Cowboys vs. Patriots

Sporting News wrote a counterpoint piece trying to decide who would win between the 90's Cowboys and the current Patriots. Those Cowboys won 3 Super Bowls in four years, and the Patriots are going for their third in four. This question comes up, of course, because of the insistence of many that the Patriots qualify as a "dynasty." I have already commented on that. But it's still an interesting question.

I would have to go with New England, believe it or not. Those Cowboy teams were awesome. (As someone who rooted for Buffalo for the first two, and Pittsburgh in the third, take my word for it.) They were awesome on both sides of the ball. But what has characterized the Patriot teams these last few years is that they just beat everyone. They shut down just about every offense they face, no matter how dominant. The 2001 Patriots shut down the most prolific offense of its day so hard that Kurt Warner's career has never recovered. They've stuffed Peyton Manning over and over, and that Colt offense is more powerful than Aikman's. At the same time, few teams have ever managed to keep the Patriot offense from scoring. No one thinks of New England as an offensive powerhouse, but they just score all the time. They find ways. They may or may not blow you out, but they will beat you. That 2001 Ram defense was no slouch. The 2004 Steelers had one of the best defenses in the league, and New England ripped them apart. Their average margin of victory this year was 11 points, and that's with seven games with Miami, the Jets, Buffalo, and Baltimore, and includes the fourteen point loss to Pittsburgh. These guys just find a way to win.