Cowboys vs. Patriots: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Cowboys fell victim to a 30-6 beating from the New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium on Sunday and in turn fell to 2-3 on the season. The Cowboys knew that beating the Patriots and their top-ranked offense would be an uphill battle but early in the game, they looked up to the challenge on defense.
The Cowboys defense sacked quarterback Tom Brady five times in the first half and allowed only 13 points. But the Cowboys offense was even more inept, going three-and-out on six of their seven first-half possessions.
In the second half, the Patriots were able to manufacture some offense, and the Cowboys couldn’t match them, leading to the lopsided defeat.
Read on for all the Cowboys grades, notes and quotes you need for the game.
Position Grades for the Dallas Cowboys
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Position | Grade |
QB | F |
RB | C- |
WR | F |
TE | C- |
OL | D |
DL | A |
LB | A |
DB | B- |
Special Teams | C |
Coaching | B- |
Quarterback: Brandon Weeden had played respectably through his first two weeks as the starting quarterback. Although not nearly as dynamic as it is under Tony Romo, the offense was able to stay in the top half of the league in just about every metric. Against the Patriots, however, the wheels fell off for Weeden. He averaged less than five yards per attempt, netting less than 200 yards through the air, while being intercepted once. The team again failed utterly on third downs, going 4-of-14 (29 percent), which falls largely on the quarterback. Weeden's final stat line was 26-of-39, 188 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also ran three times for 18 yards.
Running Back: It was another game of tough sledding for the Cowboys running backs, as the Patriots regularly played an extra defender in the box, and the big defensive line and linebackers made holes difficult to find. Joseph Randle averaged four yards per carry and netted 73 total yards on 19 touches. Darren McFadden missed two pass protection assignments early in the game—one of which resulted in a sack—and gained only 16 yards on his five carries. He did catch nine passes for 62 yards, although six of those catches came after the score was 30-6 in the fourth quarter. Christine Michael took advantage of his only carry, gaining six yards on an impressive run to convert a 3rd-and-1 on the Cowboys' first possession of the second half.
Wide Receiver: The Patriots showed zero fear in their approach to covering these Cowboys receivers, and Terrance Williams, Devin Street and the rest of the group playing outside did nothing to make them regret it. Matched up one-on-one virtually the entire game, Williams and Street combined for three catches and 43 yards. Vince Mayle, recently signed from the practice squad, was targeted only once, which was intercepted. Williams did get free down the field with a very good release against Malcolm Butler early in the game, but the ball was overthrown.
Tight End: Stopping Jason Witten was objective No. 1 for the Patriots in the passing game, and although he managed to catch five passes, he gained only 33 yards and fumbled after a fourth-quarter catch. Gavin Escobar was targeted twice in the end zone as the Cowboys attempted to put up a consolation touchdown late in the game, but he and Weeden were never on the same page.
Offensive Line: The offensive line continued to come up short of expectations Sunday. Two of the three sacks on Brandon Weeden were the fault of the offensive line, as Ronald Leary couldn’t handle Jabaal Sheard on one play, and Zack Martin failed to handle a line stunt from the Patriots on another. It also struggled to consistently open up holes in the run game.
Defensive Line: The primary highlight of the game for the Cowboys, and the greatest source of hope going forward, is the play of the defensive line. Tom Brady had been sacked only six times in three games coming into Sunday, but he was sacked five times by Cowboys defenders. Greg Hardy led the way with two sacks, a forced fumble and five quarterback hits, while Jack Crawford and Tyrone Crawford added one sack each.
Linebackers: The dream of seeing Sean Lee and Rolando McClain on the field together came true for the Cowboys, as the two combined for 13 total tackles. Lee had a pass defensed, which could have potentially been an interception. McClain made an early impact with a sack on New England’s first third down of the game and came up with two tackles for loss. Anthony Hitchens played limited snaps but made a big play on a short-yardage stop early in the game to help the defense get off the field.
Defensive Backs: Byron Jones matched up with Rob Gronkowski in man-to-man coverage most of the game and held the big tight end to only four catches for 67 yards. Gronkowski was able to get enough room to make a big 33-yard catch-and-run on the first drive of the second possession, but otherwise he was held largely in check by the Cowboys’ rookie corner. Corey White had two pass deflections as he got his hands up coming on blitzes from the secondary, one of which almost hit him in the chest and could have been an interception for a touchdown. Morris Claiborne drew the tough assignment of shadowing Julian Edelman all day. Claiborne didn’t have his best game, allowing 120 yards, but Edelman was only able to get four catches, and most of them came as the result of illegal rub plays with picks set by other receivers down the field to disrupt the coverage.
Special Teams: Chris Jones averaged 49.7 yards per punt on his six kicks, with a long of 59 yards, but Danny Amendola was able to gain 52 yards on four returns. Dan Bailey kicked off three times and put them all out of the back of the end zone. Bailey also successfully converted both of his field-goal attempts, including a 51-yard kick that would have been good from much further. The Cowboys continued to be ineffective in the return game, netting only 27 yards on three total returns, including a poor decision by rookie Lucky Whitehead to bring a kick out from eight yards deep in the end zone, only to be tackled at the 13-yard line.
Coaching: There were opportunities for the coaches, particularly head coach Jason Garrett, to make better decisions to help the team, and they didn’t come through. The saving grace for the staff was Rod Marinelli, who put together a brilliant defensive game plan playing only three defensive linemen on a large number of snaps, allowing them to get an extra defensive back on the field while still generating pressure from his edge-rushers and relying on the play of Sean Lee and Rolando McClain to stop the run.
Important Note No. 1: No More Injuries
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For only the second time in the 2015 season, the Cowboys didn’t come out of Sunday’s game wondering about the health status of one of their premier players. Sean Lee made it through the game unscathed for the first time in three weeks, and no other major injuries were reported during the game.
The injury story of this game revolved more around the players who weren’t available to play to start the game. Without Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and Lance Dunbar, this offense just doesn’t have the juice to press the accelerator when it needs to, and it has left the Cowboys winless in their last three contests.
Important Note No. 2: Instant Impact
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It didn’t take long for Rolando McClain and Greg Hardy to announce their presence to the Patriots and the league, as they met the quarterback on third down on the Patriots' first drive of the game.
McClain was credited with that first sack, but it wouldn’t take Hardy long to get in on the action, as he sacked Brady on the very next third down the Patriots faced. Hardy got another sack and forced a fumble in the second quarter as well.
The Cowboys defense looked like a completely different group with Hardy and McClain on the field, and the future looks bright for this unit, with Randy Gregory expected to bring even more firepower back to the lineup after the team's bye week.
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Quote No. 1: Jason Garrett on the Quarterback Situation
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"“Yes.” – Jason Garrett, via ESPN.com
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One word was all that was necessary for Jason Garrett when asked if the Cowboys starting quarterback job would be up for competition over the bye week. In this succinct answer, the head coach expressed his frustration with the play of Brandon Weeden, and the offense as a whole, as well as his understanding the team must be able to move the ball better and score more points in the remaining games between now and the return of Tony Romo.
Quote No. 2: Greg Hardy on His Performance
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""F. We lost it.” – Greg Hardy, via Jon Machota, Dallas Morning News
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Almost all observers would agree that two sacks, five quarterback hits and a forced fumble is a great day for a pass-rusher—especially one seeing his first regular-season action in over a year and playing against a quarterback who is traditionally difficult to get to. But none of that is good enough for Hardy; only the end result matters to him.
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