1. That was by far the best game played by the defense all season led by DE Andre Carter’s two sacks. Bend but don’t break was in full effect. Dallas gained 377 total yards, but were one for three in goal to go situations. But goodness, Patriots, work on your tackling.
2. A few streaks to mention:
19 straight home wins
22 straight games with a touchdown pass by Tom Brady
31 straight home wins by Brady
3. One streak that came to an end was the number of regular season games with at least 30 points scored. To his credit, Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is behind New England’s last two sub-30 point games. He coordinated Cleveland’s defense when they held the Pats to 14 points in 2010. The Patriots won their next 10 regular season games after that loss. Could this be a precursor for the rest of the season?
4. A new milestone for Bill Belichick and Brady. They tied Don Shula and Dan Marino for the winningest coach-quarterback duo with 116 wins.
5. Another player switched sides for the Pats. TE Rob Gronkowski was deep in the secondary as part of the Hail Mary coverage. Makes sense to have a 6-7 265 pound athlete boxing out the Cowboys’ tall receivers in the end zone.
6. New England sure likes to run right. 70 of the 101 yards rushing were gained going behind the right guard or right tackle. This might be fun to observe during the season.
Extra Point: This win somewhat makes up for The Sporting News selecting Dallas over Boston as the Best Sports City of 2011. Dallas got the edge on the strength of the Mavericks NBA Championship, the Rangers reaching the World Series, and TCU’s undefeated season. OK, but the Boston Bruins won the Stanely Cup, the Cannons won the Major League Lacrosse Championship, and the Militia won the Women’s Football Alliance Championship. Three championships to one. I rest my case.
Question? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
