Summarizing what's presented at the following
article: https://fansided.com/2021/10/13/cowboys-patriots-week-6-2021-bold-predictions/
~~~

1. "Ezekiel Elliott won’t get 15 rushing at-
tempts"

Belichick is going to load his defense up to
stop Dallas from running the ball down their
throats. In particular, the Patriots are going
to make sure Elliott has zero room to run the
ball between the tackles.

Comment: Cowboys had a short passing game
going on 8 cylinders to substitute for their run
game in game 1 versus the Bucs. The Patriots
strong defense, we'll see how the Cowboys plan
to attack it on Sunday, so it's possible they will
shut down the Cowboys run attack, but shutting ...

.... down both the run & the pass, that will be dif-
ficult, but if they can, they certainly up their chan-
ces of an upset.

~~~

2. "Trevon Diggs won’t get an interception"

Comment: Patriots have averaged throwing 1 int-
erception per game, tied for the 6th-highest inter-
ception rate thus far (the highest is 1.8 intercep-
tions per game). Trevon has at least 1 interception
in every game versus teams ranked

o tied for 1st in fewest interceptions (Bucs, .4 per
game),

o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Chargers, .6
per game),

o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Eagles, .6
per game),

o tied for 3rd-highest interception rate (2 intercep-
tions versus Panthers who've given up 1.2 inter-
ceptions per game)

o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Giants, .6
per game).

So, an interception in every game, hard to keep
that going, but throwing interceptions has been
a weakness of the Patriots' Mac Jones thus far,
even though the Pats have relied on a short pass
game thus far. Mac Jones is tied for the 6th-most
interceptions thrown thus far (1 per game).

Cowboys have the most interceptions of any team
thus far (2 per game, 6 of those by Trevon Diggs).

~~~

3. "Amari Cooper will go over 100 yards receiving"

Comment: Amari has had to overcome injuries in
2021, & has averaged 63.6 yards per game, 29th-
best in 2021 thus far. Patriots defense is ranked
5th-best in fewest passing yards allowed per game
( 206.6 ), so it's possible but only if the Patriots
are so dedicated to stopping the rush that they ...

.... facilitate Dak having a high passing yardage
day.

~~~

4. "Dak Prescott will rush for over 50 yards"

