FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Dallas Cowboys are now 0-for-4 in big games this season.

There's no other way to put it after their 13-9 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Winning at Gillette Stadium was going to be a chore. The Patriots have now won 21 straight home games. It was made even more difficult by rainy, cold, gusty weather that tamped down a Cowboys' offense that had been the top-ranked unit in the NFL.

But just like games this season against the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, the Cowboys couldn't come through with a breakthrough win.

"We've got to get over the hump, simple as that," Prescott said. "Fortunately, in some ways, we still control our destiny. That's the good part about it. We've just got to figure it out and beat some of these good teams before to put ourselves in position to make it to that tournament and then be able to beat those teams then."

Quarterback Dak Prescott came in as the NFL's leader in passing yards but could not reach 200 yards Sunday, finishing with 199. Fifty-nine of them came on a fourth-quarter pass to Randall Cobb.

A third-down offense that was best in the NFL entering the game, converted 2 of 13 chances. In their Week 5 loss to the Packers, another test, the Cowboys converted 2-of-8 third-down tries.

A red zone offense that scored touchdowns on 21 of 36 drives inside the opponents' 20, failed in two tries Sunday. In their Week 4, 12-10, loss to the Saints, the Cowboys scored a touchdown on one of two red zone opportunities. Points were at a premium Sunday and the Cowboys did not maximize their chances.

"There is no gratification getting down to the last drive with it determining the outcome of the game. That is not the point," Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "You can't be satisfied with how we got out there. I don't care if it is New England with their record and their coach and all that. You can't be satisfied just because you got within the last drive. I'm just really frustrated. I thought we could come up here and put together a better effort in all three phases. I expected us to play well against them defensively. We got what I think we should have expected from our defense. The other phases of the game we can't come up here and play like that."

Coach Jason Garrett elected to go for a field goal attempt with 6:04 to play from the Patriots 11, hoping the offense could get its act together, but it couldn't. A Jason Witten drop and a dubious tripping penalty on Travis Frederick doomed the Cowboys' chances that were ended when Amari Cooper's 20-yard diving catch was rightly overturned by replay with 45 seconds to play.

The best news for the Cowboys: Philadelphia, their only competitor in the NFC East, lost its second straight home game and is now 5-6.

At 6-5, the Cowboys are in first place in the division and continue to control their fate in the final five weeks of the season, but so far they have not passed any of their tests. Another one awaits on Thanksgiving when the 8-3 Buffalo Bills visit AT&T Stadium.

Troubling trend, part one: Cooper really likes AT&T Stadium. He doesn't like the road very much. Cooper was held without a catch for the first time since joining the Cowboys in a trade last season from Oakland. A fourth-down catch on the final drive for 20 yards was negated by replay with 45 seconds to go. He had one catch at the New York Jets but played only one series because of a quadriceps bruise. He was targeted once in the first half and Stephon Gilmore ended up with an interception. In the third quarter, he had a first-down reception wiped out by a penalty. In six road games, he has 17 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys are home in three of their last five games.

Troubling trend, part two: Quite simply, the special-teams unit has been an issue the entire season. On Sunday, kicker Brett Maher missed his seventh field goal try of the season, matching his total from a season ago. The unit allowed a blocked punt for the first time since the 2016 season finale that New England turned into its first touchdown. The Cowboys mishandled two kickoff returns in the first half and one more in the second half. In the third quarter, they had consecutive penalties because the punt team could not get lined up properly. In a game where little things matter, special-teams play contributed negatively in a big way.