Patriots Live Blog: Pats Beat Cowboys 30-6 In Dallas
Final, 30-6 Patriots: It's all over. A couple of kneeldowns, and this game is official. The Patriots didn't play their best, but they won by 24 points. That's scary.
Fourth quarter, 1:20, 30-6 Patriots: Weeden had Williams wide open in the end zone but missed him by about 10 yards.
Fourth quarter, 1:26, 30-6 Patriots: The Cowboys have engineered a magnificent garbage time drive, mercifully draining the clock in a game that's been decided.
They face a fourth-and-goal after this Patriots timeout.
Fourth quarter, 4:41, 30-6 Patriots: Not the smoothest drive from New England, but the Patriots were able to drain some clock and tack on a field goal.
We're one more Weeden pick from this one officially being over.
Fourth quarter, 6:20, 27-6 Patriots: Another turnover, and now we can say this one's over.
This time, it was Logan Ryan reading Brandon Weeden's pass and making an interception look easy.
It's just a matter of running out the clock now.
Fourth quarter, 9:42, 27-6 Patriots: So maybe the calls for "ballgame" were premature.
LeGarrette Blount got stuffed on a fourth-and-1 from the 27-yard line. They were well within field goal range but opted to try to drain some more clock before scoring. Alas, Dallas came up with the stop, and Dallas remains technically still alive.
Fourth quarter, 11:03, 27-6 Patriots: Turnover. That's your ballgame.
Jason Witten caught a ball over the middle, and Jamie Collins stripped it right out of his hands shortly after making the catch.
Jonathan Freeny returned it to the Dallas 35-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 12:58, 27-6 Patriots: The Patriots lost a huge gain to Amendola after Edelman was flagged for offensive pass interference. No matter, as two plays later Brady lobbed a deep ball to Edelman up the left side. Amendola was the one setting the pick on this one, but for whatever reason it was not deemed illegal. Whatever it was, it sprung Edelman wide open, and the shifty receiver lost two defenders en route to weaving his way into the end zone. Pathetic effort from Dallas to bring Edelman down on that one.
Greg Hardy also delivered a massive hit on Brady on the pass.
Earlier in the drive, Brady stepped up and delivered a pass to Keshawn Martin on a third down. The receiver made a diving catch over the middle to keep the drive alive.
Third quarter, 1:17, 20-6 Patriots: All that work, and the Cowboys only have a field goal to show for it.
Weeden threw to the left side to Witten on the third-and-4, but McCourty was there to force Witten out of bounds after just a 2-yard gain. So Dallas has to settle for three.
It was a 15-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up 8:31. All of that clock that's now gone could prove costly for the Cowboys, given that they only got three points out of the deal.
In injury news, Nate Solder is out of the game with an elbow injury. Marcus Cannon has taken his place.
Third quarter, 2:10, 20-3 Patriots: The Cowboys are in the midst of what is by far their most successful drive of the day, and they'll face a third-and-4 from the Patriots' 7-yard line after this injury timeout for Duron Harmon.
The drive was kept alive questionably by an illegal contact penalty on Justin Coleman on a third-down incompletion. Questionable.
Third quarter, 9:38, 20-3 Patriots: Now that was a drive that we've grown accustomed to seeing this season from the Patriots.
It started with a 33-yard catch-and-run up the left sideline from Gronkowski. It continued with Dion Lewis juking his way to a chain-moving catch-and-run over the middle. It was extended by Gronkowski running a simple in-cut route in man coverage and running for 18 yards. And it ended with Dion Lewis making a one-handed catch while spinning around before stopping, juking, ducking and finding his way through five Dallas Cowboys. Holy smokes, that was something.
The extra point makes it 20-3 Patriots.
Third quarter, 15:00, 13-3 Patriots: The second half is about to begin, and we officially won't be seeing Dont'a Hightower. He's been downgraded to out. That's a problem for the Patriots, but they managed all right without him thus far.
Halftime, 13-3 Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski. Fifty-seven yards. Money.
That guy is unbelievable. That kick was dead central and it hit the net. He is something else.
The Patriots got there after Brady took a sack on first down but escaped pressure on second down to deliver a bullet to Edelman over the middle for a gain of 24 yards. A failed deep ball to Matthew Slater forced New England to go for the long field-goal attempt, and Gostkowski made it look easy.
That kick tied a franchise record, previously set by Adam Vinatieri.
It's a good ending to the half for the Patriots, but they have a lot of work to do in the second half. It starts with protecting Brady, who's been hit six times -- five times for sacks. Nothing can really happen offensively until the line can give Brady some time to operate.
