Patriots stick to their story

IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys called Sunday’s showdown with the New England Patriots a measuring-stick game, and it surely felt like one -- right across the backside.

The so-called Duel in Dallas turned into a drubbing, with the Patriots nearly doubling the point total of the NFL’s erstwhile top-gaining offense in a 48-27 victory.

New England (6-0) and Indianapolis (5-0), which had the week off, are the league’s remaining undefeated teams. It was the first defeat for the Cowboys (5-1).

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the early leader for most-valuable-player honors, tied a career best with five touchdown passes and directed scoring drives on his team’s final five possessions. In doing so, he became the first quarterback in league history to throw at least three touchdown passes in each of a season’s first six games.

“They just seemed to have the right answer for everything, and that’s certainly the quarterback,� said Dallas Coach Wade Phillips, whose defense came into the game having given up only three points in the previous nine quarters. “He does a great job distributing the ball to different people.�

While Brady spread the wealth -- two scoring passes to Wes Welker and one each to Donte Stallworth, Randy Moss and Kyle Brady -- he stayed on pace to shatter Peyton Manning’s regular-season record of 49 touchdown passes. Brady has 21, and at this rate he’s on track to throw 56.

“I haven’t thought about that at all,� Brady said. “I don’t set my goals like that. That’s not what our team’s about. I’d love to set plenty of team records, but the individual records are based on opportunities you get. What’s the difference if you throw it in from one yard or run it in? It’s a touchdown for our offense, and that’s what I’m excited about.�

If the Patriots were elated with this victory, they did a good job of disguising it. They weren’t jubilant as they jogged off the field, although several of them -- among them Moss and defensive players Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas -- raised their index finger to Cowboys fans before heading up the locker-room tunnel, just in case anyone needed a reminder of who is the NFL’s No. 1 team to beat.

“We don’t pay attention to all the hype,� Harrison said. “We’ve been in a lot bigger games than this, and we’ve won bigger games than this. . . . The game is played between the lines, not in the newspaper or on television. Guys can talk, but you’ve just got to come out here, play football and make plays.�

The Cowboys made a few. In fact, they briefly led in the second half -- something no New England opponent had done this season -- before the Patriots obliterated that 24-21 deficit with a 27-3 run in the final 20 minutes.

Clearly, there was a lot of underlying tension between the teams, so it wasn’t surprising the Patriots didn’t throttle back when they had a chance. They didn’t need to score their last touchdown, a one-yard run by Kyle Eckel with 19 seconds to play.

In the week leading up to the game, HBO’s Peter King reported that Phillips considered New England’s Super Bowl victories tainted by the “Spygate� videotaping scandal. (Phillips later denied saying that.) And Dallas receiver Terrell Owens caused a stir with a tongue-in-cheek letter he taped to his locker, referring to himself as the “Original 81� and Moss as “the other 81,� and advising reporters he’d talk only after the game. He ended the missive by instructing reporters to “Getcha popcorn ready.�

As much as they claim to turn a deaf ear to the outside world, the Patriots obviously perked up at that last quip.

Somehow, a few of the players got cups of popcorn and had them in hand as they walked off the field. More of it was crushed into the carpet in the visitors’ locker room.

“What is this?� Harrison said with a wry smile. “Popcorn?�

Owens gave a respectable performance -- six catches for 66 yards with a touchdown -- but nowhere near as spectacular as Cowboys fans had hoped. True to his word, he talked after the game, yet that too was understated.

“I think we did OK,� he said. “We had some opportunities where we kind of stalled some drives. . . . We just didn’t play well enough.�

He was only abrupt when asked to assess the performance of, well, the other 81, blurting: “Next question.�

Actually, Moss and Owens finished with similar numbers. The Patriots star, who leads the league with eight touchdown catches, had six receptions for 59 yards and opened the scoring with a six-yard grab.

“I didn’t want to feed off what he’s saying or the hype over the game between the two 81s,� Moss said. “I don’t really buy into that. I’ve got a job to do, and that’s to try to catch touchdowns and get first downs.�

The star receiver in this game was Welker, who caught 11 passes for 124 yards with scoring receptions of 35 and 12 yards.

With the way they’re playing, the Patriots have a legitimate chance to run the table and join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated teams in the modern era.

There are, of course, some significant challenges left, most notably a game at Indianapolis on Nov. 4.

After Sunday’s game, Stephen Jones, son of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, stopped by outside the New England locker room to offer congratulations to Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan.

“Good job,� Jones said, shaking hands with the men and, in a Texas drawl, offering a bit of folksy encouragement: “Now, win the rest of ‘em.�

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No comparison

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo did all he could to keep the game competitive, but in the end New England quarterback Tom Brady was too good in the matchup of undefeated teams:

*--* BRADY Completions-attempts 31-46 Yards passing 388 Touchdowns 5 Interceptions 0 ROMO Completions-attempts 18-29 Yards passing 199 Touchdowns 2 Interceptions 1 *--*