Mike Tyson once said that everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. It’s safe to say that the New Orleans Saints (10-2) got punched in the mouth on Thursday night when the normally high-powered offense was stymied as the Dallas Cowboys (7-5) came away with a 13-10 win.
The Cowboys opened the game with the football and marched down the field with a 12-play drive that was capped off by a 26-yard field goal by Brett Maher. After forcing the Saints to punt for the third straight drive, they marched down the field once again with an eight-play drive that was capped off by Dak Prescott connecting with Ezekiel Elliot on a 16-yard pass to take a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Saints looked to answer the bell in the second quarter with a quick march down the field thanks to a fumble by Amari Cooper that was recovered by Marshon Lattimore at the Dallas 33-yard line. However, the offense was stopped at the one-yard line by the Cowboys defense.
Dallas then marched down the field on a 16-play drive that was capped off by a 46-yarder by Maher to make it 13-0 headed into halftime.
The Saints finally got on the board to start the second half when Wil Lutz sent a 33-yard field goal through the uprights to make it a 10-point ballgame. Things turned around for them after forcing the Cowboys to punt. The drive seemingly was stalled though after Mark Ingram lost a yard on a rush to the left on third down, but a roughing the kicker penalty wound up giving the Saints new life. Three plays later, Drew Brees found Keith Kirkwood for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 13-10 with 1:15 left in the third quarter.
The game began to slow down for both teams in the fourth quarter and the Saints wound up having a golden opportunity after Cam Jordan recovered a fumble by Prescott to end a lengthy drive by the Cowboys. However, Drew Brees threw a wobbler of a pass that was intended for Alvin Kamara, but wound up in the hands of Jourdan Lewis to clinch the win for the Cowboys.
The Saints will return to action on December 9th when they travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers (4-7) with kickoff slated for 12 pm.
-Clint Domingue