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.
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.