Defensively, the Patriots have done just about everything right, even without Hightower. Forcing a turnover would go a long way toward demoralizing Dallas.
Also of note: Rob Gronkowski has just one catch for six yards. Considering he averaged more than five receptions for more than 100 yards per game through the first three weeks, that's just ... strange.
Second quarter, :53, 10-3 Patriots: The Cowboys gained just a few yards on that third-and-long, leading to another Patriots timeout and a Dallas punt.
The Patriots take over at their own 45-yard line, with one timeout left. They've got to play for the field goal here. That's the smart play, particularly with the lack of deep options.
Second quarter, 1:00, 10-3 Patriots: New England isn't done yet this half.
After a first-down incompletion, Sheard absolutely bullied his way through the offensive line to take down Weeden. The sack led to the Patriots taking a timeout. It's third-and-18 for Dallas.
Second quarter, 1:20, 10-3 Patriots: So much for that.
Brady had nowhere to go on first down, so he scrambled for a short gain of 2. He faced heavy pressure off the left side on second down and had to hurriedly throw it away. And on third down, he tried to hit Gronkowski on a comeback route, but the pass was short, and the Patriots had to punt.
The Cowboys take over at their own 15.
Second quarter, 2:00, 10-3 Patriots: Chandler Jones isn't accustomed to catching passes, but even still, he probably should have had a pick on the last drive.
Weeden unleashed a throw over the middle on a third-and-5, and Jones was in coverage and was probably surprised to see a pass heading directly at his face.
He dropped it, but the Cowboys still had to punt. Amendola had a nice return to the Dallas 45, but a holding penalty on Logan Ryan will bring it back to the New England side of the 50.
Brady gets the ball, with all three timeouts in hand, looking to at least tack on a field goal before halftime.
Second quarter, 3:39, 10-3 Patriots: Quarterback sneak. Touchdown.
Tom Brady is exceptional at a number of things, but running QB sneaks may be his greatest skill.
Brady went right up the gut, took a dive forward, got up and spiked the ball in the blue end zone. The Pats lead 10-3.
The Patriots gained 55 yards on seven plays in 2:18 on that drive.
Second quarter, 3:42, 3-3: The Patriots finally have some life, and they're on the doorstep of the end zone. They got there with a 16-yard catch-and-run on a slant to Edelman, and a nice 13-yard run by Lewis after the Patriots hurried to the line and caught the Cowboys off guard.
They tried to hurry and snap it again from the 1-yard line, but Dallas called timeout.
Second quarter, 5:57, 3-3: The Patriots' defense has done just fine without Hightower thus far, as they stymied teh Dallas offense on that drive. On second-and-9, they rushed receiver Lucky Whitehead on a WR screen for a loss of three yards, and Jamie Collins drew a holding penalty on the next play. On third-and-17 from their own 6-yard line, the Cowboys elected to run a little screen pass to get out of trouble. They'd punt on fourth-and-5, and the Patriots take over near midfield.
Nothing's really worked offensively for New England thus far, thanks in large part to a shaky offensive line. They have just 68 yards on their first four drives thus far.
Second quarter, 8:39, 3-3: At this rate, Tom Brady is not going to make it through this game. He took three hits on that drive, two from Greg Hardy and one from Jack Crawford. Hardy knocked the ball loose on one play, but Edelman was able to recover the fumble, which bounced about 3 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage.
It was Crawford who got the sack on third down, and it forced the Patriots to punt.
Earlier on the drive, Brady connected with Amendola for a huge gain up the left side, but it was called back due to a blatant pick set by Keshawn Martin.
Second quarter, 12:36, 3-3: The Cowboys had to punt, thanks to a heady play by Rob Ninkovich to stay outside and force Weeden to throw it away while rolling right.
Pats take over at their own 18.
Hightower has gone to the locker room for further evaluation.
Second quarter, 14:06, 3-3: Blount had nowhere to go on third-and-1, after it looked like Brady checked out of a QB sneak, so the Patriots had to punt.
Beasley made a short return out to the 20-yard line, and the Cowboys will be looking to take a lead.
End of first quarter, 3-3: The Patriots will face a third-and-1 when the second quarter begins.
Greg Hardy was penalized for illegal hands to the face on the first play of the drive, and LeGarrette Blount ran off the left end for 11 yards on the next play. Blount then ran for four, and Lewis ran for five, setting up the third-and-short at the New England 49-yard line.
First quarter, 1:46, 3-3: The Sheard penalty proved costly, as the Cowboys were able to turn that into a decent drive and put three points on the board and tie the game. A 13-yard run by Joseph Randle was the only big play of the drive, as Dallas gained a few yards at a time on the 10-play, 47-yard drive. Dan Bailey kicked a 51-yarder and made it look easy.
