Overtime:
The Patriots got the ball first, but punted after a third down incompletion by Jones.
Dak Prescott went to work on the Patriots' banged-up secondary. He was perfect (5-for-5) on the winning touchdown drive, as he had been on the Cowboys' first scoring drive, three hours earlier.
On the game-ender from the Patriots' 35 yard line, Prescott rolled right and made an off-balance throw to Lamb (9 catches for 149 yards, 2 TD's), who had beaten CB Jalen Mills. He raced to the front right pilon and scored.
"We were in a tough call, I think, for the route they ran," said Patriots S Devin McCourty. "Dak was able to hold it for another second. We kind of took the first two reads, the two tight ends, to the flat on our left side. By extending the play he got to kind of get back to the middle, and that's where we were kind of light at."
The 35-29 win is the first for the Cowboys in Foxborough since 1987-- also an overtime victory for Dallas (on a 60 yard TD run by Herschel Walker) at the old stadium.
Final QB stats:
Dak-- 36-51 passing, 445 yds, 3 td, 1 int, 0 sacks, 1 fumble
Mac-- 15-21, 229 yds, 2 td, 1 int, 2 sacks, 1 fumble
Fourth quarter:
Greg Zeurlein's 45 yard field goal put Dallas up, 20-14, with 13:13 remaining. Matt Judon had helped stall the drive, forcing a Prescott incompletion on third down. Judon was injured on the play, but remained in the game.
The Patriots got their offense back on track with a 13 play, 75 yard scoring drive. Brandon Bolden caught a key third down pass, and Jakobi Meyers picked up another first down despite getting hammered by safety Donovan Wilon as he caught the ball.
Damien Harris showed tremendous effort, breaking several tackles on a 21 yard run. Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson scored his 1st NFL touchdown from 1 yard out to tie the game. The PAT put the Patriots back in front, 21-20.
Zeurlein missed a 51 yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive, and the Patriots had possession.
The show was just getting started.
On back-to-back plays involving the NFL's leading interceptor, Trevon Diggs, and Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne, the Patriots lost the lead in stunning fashion-- then got it back in stunning-er fashion.
First, Bourne slipped on a Jones pass. The ball deflected off of Bourne to Diggs, who took off with his 7th interception of the year for a 42 yard touchdown. Dallas led again, 26-21, with 2:27 left as a two-point conversion attempt failed.
After a touchback, the Patriots boldly went right back at Diggs. Bourne slipped to the inside and Jones launched a perfect throw. Video appeared to show Bourne grinning widely as he scored the 75 yard touchdown.
On bouncing back one play after a game-altering interception, Jones said, "You cant feel sorry for yourself. It's out of your control... It's not the first 'pick six' I'll throw, and it wont be the last."
Unlike the Cowboys, the Patriots converted their 2-pointer, to make it 29-26 New England.
Zeurlein tied it with a not-so-easy 49 yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining. Overtime.
Third quarter:
Although Jones was a perfect 9-for-9 passing (110 yards, 1 touchdown) deep into the third quarter, the Patriots' offense stalled. They punted on all three third quarter possessions. Randy Gregory picked up his second sack of the game.
After a pass interference call on J.C. Jackson, the Cowboys took their first lead of the day with 4:49 left. Prescott found Lamb perfectly in the back right corner of the end zone for a 1 yard score.
17-14 Dallas after three.
Second quarter:
The Patriots are very thin right now in the defensive backfield, but whoever they put out there is usually around the ball. When Prescott aired one out to the end zone for Cedrick Wilson, the Patriots' Justin Bethel tipped it, and Kyle Duggar intercepted.
It appeared the Patriots would go up by two scores, but a Jones to Jakobi Meyers TD pass was called back on a holding penalty. On the next play, Jones got flattened for a sack by Cowboys DE Randy Gregory, forcing a fumble, recovered by Dallas.
On the Cowboys' next shot, Prescott tried Wilson again, and this time found him. But Jonathan Jones of New England forced the ball from Wilson as he tried to complete the catch. The Cowboys settled for a 30 yard Greg Zeurlein field goal to make the score 14-10, Patriots.
After Luke Gifford crashed in to block a Jake Bailey punt, the Cowboys were set up at the 17 yard line, ready to take their first lead of the day.
They drove inside the one yard line, where Prescott tried to score on a QB sneak. He made it to the end zone, but the ball didn't. Prescott's hands appeared to smack into the helmet of the Patriots' Matthew Judon as he was about to cross the goal line, jarring the ball loose. Replay review ruled it a fumble, and the Patriots held on to their 14-10 lead at the break.
First quarter:
After early Dak Prescott completions to CeeDee Lamb (11 yards) and Amari Cooper (14), the Cowboys made a critical decision that gave the Patriots tremendous field position for their first drive.
On 4th and 1 at their own 34 yard line, Dallas chose to go for it. Ezekiel Elliott was stopped short of the first down by Dont’a Hightower and Devin McCourty. Replay review upheld the ruling on the field.
The Patriots capitalized almost immediately, as RB Damien Harris ripped off a 21 yard run, then took a direct snap and ran for a 3 yd. touchdown.
The extra point gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
That lead didn’t last long, as Dallas tied it with a 7 play, 75 yd. touchdown drive. Prescott completed all six of his pass attempts (including a 23 yarder to TE Dalton Schultz), finishing with a one yard scoring strike to TE Blake Jarwin.
On the ensuing drive, the Patriots made it to the end zone even faster: 75 yards on just 4 plays. Rookie RB Rhamondre Stevenson gained 40 yards on three straight touches. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against Travon Diggs moved the Pats to the Dallas 20 yard line, where Mac Jones hit TE Hunter Henry in stride for the score. 14-7 New England.
Pregame:
Welcome to the 17th Game.
Under the NFL’s inter-conference scheduling format, NFC opponents visit Foxborough once every eight years.
With a seventeenth game added to this season’s schedule, a bonus NFC opponent was added, beyond the regularly-scheduled NFC South opponents.
It’s Dallas, setting up one of the NFL’s high-profile matchups less than two years after the Cowboys were last in town, a 13-9 Patriots win with Tom Brady under center.
The 2019 matchup was the Patriots’ sixth straight win in the series. The last Dallas win came in 1996.
The Cowboys have never won at Gillette Stadium (0-3), last winning in Foxborough in 1987.
**
Expect a lot of completions. Patriots rookie Mac Jones (71.1%/5th) and Cowboys superstar Dak Prescott (73.9%/2nd) both rank in the NFL’s top five in completion percentage.
This week, Jones will have to maneuver the ball through the Dallas defense, led by ball-hawking CB Trevon Diggs, who leads the league with 6 interceptions. As a team, the Cowboys lead the league with 10 pickoffs.
Hear all the Patriots' games over-the-air on WTIC NewsTalk 1080.
