The Patriots travel to Dallas on Sunday to take the Cowboys. Dallas is one of the most talented teams in the NFL and they will present some problems on both sides of the ball. 

Here three ways they can attack the Cowboys, stop the Cowboys and one special teams key.

Offense

1. Run off-tackle at Parsons- Look for the Patriots to make a concerted effort to run at Micah Parsons. Arizona did it last week with a lot of success. The Patriots will run more man-gap schemes than the Cardinals did but the Patriots will try to wear down Parsons which they hope will slow him down physically.

2. Vertical Passing Game– Dallas played a lot of man coverage last week, even with Trevon Diggs out. The Patriots need to be aggressive throwing the ball down the field. They will have match ups that they can take advantage of. Bill O’Brien will want to push the ball down the field, especially in plus territory. Look for Mac to be aggressive, especially on short and medium downs.

3. Move the pocket- The Patriots offensive line will have their hands full with Dallas’ defensive front. The Patriots can protect Mac Jones by moving the pocket for him and making the throws easy for him. The Patriots don’t run boot or naked enough with Jones. We might see it this week.

Defense

1. Play split and match coverages- The Patriots need to play combination and match up coverages against this vaunted Cowboys big play offense. We will see a fair amount of Christian Gonzalez on CeeDee Lamb but the Patriots will have to find a way to defend everywhere else. Look for them to play both man and zone depending on down and distance.

2. Mix up pressures- Dak Prescott has been around so there isn’t much you’re going to show him that he hasn’t seen. One thing the Patriots could do is blend their TE stunts with delayed pressures. This might force Prescott to have to hold the ball an extra second and eat it.

3. Run Fits Matter- Tony Pollard is a shifty, explosive back. Run fits matter in this game. The Patriots have to stack, shed blocks and get into their pursuit angles. They cannot over run plays or give up cutback lanes. Pollard will make them pay if they do. 

Special Teams

Return game could be the difference- The Patriots will need their return game to set them up in good field position. The Patriots offense doesn’t have enough big play ability. They need shorter fields to work with. The return game has to be good today.