IRVING, Texas - Relax, take a deep breath, something anyone who watched the Cowboys' thrilling victory over Buffalo probably needs to do. OK, cool. The last-second win keeps alive a battle of unbeatens Sunday, probably the most anticipated game of the still-young NFL season. Either the 5-0 Cowboys or the equally-perfect Patriots will lose Sunday, leaving no more than two undefeated teams standing after six weeks of football. And though New England is likely the favorite,
Monday Night Football proved, once again, this game is unpredictable.
Sunday's 3:15 p.m. (CDT) matchup will pair unbeaten teams with at least five wins for just the fifth time in the 88-year history of the NFL, and both teams will have their hands full with what will assuredly be their toughest opponent yet. The Patriots and Cowboys were on cruise control for the first four weeks of the season........
- How did the Patriots get to 5-0? Well, having the NFL's second-ranked offense and defense didn't hurt. The Pats gain 427.8 yards per game and give up just 251.4. Dallas ranks first in the league on offense (429.6) and eighth on defense (285.4).
- Stopping Tom Brady is always key to beating New England, but no team has even come close this season. He leads the NFL in passer rating (128.7), completion percentage (74.1) and touchdown passes (16).
- Slowing down Brady starts with stopping career Cowboy-slayer Randy Moss. Moss has put up 675 yards and 10 touchdowns in six career games against Dallas, all Cowboys losses.
Obviously the Cowboys can't commit six turnovers and beat New England. They probably can't get away with letting the Patriots score on defense or special teams either, because the Patriots won't be as ineffective on offense as the Bills were Monday. Being back at home, away from a raucous, adrenaline-filled road crowd should help with that, but there's still plenty of cause for concern for the Cowboys' offense, which was noticeably confused by Buffalo's odd defensive front, which attempted to disguise blitzes by not declaring who was a lineman and who was a linebacker.
Well, Bill Belichick is the Buddha of clever game plans. He's baffled Peyton Manning, the NFL's most cerebral quarterback, time and again throughout the Patriots' recent run of success. Romo will need to avoid the mistakes he made reading the Bills' defense for Dallas to win Sunday, and a big part of that could be an awareness of Adalius Thomas. One of the NFL's most versatile defenders, Thomas will lineup all over the field, so spotting him pre-snap will be key.
Cowboys fans don't have any fond memories of Moss, who has dominated every game he's played against Dallas. ...but Moss plays the game 40 yards from the line of scrimmage and 11 feet in the air, a place where nobody in the Cowboys' regular secondary can compete. Maybe lanky Cowboys safety Pat Watkins can help neutralize the mismatch Moss creates.
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