After being gashed by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the Cowboys defensive unit was back to its elite self on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
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The Cowboys defense forced three turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and had three sacks in their 38-3 shellacking of the Patriots.
Dallas' defensive dominance began early in the second quarter when Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was strip-sacked by Cowboys defensive end Dante Fowler. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch picked up up the ball and ran it 11 yards the other way for a touchdown.
Late in the second quarter, the Cowboys defense scored another touchdown when cornerback DaRon Bland intercepted Jones and returned it 54 yards for a score to give Dallas a 28-3 halftime lead.
On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys offense didn't exactly calm fears about their early-season struggles. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott did throw a first quarter touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb, which was the team's first touchdown reception by a receiver this season. The score came from the 20-yard line but didn't technically count as a red zone score, according to NFL rules, because the play must have started inside of the opponent's 20-yard line.
Dallas proceeded to go 0-for-3 on their first three red zone opportunities before getting one last opportunity midway through the 4th quarter after KaVonTae Turpin ran one 46 yards to the 22-yard line where he fumbled. Fortunately for Dallas, tight end Sean McKeon finished the play and fell on top of the ball at the Patriots' 14-yard line. Later in the drive, Cowboys running back Hunter Luepke would punch it into the end zone on 3rd-and-3 to end the Cowboys' draught of seven straight red zone opportunities without scoring a touchdown.
Prescott was very efficient on Sunday, finishing the game 28-34 for 261 yards and one touchdown, before being pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Cooper Rush with the game out of hand.