus-18 turnover differential through 11 weeks, a mark that’s twice as good as the next nearest teams (Green Bay and Pittsburgh are tied at plus-nine). The Cowboys, meanwhile, own a minus-one differential.”

A stray ball from an overly-greedy Prescott (like his Week 3 interception versus Miami) or Ezekiel Elliott putting one on the turf (as he did on the second play of the game in Detroit) could prove to be catastrophic if it happens against an elite opponent like New England; the Patriots have scored six touchdowns on defense and special teams thus far this season.

Witten and the Cowboys know they may well have to play a mistake-free game to notch a season-defining victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

“Our guys are up for the challenge,” Witten promised. “We’ve got a lot of healthy respect for them, but just like any other week, you’ve got to prepare and know that you’re going to have to go play your best football.”

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Wednesday Injury Report, Week 12: Patriots WR group is hurting

The first injury report for Week 12 is out and the focus is on the wide receivers.

While the juiciest matchup in Sunday’s big clash between the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots is centered around Kellen Moore’s offense against Bill Belichick’s defense, there’s still plenty of intrigue on the other end of the spectrum.

Dallas’ defense has hardly played up to the lofty expectations placed upon them this season, by both the fanbase and those who reside in building. On the opposite sideline, Tom Brady’s offense has hardly resembled what it has been in years past, especially considering the retirement of tight end Rob Gronkowski. The receivers filling in the gaps haven’t been as fruitful as the club had hoped.

And now, in the first injury report from the week of practice leading up to the Week 12 contest, the receivers the Patriots plan on trotting out are injured. Phillip Dorsett, Mohamed Sanu and Julian Edelman all appeared on the Wednesday injury report and while Belichick always tries to mask the level of hurt, at least two are significant.

Both Dorsett and Sanu missed practice Wednesday.

Dorsett logged 34 snaps in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia before leaving with a concussion. Sanu was acquired via midseason trade with the Atlanta Falcons, played just 55% of the team’s snaps last week and has an ankle injury.

Wednesday practices aren’t the most indicative of whether or not a player will be able to suit up for a game, but it’s something to monitor as the week moves forward.

As for the Cowboys, it was reported earlier that RT La’el Collins (knee) and LB Joe Thomas (illness) were the two who missed Wednesday’s work. Getting Connor Williams and Jeff Heath back in with the first team’s is huge, as is Amari Cooper being a participant this early in the week after being held out last week Wednesday and only taking on a partial workload in the win over the Detroit Lions.

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5 Matchups to Watch in Cowboys-Patriots include Cooper-Gilmore, Lewis-Edelman

There’s plenty on the line for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12. We check out the matchups that should make all the difference.

With 22 players on the field for every play, save for the occasional mental lapses that leave 10 men on the field even when the middle linebacker notices it and refuses to call a timeout, a team sport can still be broken down into a series of individual matchups.

The Dallas Cowboys (6-4) will have their hands full when they travel to Foxboro, MA to take on the New England Patriots (9-1). It will be Dallas’ biggest game since their playoff ouster against the Rams last season and will be a true litmus test. The Cowboys have the second-best offense in the league and a suspect defense. The Patriots have the best defense in the league and a suspect offense.

Dallas’ defense has playmakers, the Patriots’ offense has Tom Brady. In other words, even the lesser parts can jump up and bite. There will be glorious matchups up and down the field, but here are a few we think fans should pay special attention to.

Jourdan Lewis vs Julian Edelman

Edelman remains Tom Brady’s best weapon, and as Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The Fan points out, he’s not afraid to skirt the line between gritty and foul.

Lewis had already been starting for Anthony Brown before the latter was lost for the season with a triceps tear that required surgery. The former is the Cowboys’ best playmaker who is always near the action, and he’s a fiesty competitor as witnessed by the last-laugh culmination of a battle with a WR similar in stature and style to Edelman, Detroit’s Danny Amendola.

