The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — From afar it appears that was once circled on the calendar as one of the most intriguing, challenging games on the New England Patriots (3-0) schedule has been relegated to a presumed victory.

Coming out of the bye, New England heads to Dallas this Sunday to take on a Cowboys (2-2) squad that’s been derailed by injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and playmaking receiver Dez Bryant.

It’s actually the first of a two-game trip that, along with the following week’s trip to Indianapolis, has gone from a potential mettle-testing gauntlet to being relegated to expected victories for coach Bill Belichick’s team.

Not surprisingly, though, Belichick and his team is doing anything but looking at a Cowboys team lacking star power as pushover.

“They have (Rolando) McClain and (Greg) Hardy coming back,” Belichick said, beginning his best Lou Holtz impression of talking up the opposition, when asked about avoiding a letdown. “They’re a good football team — best offensive line in the league, they have a really good defensive front, a lot of good skill players, (Jason) Witten is as good as they come, (Joseph) Randle has done a great job for them, (Darren) McFadden, he’s an outstanding player, (Gavin) Escobar, (Terrance) Williams, (Cole) Beasley, they’ve got a great kicker and a good punter, the defensive front is a problem, the linebackers are good, plus now they have McClain in that group.

“(Morris) Claiborne was the fifth pick in the draft or whatever he was. The corners are good. The safeties are good. They play all those guys. Put (Byron) Jones in there at safety, corner, nickel. So, there are a lot of good football players on that team.”

Belichick’s top general on the ground, Tom Brady, took a similar approach.

“There’s no let down for us,” Brady said. “We’re trying to establish a certain level of play, and we got off to a decent start this year. So we’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got to sustain good practices, good games, good weeks, and see if we can just keep building. This team could easily be 4-0.

“They’re playing at home. They’ve got a lot of good players, very talented team. Last year they were one of the best teams in football. They could’ve beaten the Saints easily last week in overtime, so they’re a very good football team. I know it’s going to be a big test for our team.”

That may be true. It may not be true.

But it’s certainly not the Brady vs. Romo. Bryant vs. Rob Gronkowski offensive showdown that many were expecting and hoping for.

Regardless of what Belichick says, Brady vs. Brandon Weeden just doesn’t have the same ring.

Or pose the same challenge for a New England team looking to improve to 4-0 for the fourth time in the Belichick/Brady era (2004, 2007, 2013).

SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular season meeting. Cowboys lead series, 7-4. This infrequent series has been dominated by winning streaks. Dallas won the first seven matchups from 1971 through 1996. New England has had the upper hand since, winning the last four, including all three matchups in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. Brady’s last trip to Dallas, in 2007, saw him pass for 388 yards and five touchdowns in the 48-27 win in the midst of New England’s record-setting, undefeated regular season.

GAME PLAN

–It’s Groundhog Day for quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. The team heads to Dallas to take on a Cowboys squad that is now counted on to keep teams in the game. Rod Marinelli’s unit uses plenty of schemes and big, athletic bodies up front to try to control the game. As such, look for New England to once again use the spread, quick-throw attack that’s led the team’s success through the bulk of the first three wins. Dallas’ coverage certainly has its issues at times, especially if linebacker Sean Lee isn’t in the middle of it all to help out with Rob Gronkowski and Dion Lewis. If the Patriots continue to get protection that’s good enough for Brady to find his man, the targets should continue to make plays against a Marinelli scheme that’s very similar to the ones the New England offense has had a lot of success against in past meetings with the veteran coach.

Defensively in Dallas, it will be all about New England’s front seven. The group hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in the first month and will face maybe the best offensive line in football. With no Tony Romo, the Cowboys want to run the ball even more and control the game, both as an offense and as a tactic to keep Brady and Co. off the field. It’s up to the Patriots to keep running backs Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden in check early, which isn’t out of the question as the two are averaging 3.9 and 3.5 yards per carry, respectively. Of course the Patriots are allowing 4.7 per attempt, so they still have plenty to prove up front. If the run game for the Cowboys can be controlled — maybe even through some early action for Akiem Hicks after joining the Patriots via trade from New Orleans — then a suspect Patriots pass defense can get to work against quarterback Brandon Weeden. The backup has impressive numbers (76.3 percent completions, a 108.8 rating) but doesn’t exactly put fear into a defense. The Patriots pass defense numbers aren’t great (90.2 combined rating allowed), but the Cowboys are a different team without wide receiver Dez Bryant. If the coverage can keep tight end Jason Witten, once again Dallas’ top receiver, then it’s simply about not allowing big, game-changing plays. Stop the run, cover the middle and no big plays. Pretty basic stuff against a backup quarterback.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

–Patriots LT Nate Solder vs. Cowboys DE Greg Hardy.

Solder hasn’t been dominant through the first month. He faces a big challenge in Hardy, who’s had more than a year to look forward to his return to regular season game action. Hardy made it clear he’s focused on sacking Tom Brady. Solder is supposed to keep that from happening, but must prove he’s up to the challenge of dealing with the fresh-legged, controversial pass rusher.

–Patriots TE Rob Gronkowksi vs. Cowboys DB Byron Jones.

Gronkowski has been as good as just about any player in the NFL to open the season. He’s the focal point of the Patriots offense, upon which the rest of the attack is built. Jones is a big, athletic rookie who’s shown some useful versatility. But the first-round pick will face a unique challenge like he’s never seen in action against the All-Pro Gronkowski on Sunday. It’s a challenge that few players — veteran or rookie — have been ready for over the last year-plus of the tight end’s domination.