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Did Cowboys Provide A Blueprint For Success Against Patriots?

BOSTON (CBS) -- For at least one half of football on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys made life miserable for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

While the outcome was a bit lopsided, Brady was sacked five times in the first half of New England's 30-6 win in Dallas. The Patriots adjusted nicely in the second half, but Brady was still hit a number of other times throughout the game and Rob Gronkowski looked like an actual human, being held to just four catches for 67 yards.

Even though the undermanned Cowboys couldn't pull off their win, did their first-half success provide other teams around the NFL a blueprint for beating the Patriots? It's no secret that when you get pressure on Brady, chances are you can at least keep things close.

The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich to discuss Sunday's win, and while the Cowboys made getting to Brady look easy at times, he doesn't think teams will learn much from Dallas' game plan.

"It really started with the pass rush. Greg Hardy and Tyrone Crawford were outstanding. Hardy was the best player on the field in the first half," said Howe. "He was unblockable and it didn't matter which side of the line he was on. He was a menace and the Patriots had a tough time containing him."

Cowboys corner Bryon Jones was the man responsible for containing Gronkowski and he did a very admirable job. But Howe adds that rookie had a lot of help, not just from extra coverage but also from that pass rush.

"Jones had a ton of help, usually from a linebacker. If Gronk was out wide Jones usually took him by himself, but if Gronk was in the slot or in tight, he had at least one linebacker shading the inside of him to help Jones. He had a hard time getting open immediately, which is an issue when you have the pass rush bear down on Tom Brady as quickly as it did," said Howe. "When that slowed down in the second half, part of it was because Hardy got a little tired and the other part was the Patriots started to double team Hardy and Crawford a little more in the second half, whether it was with Gronk, [tight end/offensive lineman] Michael Williams, Dion Lewis or slid the guard to that player's side just to give Brady a little extra time."

Howe said it was clear when Brady hit Gronkowski for 33 yards to start the second half, with Gronk asserting his physicality by tossing a few Cowboys to the ground, the Patriots had things figured out.

"That was executed start to finish better than any pass in the first half. It set the tone the rest of the way and the Patriots withstood the Cowboys early barrage and knew what they were doing. They figured it out, adjusted and then the game got out of hand," he said.

While Jones had success in the first half, as soon as the Patriots got a better handle on the pass rush they were off and running.

"If Greg Hardy wasnt in Tom Brady's face as quick as he was on a handful of those plays… it really starts with that. Unless other teams are able to [emulate that], with Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh on the Dolphins, if the Jets defensive front can get after the Patriots, the Broncos with DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, if they can get after Brady as quickly as the Cowboys did on Sunday, they'll have trouble," he said. "But it's not like a blueprint the Cowboys set up. The pass rush executed so well in the first half that the Patriots had to figure out a way to get their guys open, and really, just block better."

Howe also touched on a few injuries to some key Patriots, and discussed the mystery surrounding John Jastremski role with the team:

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