{"id":1760,"date":"2015-10-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=1760"},"modified":"2015-10-06T11:58:16","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T15:58:16","slug":"patriots-cowboys-who-has-the-razors-edge-key-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/10\/08\/patriots-cowboys-who-has-the-razors-edge-key-matchups\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots \u2013 Cowboys, Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge? Key Matchups"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> head out on the road for a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS with their top announcing crew of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on the call.<\/p>\n

Dallas (2-2), has dropped two straight after losing QB Tony Romo, and is looking for some home cooking to get back on track. They lost Dez Bryant to injury after a Week 1 win over the Giants. He\u2019s expected back after Week 6. Romo broke his collarbone against the Eagles and is expected to return around Week 11.<\/p>\n

Brandon Weeden has stepped in at quarterback and has played well albeit in losing both games. However it was the defense that has also been extremely depleted by injury that was the major cause of their losses. In the loss to the Saints on Sunday night the team lost LB Sean Lee to a concussion and RB Lance Dunbar to a serious knee injury.<\/p>\n

New England (3-0), spent last week on a bye after crushing the Jacksonville Jaguars 51-17 at home in Week 3. Tom Brady joined the 400 touchdown club and Stephen Gostkowski set a new NFL record with his 423rd<\/sup> consecutive extra point kick, which is now 425 and counting. The Patriots scored every time they had the ball until taking a knee with less than a minute to go.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u00a0\u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 column in 2015 to give a quick break down on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History: <\/strong>The Patriots and Cowboys have only met 11 times in their history with Dallas winning the first seven matchups and the Patriots taking the last four.<\/p>\n

The Patriots are 1-4 in Dallas with the only victory a 48-27 victory in 2007 in a meeting between two unbeaten teams at the time. The teams haven\u2019t met since 2011 with New England holding on for a 2016 win.<\/p>\n

Like the Patriots last opponent Jacksonville, the Cowboys are a team that we don\u2019t see very much in terms of playing New England. So the foe on both sides is a little unfamiliar.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Cowboys Front Seven – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Patriots have only averaged around 87 yards per game but made a more concerted effort to do so last time out against Jacksonville. With the passing game clicking extremely well, the Pats mixed up their runs early with Dion Lewis and later LaGarrette Blount running effectively.<\/p>\n

Look for more of the same, if Brady starts having success in the passing game, it will force Dallas to play lighter and looser to the line, that should mean more success for the running game this week. Dallas has been very good against the run and if \u00a0the Cowboys outstanding LB Sean Lee passes his concussion protocols, he\u2019ll be a big factor in this matchup.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Cowboys Secondary – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>Brady has been playing like a man on a mission the first three games; even so, the Patriots have left points on the field in all three games. With Orlando Scandrick out, covering Julian Edelman will fall to Morris Claiborne. But the big matchup will be Rob Gronkowski on Barry Church who\u2019s been somewhat suspect in coverage.\u00a0 Look for more Lewis split wide on a linebacker, if Lee can\u2019t go, Damien Wilson who was victimized in OT in New Orleans will be a mismatch.<\/p>\n

Dallas gets Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain back and this will really help their pass rush. Randy Gregory the stud rookie DE from Nebraska may return as well. They\u2019ll need to bring the pressure on Brady quickly as their back seven will be put to the test.<\/p>\n

Next up the Dallas offense:<\/p>\n

Cowboys RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge Dallas
\n<\/em>The Cowboys offensive line hasn\u2019t been the dominant unit of a year ago. Here\u2019s an opportunity for them to re-establish themselves against a unit that\u2019s been a bit of a disappointment against the run. Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden will look to get things going against NE and keep Brady and the Pats offense on the sideline. Look for Christine Michael to get a lot of looks in this one\u2026he\u2019s been the unknown factor so far.<\/p>\n

The Patriots beefed up their front seven with three additions with an eye towards this game. They traded with New Orleans for DL Akiem Hicks, traded with Chicago for LB Jon Bostic and signed DL Khyri Thornton off the practice squad. But they really need big bodies Sealver Siliga, Alan Branch, Malcom Brown and Dominique Easley to step up and play well inside. Setting the edge will be paramount this week, expect to see a lot of Jabaal Sheard at DE.<\/p>\n

Cowboys WRs vs NE Secondary- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>With Tony Romo and Dez Bryant on the shelf with injuries, the going won\u2019t be quite as tough for the Patriots. But the Cowboys still have some options in the passing game with Terrence Williams, Devin Street and Cole Beasley. Losing Dunbar is a big blow for Dallas as he functions like Lewis does for New England in their offense. But the big matchup for Dallas will be their two big tight ends Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar. Look for Dallas to target them early and often in an attempt to get the offense going and attacking the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

New England still has some questions about the RCB position and Weeden is putting up solid numbers but is 0-10 in his last ten starts. Bill Belichick will try to bait him into making some mistakes and creating turnovers. The Patriots pass rush has been improved but will have a tough test against this Dallas OL. Look for Dont\u2019a Hightower and Jamie Collins to influence things with some well timed A-gap blitzes.<\/p>\n

Special Teams- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Patriots have two very reliable kickers on the roster in the likes of P Ryan Allen and K Stephen Gostkowski, the latter who just set a new NFL record for consecutive extra points. After watching the slate of last week\u2019s games and the struggles of team\u2019s ST units, it makes one appreciate the excellence that Gostkowski has brought to the table.<\/p>\n

Dallas had the explosive Dunbar on STs, which is a big loss for them. Dallas does have reliable K Dan Bailey and P Chris Jones. But the edge in the kicking game goes to NE here. Look for the Patriots punt return unit to have a nice game on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Next, who wins and why. <\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>The Patriots have two rough road games in a row playing in Dallas and then Indy. But when the schedules were released, a big question was whether the Pats would have Brady for this contest. Now Dallas is not only short Dez Bryant but Tony Romo as well.<\/p>\n

This should be a good entertaining matchup, Dallas is trying to get back on the winning track at home and the place should be very loud. They\u2019ll lean on their running game to keep the Patriots off-balance and take some deep shots down the field.<\/p>\n

But Brady should be able to pass on this secondary, the pass rush with Hardy and Gregory should make it interesting but Gronkowski will have a big day. In the end the Patriots get a late turnover and leave town 4-0. Patriots 31-21<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Patriots and Cowboys will meet in Dallas on Sunday afternoon; Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski will present a difficult matchup for Dallas to defend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,34,382,368,18,381,389,16,391,17,383,15,44,70,8,38,248,117,36,386,13,390],"class_list":["post-1760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brandon-weeden","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-danny-amendola","tag-dez-bryant","tag-greg-hardy","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jason-witten","tag-julian-edelman","tag-lance-dunbar","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-predictions","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-sean-lee","tag-tom-brady","tag-tony-romo"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots \u2013 Cowboys, Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge? 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