The New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys will take part in arguably the most highly anticipated game in Week 12. The Patriots are 9-1 atop the AFC East, while Dallas is 6-4 and are in first place in the NFC East.

New England defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 by the score of 17-10. While the Patriots ended up winning the game, the offense had one of their worst performances of the season.

Tom Brady had his third game of the year where he had zero passing touchdowns. New England's lone touchdown in Week 11 came on a trick play that involved Julian Edelman throwing a pass to Phillip Dorsett.

Despite the team's recent struggles on offense, the Patriots usually get into a groove at around this time of the year. As for the Cowboys, this game will be a good litmus test to see where they currently stand as contenders.

Heading into Week 12, Dallas boasts the No. 1 ranked offense in the NFL in terms of yards per game (444.6). On the other hand, New England has the No. 1 ranked defense in terms of yards allowed per game (249.9).

With that in mind, here are four reasons why the Patriots will defeat the Cowboys in Week 12.

4. Isaiah Wynn appears to be coming back

The Patriots' injuries and struggles along the offensive line have been well-documented this year. When the season kicked off, Isaiah Wynn was the starting left tackle and was playing very well.

However, in Week 2 versus the Miami Dolphins, Wynn suffered a turf toe injury that landed him on injured reserve. After missing the past two months, Wynn has returned to practice and appears to be ready to return on Sunday.

While Wynn was sidelined, veteran Marshall Newhouse was at left tackle; allowing six sacks — fourth-most among all offensive tackles. At this point, any player at left tackle would be an upgrade over Newhouse.

3. The game is in New England

Everywhere you look, there aren't many people who believe that the Cowboys will be able to upset the Patriots in Week 12. One of the reasons why is that this game will take place in Foxborough, where Brady and New England thrive at this time of the year.

Thus far, the Patriots have won all of their games at home, outscoring their opponents 125-44. Furthermore, over Brady's entire career, he holds a 119-19 record in Foxborough.

In addition, the game on Sunday is expected to involve a bit of rain. The Cowboys traveling to Foxborough and playing in less-than-ideal weather seems like a recipe for disaster.

2. The Cowboys' defense has struggled recently

The Cowboys have plenty of talent on defense and at one point of the season, they were one of the best groups in the NFL. But over the past two weeks, Dallas' defense has begun to slightly falter.

In the Cowboys' past two games, the defense has surrendered a total of 676 yards of offense and 55 points. It doesn't help that one of those games involved allowing 312 yards of offense and 27 points to a Detroit Lions offense that was led by Jeff Driskel.

Above all, Dallas will be without Leighton Vander Esch on Sunday due to a re-aggravation of his neck and back injuries. For a New England offense that's been underwhelming, this could be a week they work a few kinks out.

1. Coaching

To put it simply, the Patriots have the ultimate edge when it comes to coaching in this game. It will be Bill Belichick against Jason Garrett in a battle of a defensive-minded coach versus an offensive-minded one.

This year, Belichick took the reins as the defensive play-caller for New England. As a result, the defense is ranked No. 1 in most categories—including yards allowed and takeaways.

In a game that could come down to coaching decisions, there's no doubt that Belichick is nearly always going to have the upper hand on his opponent.