Comment: Maybe, but Dak has been much less
likely to run this year, Dak's totals in each game:
13 yards in 4 runs vs Bucs, no runs vs Chargers,
6 yards in 9 runs vs Eagles, 35 yards in 4 runs
vs Panthers, 6 yards in 2 runs vs Giants.

~~~

5. "The Cowboys defense will go without a sack
(again)"

Comment: Quick passing attacks, as used by
Belichick-coached teams & Mac Jones, always
reduces chances of sacks. However, Mac Jones
has been sacked an average of 2.2 times per
game, tied for the 13th-highest sacked by oppon-
ent rate thus far in 2021.

Versus the Panthers, Sam Darnold sacked an
average of 2.8 times per game, tied for 4th-high-
est sacked by opponent rate thus far in 2021, the
Cowboys had a season-high 5 sacks. Other than
the Cowboys game, Sam Darnold sacked an aver-
age of 2.25 times per game, almost the same as
Mac Jones' 2.2 times per game.

--- --- ---

Follow-up:

In the previous post, stopping Zeke & trying
to prevent interceptions by Trevon & prevent-
ing sacks were the primary predictions. The
following article from Boston, the writer thinks
the Pats will try to stop Dak in a manner sim-
ilar to the way they tried to stop Tom Brady, ...

.... trying to confuse Dak & make it difficult for
Dak to read their defense. They were able to
slow Tom down to his slowest pass delivery
of the season (2.61 seconds), & held Tom to
his lowest passer-rating of the season (70.8),
with his only no TD pass game of the season.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/10/13/patriots-must-force-dallas-qb-dak-prescott-to-read-defense-says-lb-matt-judon/

They also held Tom Brady to his lowest pass-
ing yards of the season & his lowest comple-
tion% of the season.

That article included the perspective of Pats
linebacker Matt Judon.

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 12:59:02 PM UTC-5, observer wrote:

..> Summarizing what's presented at the following
..> article: https://fansided.com/2021/10/13/cowboys-patriots-week-6-2021-bold-predictions/
..>
..> ~~~
..>
..> 1. "Ezekiel Elliott won’t get 15 rushing at-
..> tempts"
..>
..> Belichick is going to load his defense up to
..> stop Dallas from running the ball down their
..> throats. In particular, the Patriots are going
..> to make sure Elliott has zero room to run the
..> ball between the tackles.
..>
..> Comment: Cowboys had a short passing game
..> going on 8 cylinders to substitute for their run
..> game in game 1 versus the Bucs. The Patriots
..> strong defense, we'll see how the Cowboys plan
..> to attack it on Sunday, so it's possible they will
..> shut down the Cowboys run attack, but shutting ...
..>
..> ... down both the run & the pass, that will be dif-
..> ficult, but if they can, they certainly up their chan-
..> ces of an upset.
..>
..> ~~~
..>
..> 2. "Trevon Diggs won’t get an interception"
..>
..> Comment: Patriots have averaged throwing 1 int-
..> erception per game, tied for the 6th-highest inter-
..> ception rate thus far (the highest is 1.8 intercep-
..> tions per game). Trevon has at least 1 interception
..> in every game versus teams ranked
..>
..> o tied for 1st in fewest interceptions (Bucs, .4 per
..> game),
..>
..> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Chargers, .6
..> per game),
..>
..> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Eagles, .6
..> per game),
..>
..> o tied for 3rd-highest interception rate (2 intercep-
..> tions versus Panthers who've given up 1.2 inter-
..> ceptions per game)
..>
..> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Giants, .6
..> per game).
..>
..> So, an interception in every game, hard to keep
..> that going, but throwing interceptions has been
..> a weakness of the Patriots' Mac Jones thus far,
..> even though the Pats have relied on a short pass
..> game thus far. Mac Jones is tied for the 6th-most
..> interceptions thrown thus far (1 per game).
..>
..> Cowboys have the most interceptions of any team
..> thus far (2 per game, 6 of those by Trevon Diggs).
..>
..> ~~~
..>
..> 3. "Amari Cooper will go over 100 yards receiving"
..>
..> Comment: Amari has had to overcome injuries in
..> 2021, & has averaged 63.6 yards per game, 29th-
..> best in 2021 thus far. Patriots defense is ranked
..> 5th-best in fewest passing yards allowed per game
..> ( 206.6 ), so it's possible but only if the Patriots
..> are so dedicated to stopping the rush that they ...
..>
