After the first two weeks of the NFL season, fans of the Dallas Cowboys were planning parade routes for mid-February. Then last week, everything came crashing down when Dallas lost to the Arizona Cardinals as 11-point favorites.

The big problem for the Cowboys was missing three key starters on the offensive line — Zack Martin, Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz. Martin and Biadasz returned to a limited practice late in the week, but the status for all three is uncertain for Sunday.

The Cowboys better hope at least two of them return, because last week their makeshift offensive line struggled. Arizona’s defense got constant pressure on quarterback Dak Prescott and held the Cowboys to 5.5 yards per play.

The bad news for Dallas is the Patriots’ defense is a lot better than Arizona’s. New England is ranked fifth in total defense and ninth in scoring. Those rankings are even more impressive when you consider two of the Pats’ first three opponents were the Eagles and Dolphins. Miami ranks first in total offense and Philadelphia sixth.

This game feels like a slog to me. It features two of the NFL’s top defenses, so I expect both coaches to play more conservative offensively. That sets up for a close, lower-scoring game where 6.5 points is too valuable to pass up.

The play: Patriots +6.5.