The New England Patriots have the inside track to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but they’ll need to put together their best game of the season in Week 12. Led by MVP candidate Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys are perhaps the second-best team New England has faced all year. Boasting an elite offense and a ferocious pass-rushing duo, let’s take a look at some Patriots bold predictions heading into Week 12’s showdown against America’s Team.
New England Patriots vs Dallas Cowboys Bold Predictions
Isaiah Wynn Doesn’t Allow A Pressure
The New England Patriots offensive line has been one of the worst in football, according to ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate metric. The biggest offender of the group has been Marshall Newhouse, a longtime NFL veteran who started the year on the street. It’s hard to blame Newhouse for his poor performance, as he simply doesn’t have the talent to be an NFL starter. However, injuries forced him to play a big role on the offense, and the overall efficiency of the unit has suffered because of it.
Fortunately, the Patriots are getting 2018 first-round pick Isaiah Wynn back from the short-term injured reserve. Wynn has struggled to stay healthy through his short NFL career but has looked good when on the field. He’ll have his hands full against the star duo of Robert Quinn and DeMarcus Lawrence, but the Georgia product should be up for the task.
Ezekiel Elliott Doesn’t Hit 50 Rushing Yards
The New England Patriots have arguably the best defense in the league, but their biggest weakness is stopping the run. In Week 10, Lamar Jackson and company torched New England’s run defense, and Nick Chubb found some success on the ground in Week 9. The Patriots shut down the Eagles rushing attack, but now they face off against Ezekiel Elliott and Dallas’ elite offensive line.
Bill Belichick’s defenses always get better as the season progresses, and hopefully, the run defense can do the same. Stopping the pass is more important than stopping the run, but ideally, you’ll be able to stop both. Despite his gaudy yardage totals, Elliott is one of the worst in the league at breaking tackles. If Kyle Van Noy and company can get to Elliott near the line of scrimmage, he won’t find any success on the ground.
Redux: N’Keal Harry Scores Two Touchdowns
This was on the list last week, but this time it’s actually going to happen. N’Keal Harry looked good in his NFL debut, but he wasn’t anything more than a complementary part of the offense. His role should expand in Week 12, however, as both Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett are expected to miss the contest with injuries.
The Dallas Cowboys secondary is fighting through injuries, but they still have a great starting cornerback in Byron Jones. Jones figures to spend most of the day covering Julian Edelman, which means Harry should have favorable matchups all day long.
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