..> ... facilitate Dak having a high passing yardage
..> day.
..>
..> ~~~
..>
..> 4. "Dak Prescott will rush for over 50 yards"
..>
..> Comment: Maybe, but Dak has been much less
..> likely to run this year, Dak's totals in each game:
..> 13 yards in 4 runs vs Bucs, no runs vs Chargers,
..> 6 yards in 9 runs vs Eagles, 35 yards in 4 runs
..> vs Panthers, 6 yards in 2 runs vs Giants.
..>
..> ~~~
..>
..> 5. "The Cowboys defense will go without a sack
..> (again)"
..>
..> Comment: Quick passing attacks, as used by
..> Belichick-coached teams & Mac Jones, always
..> reduces chances of sacks. However, Mac Jones
..> has been sacked an average of 2.2 times per
..> game, tied for the 13th-highest sacked by oppon-
..> ent rate thus far in 2021.
..>
..> Versus the Panthers, Sam Darnold sacked an
..> average of 2.8 times per game, tied for 4th-high-
..> est sacked by opponent rate thus far in 2021, the
..> Cowboys had a season-high 5 sacks. Other than
..> the Cowboys game, Sam Darnold sacked an aver-
..> age of 2.25 times per game, almost the same as
..> Mac Jones' 2.2 times per game.
..>
..> *--- --- ---*

Follow-up 2:

Assessing how the https://www.bostonherald.com
writer, Pats LB / lead sacker Matt Judon, myself, &
the https://fansided.com/ predictor fared in our
comments made prior to the Cowboys 35-29 over-
time win, the 1st Cowboys win over Belichick ...

.... since his head coach debut (a loss to the Cow-
boys when he was head coach of the Cleveland
Browns) in 1991:

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 8:27:52 PM UTC-5, observer wrote:

..> Follow-up:
..>
..> In the previous post, stopping Zeke & trying
..> to prevent interceptions by Trevon & prevent-
..> ing sacks were the primary predictions. The
..> following article from Boston, the writer thinks
..> the Pats will try to stop Dak in a manner sim-
..> ilar to the way they tried to stop Tom Brady, ...
..>
..> ... trying to confuse Dak & make it difficult for
..> Dak to read their defense. They were able to
..> slow Tom down to his slowest pass delivery
..> of the season (2.61 seconds), & held Tom to
..> his lowest passer-rating of the season (70.8),
..> with his only no TD pass game of the season.
..> https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/10/13/patriots-must-force-dallas-qb-dak-prescott-to-read-defense-says-lb-matt-judon/
..>
..> They also held Tom Brady to his lowest pass-
..> ing yards of the season & his lowest comple-
..> tion% of the season.
..>
..> That article included the perspective of Pats
..> linebacker Matt Judon.

Dak had his highest passing yardage of the sea-
son, & the highest passing yardage *ever* versus
a Bill Belichick head-coached defense, his 5th
over 100 passer-rating game (108.7), 3 TD pas-
ses including the overtime game-winner, & was
sacked -0- times.

Suffice to say, the Pats failed to stop or slow
down Dak.
> On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 12:59:02 PM UTC-5, observer wrote:

/> .> Summarizing what's presented at the following
/> .> article: https://fansided.com/2021/10/13/cowboys-patriots-week-6-2021-bold-predictions/
/> .>
/> .> ~~~
/> .>
/> .> 1. "Ezekiel Elliott won’t get 15 rushing at-
/> .> tempts"

Zeke had 17 rushing attempts.

/> .>
/> .> Belichick is going to load his defense up to
/> .> stop Dallas from running the ball down their
/> .> throats. In particular, the Patriots are going
/> .> to make sure Elliott has zero room to run the
/> .> ball between the tackles.

Zeke averaged 4.06 yards per attempt, with his
longest run being for 21 yards.

/> .>
/> .> Comment: Cowboys had a short passing game
/> .> going on 8 cylinders to substitute for their run
/> .> game in game 1 versus the Bucs. The Patriots
/> .> strong defense, we'll see how the Cowboys plan
/> .> to attack it on Sunday, so it's possible they will
/> .> shut down the Cowboys run attack, but shutting ...
/> .>
/> .> ... down both the run & the pass, that will be dif-
/> .> ficult, but if they can, they certainly up their chan-
/> .> ces of an upset.

They couldn't, Cowboys 445 passing yards +
122 rushing yards, their highest total yards
of the season of 567 yards, the leagues high
ranked offense defeated the Pats high ranked
defense, just barely.

Stat / game details:

1st half: https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.dallas-cowboys/c/G2hlf3QfFOY/m/Z2IcgH_hAwAJ

