Cowboys vs. Patriots: New England Needs to Stop Jason Witten in Order to Win

Entering each game, there are always going to be a few "keys to victory" that a team must incorporate in their game plan. For the New England Patriots this week against the Dallas Cowboys, one of their top priorities is stopping tight end Jason Witten. 

Witten and the Cowboys are coming off of a bye week, and Witten has tallied 27 receptions on the year for 366 yards and one touchdown. The only team that was able to hold Witten under 90 yards receiving was the Washington Redskins back in Week 3, when he caught six balls for 60 yards. 

Coming into Week 6 against Dallas, the Patriots have done an efficient job at defending opposing team's tight ends; In Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, Anthony Fasano caught five balls for 82 yards. In Week 2 against San Diego, Antonio Gates was shut-down completely with zero receptions. In Week 3 against the Bills, Scott Chandler walked away with two catches for 10 yards and a score. Kevin Boss, the Oakland Raiders' tight end, had four catches for 78 yards. And lastly this past week against the Jets, Dustin Keller caught only one ball for a total of seven yards.

All in all, only 14 receptions for 187 yards and one touchdown over the course of five games is not too shabby for New England's questionable pass defense. 

However, if you take notice to the tight ends that New England has had to face, with the exception of Gates, Jason Witten is in a league of his own—he is far superior than any tight end that New England has faced all season. 

Against athletic tight ends like Gates and Keller, the Patriots have thrown several multiple defensive looks at them. Whether Leigh Bodden or another cornerback was manning up against the tight end or the team simply sat in zone coverage, very rarely did the team assign a linebacker to cover either Gates or Keller. 

With Jerod Mayo being out for sometime due to an MCL sprain, I highly doubt we'll see too many tight ends one-on-one with Witten at Gillette Stadium this Sunday. 

Witten is without a doubt Tony Romo's favorite target, as he's caught nearly 28 percent of his completions this season while he's accounted for about 29 percent of his total yardage. 

There is no question that Witten is New England's biggest challenge this week against Dallas, as he's such an integral part of the Cowboys' offensive attack.

Whether Bill Belichick decides to play Bodden or another physical cornerback on Witten is yet to be seen, but I can almost guarantee that you wont see too much of linebackers Gary Guyton, Brandon Spikes or Rob Ninkovich lining up against him—that's simply too much of a disadvantage in Dallas' favor. 

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