Well color me Cowboy blue. After losing two straight and seeing their playoff chances slip away, Dallas showed some moxie and defeated the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints 24-17 on Saturday.
The Cowboys were surprisingly dominant for three quarters and held off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Saints.
Dallas (9-5) outgained New Orleans 439 to 336, forced three turnovers, sacked quarterback Drew Brees four times and controlled the ball nearly 13 more minutes than the Saints.
New Orleans (13-1) trailed 24-3 after three quarters but made a furious comeback in the fourth, pulling to within seven after Brees tossed a 7-yard pass to Lance Moore for a touchdown with 8:00 left in the game.
Dallas used a 10-play, 74-yard drive to position themselves for a game-clinching field goal with 2:20 remaining. Kicker Nick Folk – who’s missed nine field goals this season – bounced his 24-yard attempt off the right upright to give the Saints one last chance to keep their undefeated season alive.
With no timeouts left, the Saints managed 38 yards on 10 plays to the Dallas 42 with 12 seconds left. On the 11th play of the drive, Brees dropped back to pass but was sacked and stripped of the ball by DeMarcus Ware, his second sack and forced fumble of the game.
The Cowboys Jay Ratliff recovered the loose ball at the Dallas 48, ending the Saints perfect season.
Dallas, which has had their problems winning games in December, finally got a must-win against a really good team in a very hostile environment.
And with the exception of Folk’s missed field goal, Dallas put together their most complete performance of the season. The Cowboys held New Orleans to fewer than 20 points for the first time in their last 23 games and allowed the Saints to convert only one 3rd down.
Tony Romo had his fourth straight interception free game, completing 22 of 34 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown. Over his past four games, Romo has completed 100 of 148 passes for 1262 yards and eight TDs.
Miles Austin Had 139 Receiving Yards and 1 TD Against New Orleans
Miles Austin had his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season with seven receptions for 139 yards. He caught Romo’s only scoring pass of the game on a 49-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys an early 7-0 lead.
Marion Barber added two short touchdown runs of 3 and 2 yards to give the Cowboys running back his first multi-TD game of the season.
With the win Dallas held on to the sixth playoff spot in the NFC with two games remaining against NFC East rivals Washington and Philadelphia.
The Cowboys will travel to face the Redskins next Sunday before closing out the season at home against the Eagles in what may be an elimination game.
But for at least this week Dallas has quieted their critics with a win in a meaningful December game.
If the Cowboys can duplicate their performance against the Saints in their remaining games they are going to be tough to beat.
The problem of course is Dallas’ propensity to play extremely well one week and fall apart the next. It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys perform in Washington next Sunday with an opportunity to solidify their playoff chances.