2nd half/final: https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.dallas-cowboys/c/cE7oXJx3MUk/m/IZVUFEXsAwAJ

/> .>
/> .> ~~~
/> .>
/> .> 2. "Trevon Diggs won’t get an interception"

See the following for details regarding Trevon's
record-tying 7th interception in the first 6 games:
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.dallas-cowboys/c/_t6WoFg3rDY/m/H4svwU_xAwAJ

/> .>
/> .> Comment: Patriots have averaged throwing 1 int-
/> .> erception per game, tied for the 6th-highest inter-
/> .> ception rate thus far (the highest is 1.8 intercep-
/> .> tions per game). Trevon has at least 1 interception
/> .> in every game versus teams ranked
/> .>
/> .> o tied for 1st in fewest interceptions (Bucs, .4 per
/> .> game),
/> .>
/> .> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Chargers, .6
/> .> per game),
/> .>
/> .> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Eagles, .6
/> .> per game),
/> .>
/> .> o tied for 3rd-highest interception rate (2 intercep-
/> .> tions versus Panthers who've given up 1.2 inter-
/> .> ceptions per game)
/> .>
/> .> o tied for 8th in fewest interceptions (Giants, .6
/> .> per game).
/> .>
/> .> So, an interception in every game, hard to keep
/> .> that going, but throwing interceptions has been
/> .> a weakness of the Patriots' Mac Jones thus far,
/> .> even though the Pats have relied on a short pass
/> .> game thus far. Mac Jones is tied for the 6th-most
/> .> interceptions thrown thus far (1 per game).
/> .>
/> .> Cowboys have the most interceptions of any team
/> .> thus far (2 per game, 6 of those by Trevon Diggs).

Trevon added his 7th interception, Cowboys had
2 takeaways & still lead the league in interceptions
but moved down from 2nd in takeaways to 3rd in
takeaways, & moved down from 2nd in net turn-
over differential to 3rd in net turnover differential.

/> .>
/> .> ~~~
/> .>
/> .> 3. "Amari Cooper will go over 100 yards receiving"
/> .>
/> .> Comment: Amari has had to overcome injuries in
/> .> 2021, & has averaged 63.6 yards per game, 29th-
/> .> best in 2021 thus far. Patriots defense is ranked
/> .> 5th-best in fewest passing yards allowed per game
/> .> ( 206.6 ), so it's possible but only if the Patriots
/> .> are so dedicated to stopping the rush that they ...
/> .>
/> .> ... facilitate Dak having a high passing yardage
/> .> day.

A receiver going over 100 yards, the the writer at
https://fansided.com/ was right about that, it's just
that the actual Cowboys receiver to do so was not
Amari Cooper (5 catches for 55 yards) but instead
was CeeDee Lamb, 9 catches for 149 yards & 2 TD
receptions including the game-winner of 35 yards
in overtime.

The Cowboys (Dak's) total passing yardage was
the most a Bill Belichick head coached team has
ever given up (445).

/> .>
/> .> ~~~
/> .>
/> .> 4. "Dak Prescott will rush for over 50 yards"
/> .>
/> .> Comment: Maybe, but Dak has been much less
/> .> likely to run this year, Dak's totals in each game:
/> .> 13 yards in 4 runs vs Bucs, no runs vs Chargers,
/> .> 6 yards in 9 runs vs Eagles, 35 yards in 4 runs
/> .> vs Panthers, 6 yards in 2 runs vs Giants.

My assessment was correct, Dak rushing
3 times for 10 yards.

/> .>
/> .> ~~~
/> .>
/> .> 5. "The Cowboys defense will go without a sack
/> .> (again)"
/> .>
/> .> Comment: Quick passing attacks, as used by
/> .> Belichick-coached teams & Mac Jones, always
/> .> reduces chances of sacks. However, Mac Jones
/> .> has been sacked an average of 2.2 times per
/> .> game, tied for the 13th-highest sacked by oppon-
/> .> ent rate thus far in 2021.

Randy Gregory got his 3rd & 4th sacks
of the year, the first one causing a fum-
ble recovered by Golston.

1st Randy Gregory sack at 49 seconds
to 1:10 in following Cowboys highlight
video: https://youtu.be/BfqwU-_WmP8

2nd Randy Gregory sack, at 13:42 left
in 3rd quarter on a 3rd & 2 at Patriots
33 yard line, results in 7 yard loss &
4th down punt, a 3 & out on Pats 1st
drive of the 2nd half.

/> .>
/> .> Versus the Panthers, Sam Darnold sacked an
/> .> average of 2.8 times per game, tied for 4th-high-
/> .> est sacked by opponent rate thus far in 2021, the
/> .> Cowboys had a season-high 5 sacks. Other than
/> .> the Cowboys game, Sam Darnold sacked an aver-
/> .> age of 2.25 times per game, almost the same as
/> .> Mac Jones' 2.2 times per game.

2 sacks of Mac Jones, 0 sacks of Dak
Prescott.

/> .>
/> .> **--- ---*--- ---**