With 10:24 left in the third quarter, the Patriots appeared to be in trouble for the first time since last season's playoffs. Tony Romo had just completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton to give the Cowboys a 24-21 lead.

The Patriots were facing their first second-half deficit of the season without their starting tight end and running back. That's when Tom Brady completely took over the game.

He connected on 7-of-8 passes during a 10-play, 77-yard touchdown drive to give the Patriots a 28-24 lead that completely silenced the Texas Stadium crowd.

The Cowboys talked all week about this being a measuring-stick game, and if that's the case, they have a long road ahead. Many of us had suspected there was a huge gap between the top AFC teams (Patriots and Colts) and NFC teams (Cowboys and Packers). And Sunday's result pretty much confirmed that.  

In a rare show of personality, the Patriots actually seemed to enjoy the victory. Players ran off the field stuffing their mouths with popcorn to mock Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens' "Getcha Popcorn Ready!" message earlier in the week.

Receiver Randy Moss granted only his second interview of the season despite being held to one touchdown reception (that counted). He now has 11 touchdowns in seven games against the franchise that he's never forgiven for not taking him in the 1998 draft. But even after a lopsided win, Moss didn't exactly rub it in T.O.'s face.

"I didn't want to feed off what he was saying or the hype over the game between the two 81s. I don't really buy into that. I've got a job to do and that's to try to catch touchdowns and get first downs."

Mission accomplished.

The Cowboys attempted to limit Moss by rolling safety Ken Hamlin to his side, and as a result, Patriots receivers Donte' Stallworth and Wes Welker combined for 18 catches and 260 yards.

Members of the Cowboys' defense wouldn't come out and admit it, but they were shocked to be overwhelmed by a team that was forced to feature its third-down running back in the second half.

A dejected Wade Phillips explained that the Cowboys tried every defense he could think of. He stopped short of calling the Patriots the greatest team of the modern era, but acknowledged that Sunday was a sobering moment for the 5-1 Cowboys.

"We wanted to be one of the elite teams, but obviously we're not," he said. "We got a lot of work to do for them to come in our place and beat us like that...I think it's a wakeup call for us."

In a strange moment, he was asked if he'd ever faced an offense like the Patriots.

"Well, we played Jim Kelly and lost to them," he said. "[Andre] Reed and those kinds of guys. That three-wide receiver offense was hard to match up against. The Buffalo offense was really good. But these guys are really good."

He looked lost after the game. And many of his players shared the same expression. Now, continue reading for a retrospective on the "Duel in Dallas."

• The Cowboys trailed 31-24 when Phillips decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 47-yard line. Running back Marion Barber already had the first down when left guard Kyle Kosier inexplicably pulled linebacker Tedy Bruschi to the ground.

According to offensive line coach Tony Sparano, Kosier has had a fantastic season, but it was a completely bone-headed play. He grabbed Bruschi by the waist, and brought him to the ground. For whatever reason, most of the Cowboys offensive linemen aren't talking right now, so I didn't receive a good explanation.

"That was the game there," said Romo. "If we get the first down and go down and score, who knows what would have happened?"

The penalty forced the Cowboys to punt, and Kosier appeared to receive a tongue-lashing from Romo as they headed to the sideline. Four plays later, Brady hit Donte' Stallworth across the middle for a 69-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a commanding 38-24 lead. The Cowboys had 12 penalties for 98 yards while the Patriots only had five for 50.

The defense was called for three offside penalties in the second quarter along, although linebacker DeMarcus Ware disputed his.

"If you watch the film, I wasn't offsides," he said. "But I'm going to keep getting off the ball. That's what I do."

Defensive tackle Stephen Bowen's jumped offside with the Patriots facing third-and-3 at their 35-yard line in the second quarter. The penalty extended a drive, which ended in a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Wes Welker to give New England a 21-10 lead.

• When the Patriots fell behind early in second half, quarterback Tom Brady used some quick passes to the left flat to set up the Cowboys secondary. He threw consecutive passes to Stallworth and Moss in order to see if cornerback Terence Newman would eventually bite on the the pump fake.

Before a second-and-7 play at the Cowboys' 16-yard line, Newman told second-year safety Pat Watkins that the Patriots were about to fake the pass to the flat and go to Moss on the slant. He instructed Watkins to stay inside of Moss. Instead, Watkins bumped Moss before the ball arrived. Newman was called for pass interference, but it should've been Watkins.

Brady hit tight end Kyle Brady for a 1-yard touchdown on the next play. Safety Roy Williams got turned around on the play, and it wasn't the first time it happened. On the Patriots' first touchdown of the game, he was supposed to take Moss once Newman released him. He chased tight end Ben Watson instead, and Moss was open for a 6-yard touchdown.

A frustrated Newman may have been pointing to Williams when he talked about some mental breakdowns.

"We knew a couple of things they did, and we didn't capitalize," he said. "We had some guys do some things that were not as smart."

• On the Patriots second touchdown, the Cowboys had double-coverage on receiver Wes Welker. Brady delivered a bullet to Welker for a 35-yard touchdown. With starting corner Anthony Henry out, reserve corners Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones were completely overmatched by the Patriots.

The Cowboys helped their secondary with some early pressure, but their inability to get off the field on third down eventually doomed them. The Patriots converted 11-of-17 third-down opportunities, including four in a row on the first scoring drive.

• Bill Belichick is obviously known for changing up his defenses to confuse the offense. Cowboys center Andre Gurode said the offensive line was somewhat surprised by how much the Patriots stayed in their nickel defense. In the nickel, the Patriots moved safety Rodney Harrison to linebacker and he had two tackles and a sack.