The two squared off in a couple sequences and things got testy along the way. That will probably be the storyline of this week’s matchup against the Super Bowl hero.

Amari Cooper vs Stephon Gilmore

When the Cowboys have the ball, getting it in the hands of Cooper is the No. 1 priority. He currently has 56 receptions for 886 yards and seven touchdowns and is on pace to break his career highs in each category if he can remain healthy for the remainder of the regular season. His 15.8 yards a reception is also a career high and it’s all based on an insane ability to to get open.

The difficult part is that Gilmore is probably the league’s best corner. Unlike Dallas’ No. 1 in Byron Jones, Gilmore travels all over the field to keep tabs on the opposition’s top target. NFL quarterbacks have just a 43.5 passer rating when throwing to a target covered by Gilmore.

There is hope, though. Marquis Brown only saw two targets against Gilmore in Week 9, but caught both. In Week 8, Odell Beckham, Jr. caught 4 of 6 targets for 49 yards and dropped another. Rookie Terry McLaurin got him for three receptions for 51 yards earlier in the year as well.

Gilmore’s true talent is shown by how QBs choose to go away from him, and that may still be Dak Prescott’s best option considering the high level of play out of both Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb.

The Patriots have the best defense, but they haven’t seen an attack the likes of what Dallas is bringing to the table.

Robert Quinn vs Marshall Newhouse

Quinn now has 8.5 sacks on the season after gathering another QB soul in the win over the Detroit Lions. He has been an absolute monster opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, who continues to be one of the most well-rounded, well-respected edge rushers in the game. Lawrence is the total package, Quinn is the true QB Hunter of the defense, and offenses tend to spend a lot of time focusing their efforts on both.

What you’re looking at above is a plotting of edge defenders. On the vertical you have Pass Rush Win Rate, a novel ESPN metric that measures how often a player wins his matchup within 2.5 seconds of the snap. Yes, that’s Quinn at the very top along with Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt (sigh).

But notice how far to the right Quinn is. The horizontal is about how often a player is being double-teamed. The Cowboys Lawrence is second only to the other Watt brother, JJ. Quinn is around seventh in that respect to.

Now for the other side of this matchup, Newhouse. He’s a turnstile.

Pro Football Focus has him as surrendering 29 pressures on the season, blaming him for six sacks of Brady along the way. Batter up.

Michael Bennett / Maliek Collins vs Shaq Mason/Joe Thuney/Ted Karras

While the edge players will be getting their work in and possibly require the Patriots to leave a tight end and/or a back in to block, the real battle should be in the middle of the line. New England has two very capable, very good guards flanking Karras, who is not very good at center. This means that the Cowboys front, which runs twists and games as much as anyone in the league, will look to get creative to get some singling up and try and collapse the pocket on Brady.

Bill Belichick vs Kellen Moore

The Cowboys are slow starters (Bobby Belt Tweet), and it’s time we recognize them for what their offense truly is, a prize fighter. You notice how when champions enter the ring, they spend time feeling their opponent out, to see what will work and what won’t, what the opponent is susceptible to?

That’s Moore’s offense.

Once Dallas figures out the way a defense has scripted their game plan, they’ve almost always been able to exploit that as the game went on.

It’s been true against every opponent in 2019 save for Dennis Allen’s Saints defense. Well, with all due respect to Allen, Belichick is in an entirely different world. It would behoov Dallas to take the gamble early and attack from the opening whistle to stretch the defense early and get the six-headed attack going in the passing game. Pass, pass, pass and then pass some more, and then when they finally give in, put Elliott and Pollard to work.

The Cowboys have an offensive EPA of 134.3 on the year, second-best in the league to the only team that was able to solve the Patriots defensive riddle, the Ravens. Their quarterback is a dual-threat, and while Prescott can run he doesn’t do it as a primary option very often. We’ll see if Moore borrows that from Baltimore’s plan of attack.

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