New England Patriots: Who Is the Dallas Cowboys' Biggest Offensive Threat?

Bill Belichick's defensive genius may not be predicated on stats—well, at least not this year, with the Patriots defense ranking dead last in total yards, passing yards and yards per pass attempt.

One unmistakable strong suit for the Patriots is their ability to take away an opponent's strongest offensive threat. They have done this with remarkable consistency all season long, with the exception of only Fred Jackson when the Patriots played the Bills in Week 3.

Before that, it was Davone Bess. Then it was Antonio Gates. Darren McFadden and Dustin Keller were the two most recent victims of Belichick's isolation chamber.

Who's next?

Tony Romo's favorite target

Jason Witten leads the Dallas Cowboys in targets with 42, accounting for 25.9 percent of Romo's targets.

The only guy even close to that number is Miles Austin with 14.8 percent of the total targets.

Knowing that Romo loves to target Witten, it seems only logical to think the Patriots would try to blanket Witten all day and take away the best threat.

Tight ends anonymous

It truly hasn't mattered who the tight end is. Anthony Fasano, Antonio Gates, Scott Chandler, Kevin Boss and Dustin Keller have all been held largely in check by the Patriots defense.

In fact, the best stat line by any of them was five catches for 82 yards. Chandler is the only one of them to record a touchdown. 

None of those tight ends are a joke, and one of them (Gates) could go down as the best tight end in NFL history. It just so happens Gates also didn't have a single catch against the Patriots in Week 2.

Finally, it's really worth mentioning that Keller had just one catch against the Patriots in Week 5. Keller has been a Patriot killer the past few years, recording 26 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns in seven regular-season games.

Romo's most lethal threat

"Favorite" doesn't always mean "most lethal." Truth be told, the best way to beat the Patriots is with efficiency. The higher those efficiency ratings are at the end of the game, the higher the chances of coming out of Gillette Stadium with a win.

You would think that Witten is the most efficient target for Romo. He's the tight end, after all. However, Romo has just a 80.5 passer rating when targeting Witten. Romo's rating gets better when targeting Dez Bryant (98.7), but still falls short of the gaudy 130.7 passer rating on throws his Austin.

Witten has stood the test of time, though, and has yielded a 105.7 passer rating combined in the past two years, but it's clear he's not the only guy the Patriots need to shut down.

The Patriots allowed virtually any receiver to explode on their defense, but this weekend, the Patriots need to pick their poison. They can't double-team everyone, so who gets singled? It likely won't be Jason Witten, as the Patriots have made it a point to shut down the tight end week-in and week-out, and this week doesn't figure to be any different.

Then, they must choose between Bryant and Austin as to who is the most important of the two receivers to eliminate.

For my money, it's Miles Austin. As the most efficient threat Romo has going for him, taking him away will be important and could force Romo into some mistakes.

Can they do it?

If they can, they haven't done it yet. Not without some help, anyway. Sure, the Jets receivers didn't get to take off quite like they might have hoped they would, but credit Mark Sanchez on that one.

Besides, between Mason and Plaxico Burress, the combined age of the Jets receiving corps might be old enough to date back to the Revolutionary War era.

Bryant? Austin? Two receivers at the top of their game. 

And do I really need to go into detail on the early season struggles of the Patriots defensive backs? Let's just say it hasn't been pretty, and we'll leave it at that.

Next to Witten, shutting down one of either Bryant or Austin should be the second priority. To accomplish this, the Patriots may have to get creative with how they approach this game plan. Bryant and Austin are big, physical receivers who will be tough to get a jam on at the line. 

The best bet may be to try and cause confusion in the route communication between Romo and his receivers. A game plan similar to what the Patriots used against the Colts would work in this regard, with the cornerbacks doing everything in their power to disguise the coverage pre-snap. 

Romo may not be Peyton Manning, but against a guy with ball security issues like Romo, a similar game plan could generate similar results.