The Patriots also used a defensive front commonly referred to as "Frisco," which means three down linemen. As Belichick often does, he was constantly moving his linebackers around in an attempt to confuse the Cowboys offensive line. The Cowboys said that defensive tackles Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork wore them down.

• Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said the Patriots defense did an excellent job of taking certain offensive players out of the game. Early in the game, the Patriots concentrated on taking tight end Jason Witten out. They also took Terrell Owens out at times by rolling the coverage to his side.

Asked why the Cowboys didn't go for a touchdown when they had the ball fourth-and-goal on the Patriots' 5-yard line with 10:07 left in the game, Phillips said, "If we had a play I thought we would score on, we would have gone for it on third-and-five."

After the game, Garrett supported Phillips in his decision, but was quick to point out that he did have a play in mind.

• The Cowboys continued their trend of not scoring in the first quarter. After six games, they only have six points in the first quarter. Garrett's having trouble putting his finger on the slow starts.

"I don't have a great explanation," he said. "We're trying to start fast, but we haven't been able to score a lot of points in the first half."

• During a week in which Belichick was asked to explain the benefits of the gray hoodie, he went with a dark-blue golf shirt and khakis. He said the hoodie has a special pouch for his notepad and pens. But with recent advances in fanny-pack design, Belichick may consider a change.

• The good news is that Cowboys safety Roy Williams only maimed one player Sunday. In addition to being forever lost in coverage, he's one of the dirtiest players in the league.

This time he used a legal take-down on tight end Ben Watson, but in typical fashion, he made sure to drive him into the ground with all his force, causing an ankle injury. The guy is one horse-collar away from being suspended for a week, but he doesn't act like he realizes that. After the game, he offered some helpful tips on what angle we should take:

"Brady is a good quarterback, but don't discredit us," safety Roy Williams said. "Just because we didn't stop them on third down doesn't mean we're not a good defense."

• If you're wondering why the Cowboys almost forgot to tackle Tom Brady on two of their three sacks, it's because they were shocked he still had the ball. Linebacker DeMarcus Ware and cornerback Nate Jones were so used to Brady unloading the ball quickly that they held him in their grasp for a few moments before realizing he still had the ball.

• Even though they rarely play, the Cowboys and Patriots have a deep knowledge of each other's personnel. Because former coach Bill Parcells' son-in-law, Scott Pioli, is the Patriots' vice president of player personnel, the teams have done scouting swaps in the past.

A Cowboys scout told me Sunday that he knew more about the Patriots' roster than any team in the league besides his. The difference in the two rosters?

"Their players out-executed us big time," he said. "But then, they do that to a lot of teams."

• I'm not sure any team in sports reflects the personality of its head coach quite like the Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady may have raised a few eyebrows in the offseason, but he's a relentless team player who refuses to take the bait when asked about personal achievements.

Asked if he would at least take a moment to admire his career-high five touchdown passes, Brady said, "I don't do that. I just kind of keep plugging along. I really look at each play as an individual play. If Coach asked me to make a play on third down in the red area, and it's a touchdown, great. If we run it in, great.

Touchdowns are really not very important to me. I think winning the game is what's most important, getting the team in the end zone, making first downs. There is a lot that goes into playing quarterback. When you win, I think that's the most satisfying thing, more than throwing touchdown passes."

• Mike Reiss of Reiss' Pieces blog fame takes a look at a record-breaking night for the Patriots offense.

• The Patriots press corps had to enjoy Sunday's game at Texas Stadium. Week after week, they have to come up with fresh ways to explain near-perfection. And plus, the same eight or nine players show up in the locker room every day, so reporters have to get really creative.

But for at least one afternoon, the Patriots revealed at least two or three flaws. When the Cowboys stood several players up along the line of scrimmage, the Patriots' offensive line looked confused. Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware moved from side to side looking for a favorable matchup.

He blew by left tackle Matt Light, who was battling a case of the flu. But just when it looked like the Patriots might struggle a little bit, the offensive line made some key adjustments. With starting tight end Ben Watson out with an ankle injury, the Patriots turned to the ancient Kyle Brady to stay in and help protect Brady. Instead of the three and four-receiver sets the Cowboys had prepared for, the Patriots used max-protection to buy Brady a little more time.

The results were devastating. Ware's speed was no match for the three-step drops Brady used. The Patriots were completely one-dimensional with running backs Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris out with injuries, but it didn't matter.

Center Dan Koppen did a great job of recognizing what the Cowboys were trying to do at the line, and the Patriots demoralized the Cowboys by converting 11-of-17 third downs -- not to mention a couple of fourth downs. The Patriots had possession of the ball for a staggering 38 minutes and 15 seconds and ran 32 more plays than the Cowboys.

Garrett basically admitted that the offense felt the pressure to score every time it had the ball because of the Patriots' prolific offense. And at times, the Cowboys had some success throwing the ball against cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel.

If the Patriots have a weakness, it's their secondary. But then, I seem to recall them having some success in the past while having to patch some things together back there.

• Bob Ryan discusses another command performance by Brady. And he delivers this gem:

"And you can be sure Brady will be seen in public with a homely librarian before he engages in any discussion about the difference between the receivers he was forced to work with last season and the ones he has now."

• Around the Horn's Tim Cowlishaw had a good look at Belichick's post-game celebration. The two men both enjoy a good Merlot -- especially if it's accompanied by a carmelized carrot at Bob's Steak and Chop House.

• The SPCA thanks Todd Archer for this morning's lead.

• Randy Galloway talks about the High Plains Drifter who destroyed the Cowboys.

• Nice story on Bill Belichick by the the DMN's new Cowboys beat man Albert Breer.