First quarter:
A pair of turnovers for each team resulted in a 3-3 quarter.
The Cowboys got the ball first, but Tony Romo was himself and threw a pick to Andrew Carter. Dallas' defense, however, was able to limit the Patriots to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal.
Dallas was forced to punt on the ensuing drive, but Terence Newman picked off a Tom Brady passed that was tipped at the line. The Cowboys couldn't capitalize and settled for a Dan Bailey field goal.
Matthew Slater fumbled the next kickoff, and the Cowboys recovered. Dallas, however, gave the ball back up when Tashard Choice fumbled.
Second quarter:
The second quarter looked a little more like a Patriots/Cowboys game.
New England had to settle for another Gostkowski field goal early in the stanza, but New England later broke it open with the game's first touchdown when Brady connected with Wes Welker for a 5-yard strike. The play was initially ruled short of the goal line, though it was immediately obvious the play would be overturned via a Bill Belichick challenge.
The Cowboys ran off over seven minutes on the ensuing drive, capping it off with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Romo to tight end Jason Witten, who hadn't caught a ball until that reception.
The teams entered the half at 13-10, New England advantage.
Third quarter:
A Bailey 22-yard field goal following another long drive was the only score of the third stanza.
The Patriots had a late-quarter drive stalled and were forced to punt, but a running into the punter penalty gave New England new life.
Aaron Hernandez, however, coughed up the ball on a reception with half a minute to go in the third, giving Dallas possession.
Fourth quarter:
Tom Brady threw an interception to Sean Lee to stall yet another potential scoring drive, and Bailey gave Dallas a 16-13 lead later in the quarter.
The teams exchanged possessions before Brady all but put Dallas away with an 8-yard touchdown strike to Hernandez.
The Cowboys had less than half a minute to get all the way down the field and were unable to make it past New England's 49-yard line before time expired.
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