Pats hold Cowboys' No. 1 offense without TD in 13-9 win
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - The Patriots held the Cowboys’ top-ranked offense without a TD for the first time this season, Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass and New England beat Dallas 13-9 on Sunday.
It was New England’s 18th straight regular-season victory at home. The Patriots (10-1) have won 10 games in 17 consecutive seasons dating back to 2003 and surpassed the San Francisco 49ers (16 seasons from 1983-98) for the most consecutive years with at least 10 wins.
Dallas (6-5) had a chance to take the lead late. But facing fourth-and-11 on its own 25 with 1:50 left, Dak Prescott’s 20-yard completion to Amari Cooper was nullified after an official review.
The Patriots, who struggled to move the ball in their win over Philadelphia last week, played without two key receivers after Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett were ruled out with injuries. Brady made the most of what he had, tossing a first-quarter touchdown pass to rookie N’Keal Harry and completing a 32-yard pass to rookie Jakobi Meyers.
Brady finished 17 of 37 for 190 yards. Julian Edelman caught eight passes for 93 yards.
Dallas struggled to move the ball for most of the game. Ezekiel Elliott rushed 21 times or 86 yards, but the Cowboys were just 2 of 13 on third down.
Prescott finished 19 of 33 for 212 yards and an interception. Cooper was held without a catch for the first time as a member of the Cowboys.
Dallas entered the game averaging 444.6 yards per game on offense and had the league’s best passing attack, averaging 312.7 yards.
But the Cowboys looked pedestrian for most of the first half opposite New England’s top-ranked defense, which came in allowing just 152.6 passing yards.
The Patriots focused on taking away two of Prescott’s favorite targets in Cooper and tight end Jason Witten. Prescott threw in their direction just twice in the opening half, while mostly checking down to short passes to his other receivers.
Elliott helped the Cowboys keep the ball moving, but his long gains were limited as New England stacked the box on first and second down.
Dallas finally found some traction trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter when Prescott connected with Randall Cobb for a 59-yard gain to get the Cowboys to the New England 25.
The drive stalled on the Patriots 11 and the Cowboys settled for a 29-yard field goal by Brett Maher.
New England got help from a special teams play to set up Harry’s TD.
Matt Slater blocked Chris Jones’ punt on the Dallas 30, and Nate Ebner recovered on the 12. Two plays later, Brady hit Harry in the front of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown — the first of Harry’s NFL career.
Prescott was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore on Dallas’ ensuring drive. The Patriots took over on the Dallas 29, but quickly went three-and-out. They settled for a 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk that made it 10-0.
RECORD WATCH
Harry became the 75th player to catch a touchdown pass from Brady, extending an NFL record. Vinny Testaverde was second, with 70 different TD targets.
A first-round draft choice from Arizona State, Harry made his debut last week after spending time on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
It was the 15th touchdown pass of the season for Brady. That’s a record for a player after his 42nd birthday.
WYNN RETURNS
New England left tackle Isaiah Wynn was activated off injured reserve after he suffered a foot injury in Week 2. He struggled, beaten multiple times by Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn. He was also whistled for a false start.
INJURIES
Dallas: S Jeff Heath was checked out on the sideline after delivering a hit on Meyers in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Cowboys: Host the Bills on Thanksgiving.
Patriots: Visit the Texans next Sunday.