Hightower remains mobile on the sidelines, for what it's worth. The team has called it a rib injury. It's certainly a positive sign that he's not in the locker room, but we'll still be on the lookout for him.
First quarter, 6:19, 3-0 Patriots: Jamie Collins came up with a third-down sack, but the play didn't count because Jabaal Sheard grabbed a hold of Jason Witten. That gave the Cowboys 5 yards and, more importantly, a first down for the first time of the day.
Two plays later, things got worse for New England, as Dont'a Hightower suffered an injury. He was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power, but that certainly will warrant watching.
First quarter, 8:19, 3-0 Patriots: Greg Hardy ran right past Nate Solder on a first-down play after a 14-yard reception by Dion Lewis, and the pass rusher was able to absolutely deck Brady for a sack.
New England chipped away to try to gain back that 7-yard loss, and they ended up getting it back to that original line of scrimmage. Stephen Gostkowski came on and successfully booted a 49-yarder, and the Patriots lead.
First quarter, 10:23, 0-0: And the Patriots answer right back with a third-down sack, this one coming from Dont'a Hightower, who rushed right up the gut and overpowers the running back's attempt to stop him. Hightower popped right up from the turf and took down Weeden, forcing a punt.
Amendola's 25-yard return sets up the Patriots at the Dallas 45-yard line.
First quarter, 12:38, 0-0: The Patriots' drive started promising, with Edelman streaking over the middle for a 21-yard catch-and-run, and a 15-yard penalty was tacked on for a late hit.
But on third-and-10 from the Dallas 32, Rolando McClain and Greg Hardy combined to take down Brady for a sack and push New England out of field-goal range.
Ryan Allen's punt came down inside the 10 but bounced backward to the 13. The Cowboys will take over there.
First quarter, 13:58, 0-0: Three-and-out for Dallas, and the Patriots take over at their own 31-yard line.
A short run on first down, a rollout right with nobody open on second down, and an overthrown deep ball up the left sideline on third down, and that was that for the Dallas offense.
4:25 p.m.: The Cowboys clearly don't know the Patriots very well. Dallas won the toss but elected to receive. D'oh! Way to play into the Patriots' hands.
4:22 p.m.: Almost time for kickoff, which is just a few minutes away now.
4 p.m.: With the Jets and the Dolphins off this week, the only other AFC East action involved the Bills, who just squeaked out a win in Tennessee. The Bills improve to 3-2 with the win, and the division looks like this heading into this afternoon's Patriots game:
Patriots 3-0
Jets 3-1
Bills 3-2
Dolphins 1-3
3:23 p.m.: Here are the Patriots' inactives:
Khyri Thornton DL
Trey Flowers DL
Aaron Dobson WR
Rufus Johnson LB
Ryan Wendell OL
Tavon Wilson S
Jon Bostic LB
Ryan Wendell is not entirely surprising, given that he's still getting his feet under him after missing the first few weeks. Aaron Dobson's name is indeed a surprise, but it may indicate the Patriots may be planning a more run-focused attack today and can spare a WR spot.
We also won't be seeing Jon Bostic's debut just yet.
For the Cowboys, Sean Lee is indeed active, so the defensive captain apparently recovered from last week's concussion quickly enough to be in an NFL game today.
2:13 p.m.: It appears as though the Patriots will go another week without Ryan Wendell.
The interior linemen have done a fine job in Wendell's absence, so it's not necessarily an issue. But Wendell being (likely) inactive definitely lessens the depth should any of the three rookies and/or Josh Kline need to miss any time today.
1:15 p.m.: It's been a long two weeks without football in New England, but it's just hours away from returning.
With much of the NFL in action right now, the Patriots and Cowboys are a little more than three hours away from getting their Week 5 underway down in Dallas.
The game is sure to draw plenty of attention for a number of reasons. The mere inclusion of the Patriots and Cowboys -- two teams that seemingly everybody in America loves to hate -- is always a draw, and the additional storyline of Greg Hardy returning from a suspension increases the intrigue.
Hardy stoked the flames this week with his idiotic and flippant comments about how little he's learned or tried to change in the past year, and comments from owner Jerry Jones only made it worse.
Jones did a sitdown interview with CBS' Bill Cowher for the pregame show today, and Jones made it seem as though Hardy getting convicted of assault and issuing threats to a woman was a struggle that Hardy had to endure.
What about the woman, Jerry?
Hardy issues aside, there is an interesting game to be played. We all expect the Patriots to win big over the Brandon Weeden-led Cowboys, but you never really can predict the future in the NFL. Check back early and often with the live blog from pregame through the final whistle.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
