The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Defense is going to play second fiddle in New England, and that’s on the very best day for the Patriots.

That’s life playing along with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowksi and an offense that scored 149 points in the first four games.

A 30-6 win at Dallas on Sunday was the latest example that Bill Belichick’s retooled defense is very much trying to find its identity.

But with the Dallas defense battering Brady early and forcing the Patriots to punt on three of their first four possessions, New England’s defense kept the Cowboys from moving the ball and provided Brady and the offense endless opportunities to make adjustments.

It was the first time the Patriots went on the road and help the opposition without a touchdown since December 2010.

The effort had Belichick raving.

“Just go out there and just do it every week. Did they score?” defensive end Jabaal Sheard asked rhetorically after his two-sack performance. “We wanted to hold the offense to no touchdowns. … They did get yardage. But at the end of the day, we held our own in the red zone.”

And the effort started by shutting down the Cowboys rushing attack. Injuries to Romo and Bryant aside, Dallas does sport arguably the best offensive line in football and the Patriots met that challenge head on.

“I think that is something we have to do every week,” Sheard said of by far New England’s best performance against the run this season. “It is the NFL, everybody wants to run the ball. You have a lot of great backs. Definitely you have to stop the run. That is something we have been trying to do since day one.”

The Patriots do believe in everything working together – the defense feeding the offense, either with field position or by getting off the field quickly.

“On defense, the big thing is we are not paying attention to anything the offense does. They have a job and we have a job. So no matter if they are scoring every possession or if they are going three-and-out or kicking field goals. We just have to get the ball back,” safety Devin McCourty said. “I think from playing here for a couple years, we know if we can just keep getting the ball back, no matter what they are doing, eventually they will put points on the board and we will make a run.”

A work-in-progress New England defense carried its weight in Dallas. It has a chance to keep the momentum going again on the road this week with a trip to Indy to take on the struggling Colts, who could get a jolt from the return of quarterback Andrew Luck from a shoulder injury that kept him on the sideline the past two games.

“Just continue to get better,” Sheard concluded.