Saints Defend Home Field, Hand Dallas First Loss of the Season
Saints Defend Home Field, Hand Dallas First Loss of the Season
The New Orleans Saints defeated the previously unbeaten Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s primetime game The contest was a gritty, defensive battle similar to the 13-10 Cowboys’ victory in the teams’ 2018 matchup. This season the Saints did just enough on their home turf to secure a 12-10 win that featured no touchdowns for Sean Payton’s team, the first such win since 1998.
The first notable defensive play of the game came on the first New Orleans offensive drive. On a third and 13 passing play, Teddy Bridgewater’s pass bounced off the hands of veteran receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and was intercepted by Dallas cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. After narrowly avoiding two picks in last week’s matchup against Seattle, Bridgewater’s luck seemed to have run out on his first downfield attempt into the Cowboys secondary. The talented trio of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper failed to turn the relatively short field into six points, but Brett Maher converted a 28-yard field goal attempt to give Dallas a quick 3-0 lead.
The Saints responded with an effective rushing possession that featured 19 yards from Alvin Kamara, an 18-yard rush by Taysom Hill, and a jet sweep to the explosive rookie Deonte Harris. In the two weeks following the loss of Drew Brees to a thumb injury, Sean Payton has made it clear that the Saints offense will be looking for yardage in short, consistent chunks. New Orleans was finally stopped at the Cowboys’ 22-yard line, prompting a 40-yard field goal from Wil Lutz. Four minutes later Lutz knocked through his longest kick of the night, a 42-yarder to give New Orleans its first lead of the night, 6-3.
The Saints defense looked aggressive but disciplined all game. With 7:13 remaining in the first half Prescott completed a pass to the veteran tight end Jason Witten, who had the ball knocked loose on a tackle by linebacker A.J. Klein. Vonn Bell recovered the fumble, which was just the ninth of Witten’s 16-year career. The very next possession saw Ezekiel Elliott fumble on a fourth and one attempt. Vonn Bell scooped up his second fumble recovery of the night on the play. The Saint’s took advantage of the short field with under two minutes remaining in the half. An eight-play, 43-yard drive was capped off by a third Lutz field goal from 19 yards as time expired.
The Dallas Cowboys’ offense has been formidable in the third quarter through the first three games of the season. Entering last night, the unit was three for three scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the half, and Dak Prescott had not thrown a third-quarter incompletion yet. Following a Saints’ punt, Dak and company became four for four, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard rush by Elliott that gave Dallas a 10-9 lead. This possession was the most impressive Dallas looked in the quarter as they were shutout for the rest of the period.
After some more stellar defense, the Saints grabbed the lead back on a fourth field goal by Wil Lutz early into the final quarter. New Orleans would hang onto the 12-10 lead for the remainder of the game, as Kellen Moore continued to struggle to figure out the Saints’ defense. The fate of the game was sealed on a Dak Prescott Hail Mary as time expired. Dennis Allen’s defense caught Dallas off-guard and rushed five, forcing Dak to fire the ball down the field before his receivers were in position leading to a Marcus Williams interception.
Saints’ Stifling Defense
The Cowboys’ offense had looked very impressive through the first three weeks of the season (albeit against weak defensive opponents), but the Saints put forward a dominant performance which made the Dallas offense look awfully pedestrian. America’s Team entered Sunday night’s game averaging 32.3 points per game - they left the Super Dome with just ten. They averaged 179 rushing yards through the first three weeks of the season, the Saints held them to just 45. And their explosive offense which averaged 481 all-purpose offensive yards in its first three performances could only muster 257. The New Orleans defense showed up when it mattered most, stopping Dallas on seven of eleven third-down attempts.
Dak Prescott was frustrated in the passing game all night, and he failed to have any success throwing the ball downfield. One of his best passes of the night resulted in a fumble which was recovered by the defense. On his most promising chance to score a passing touchdown, Dak fired a pass slightly behind receiver Randall Cobb, which bounced off his hands and incomplete. It would not be the last drop of the night for Cobb. And Dallas’ biggest weapon in the passing game, Amari Cooper, finished the night with just five receptions on eight targets and 48 yards. Marshon Lattimore did a commendable job keeping the 3x Pro Bowler quiet all night. The passing duo’s performance was perhaps best summed up on a late-game, desperate heave to Cooper, who happened to be blanketed by four Saints defenders.
And it wasn’t just the pass game that struggled in New Orleans. Ezekiel Elliott had a night to forget, rushing for just 35 yards on 18 attempts. His 1.9 average yards per carry was the lowest of his career in games where he logged at least ten attempts.
Will the Refs Ever Catch a Break?
Would it even be a legitimate New Orleans Saints game if the discussion and scrutiny weren’t, at some point, focused on the refereeing crew? For the first time since at least January 20th, the refereeing crew might have been held in somewhat high regard in the buildup to the game. Entering the night, Sean Payton’s teams had enjoyed a 12-1 record in games that were officiated by Carl Cheffers’ crew, which is something the coach pointed out.
The feeling likely didn’t persist after the yellow flags started flying. The penalties were abundant -- Dallas was flagged six times for 64 yards, while New Orleans was penalized 9 times for 80 yards. Both teams suffered from controversial decisions. Amari Cooper was called for two questionable offensive pass interference calls, and Zeke appeared to be down by contact on the play where he fumbled. Contrarily, the refs decided to review an Amari Cooper catch with 0:51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter which didn’t seem worthy of a review. The Cowboys had no timeouts remaining at the time and were thus granted a free stoppage by the booth review. And just before that, the refs surprisingly didn’t flag Dallas for what looked like unnecessary roughness on a light hit to the sliding Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints were flagged earlier in the game for a hit that looked awfully familiar.
It was a tough night for the officials, and they probably could have done a better job. Saints fans will be complaining that the referees did everything in their power to keep Dallas alive, while Cowboys fans might argue the zebras lost them the game. Dez Bryant, who played for both teams, was under the impression that the officiating was favoring Dallas. I’ll leave that interpretation up to you.
Small Advantages Made a Big Difference
All in all, Sunday night’s game was a close and hard-fought skirmish between two competitive teams. While the Saints defense shined in slowing down a talented Dallas offense, the Cowboys defensive unit played well and put its team in a position to win. They enjoyed solid secondary play from Awuzie, and defensive end Robert Quinn looked dominant against the Saints offensive line chalking up two sacks, three hurries, and two tackles for loss. The difference ultimately came down to a couple of small factors. The Saints defense forced a few more turnovers. Sean Payton’s offensive game plan was just a little more creative and effective than Kellen Moore’s. Alvin Kamara is just a notch above Zeke right now (and he continues to prove it with ridiculous plays each week.)
Both teams will face another tough task next week. The Saints host a Tampa Bay team that just hung 55 on the Rams, while Dallas hosts a Green Bay squad looking to bounce back after a Thursday night loss to Philadelphia.
-By: Jonny Hart