Saints offense falls short in 13-10 loss at Cowboys

The most experienced crew in the NFL officiated the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. Like the Saints offense, the officiating crew had a horrendous game.

They missed an obvious face mask on the Saints which may have put the game away for the Cowboys. They called an offside penalty on Dallas which should not have been called. They missed a Dallas receiver being down short of a first down and gave him the mark. They missed three helmet-to-helmet hits on the Cowboys.

There were others but you get the picture.

Officiating aside, the better team won. Dallas may not be better than New Orleans overall but anyone watching this game might have a different opinion. The Saints lost as a seven-and-a-half point favorite.

Playing on the road in prime time is tough. Playing two straight Thursday night games is tough. No one said it was going to be easy.

The Saints played well enough defensively. When you have seven sacks, force two turnovers and give up just 13 points, you have to win. The Saints did not because their prolific offense was putrid on this night.

Dallas smothered the Saints, holding New Orleans to a paltry 176 total yards. Drew Brees threw for just 111 yards and tossed an interception.

The result was obvious.

Here are my Quick Takes on the 13-10 win for Dallas over New Orleans:

**Tackle Tyron Smith missed the game for Dallas. Tre’Quan Smith returned for the Saints after being inactive against the Falcons. That rendered Tommylee Lewis, who caught a touchdown pass against Atlanta, inactive.

**The Saints won the toss and deferred. It did not work out well at all.

**Being in the same division as the New York Giants, the Cowboys and Jason Garrett know Eli Apple very well. Clearly, they felt he was a weakness on the Saints defense. They went after him early and often with great success, including for a long gain and got three flags on Apple as well.

**Dallas promptly went 67 yards in 12 plays, taking 5:33 off the clock, reaching the Saints six-yard line on a 40-yard completion from Dak Prescott to Michael Gallup, who beat Eli Apple deep. The defense then stiffened, with David Onyemata sacking Prescott on third down and forcing a 26-yard field goal by Brett Maher to make it 3-0 with 9:24 to play in the opening quarter.

Look at that man @ACES_E go! 😤🇨🇦

The @umbisons alumni powers through for a @Saints sack! ⚜️ #NOvsDAL // #GoSaints pic.twitter.com/M8Et2atXb6

— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) November 30, 2018

**The Saints then went three-and-out. On first down, Keith Kirkwood was open, Brees hit him on the numbers and he dropped the ball. Two more incomplete passes followed and Thomas Morstead had to punt.

**New Orleans went three-and-out on its second possession as well. On third down, Michael Thomas begged Sean Payton to challenge the call of an incomplete pass and it was bad advice. The call was upheld, the Saints lost the challenge and a timeout.

**Brees started the game 0-for-5 passing, the first time in his career that has occurred.

**The Cowboys then marched 85 yards in eight plays, using a pair of huge screen passes to take a 10-0 lead with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter. Prescott hit Ezekiel Elliott on a 16-yard screen pass for an easy score as Elliot went into the end zone untouched.

**The Saints had the ball for just 2:59 in the first quarter, running just eight plays and making just 16 yards.

**Marshon Lattimore made a huge play, stripping Amari Cooper after a catch and Lattimore recovered at the 39-yard line of the Cowboys.

**Sean Payton then used his last challenge and won it on a completion to Dan Arnold and fumble which Michael Thomas recovered at the seven-yard line.

**Tre’Quan Smith then dropped what could have been a touchdown pass, New Orleans reached the two-yard line and Payton decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line. Alvin Kamara was stuffed for no gain and the Saints got nothing. It proved extremely costly.

Marshon Lattimore forces Amari Cooper to fumble and the #Saints recover!#NOvsDAL pic.twitter.com/nm29iZEHK9

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 30, 2018

**Cam Jordan got a sack late in the second quarter, giving him 68.5 in his career and moving him into fourth all-time in franchise history ahead of Will Smith, who had 67.5 sacks.

**Dallas proceeded to drive 71 yards in 16 plays, taking 8:21 off the clock and Maher booted a 46-yard field goal to make it 13-0 with 51 seconds left in the half.

**The Saints had just 21 snaps and gained just 59 yards in the first half. They were 0-for-5 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Drew Brees was held to 31 yards passing. Saints receivers had three drops and a catch that was fumbled.

**The 59 yards were the fewest in a first half for the Saints since 2002. The 39 passing yards were the fewest for Brees in a first half for the Saints.

**Dallas snapped the ball 39 times to just 21 for the Saints. The Cowboys had the ball to 21:49 to just 8:41 for the Saints. New Orleans made all of three first downs.

**It was the first time the Saints offense has been shutout in 71 games. Of course, the Saints gave away three points on the decision to pass on an easy field goal by going for it on fourth-and-goal from the two.

**The Saints had four sacks in the first half, including three by Onyemata. That was the only pass defense New Orleans offered as Prescott riddled the Saints, going 15-of-17 for 173 yards and a touchdown.

**Michael Thomas caught just one pass for just four yards in the half.

**New Orleans took the second half kickoff and drove 60 yards in 10 plays, taking 4:57 off the clock but had to earn every yard. The longest play on the drive was just 11 yards. A face mask penalty against Dallas gave the Saints 15 yards.

**Still, the Saints could not finish the drive and Wil Lutz connected on a 33-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with exactly 10 minutes to play in the third quarter.

**The Cowboys got a stop but Randy Gregory committed a terrible roughing the kicker punter on a punt by Thomas Morstead to give the Saints new life at the Dallas 33-yard line. It was the fourth penalty against the Cowboys on the drive.

**New Orleans took advantage, scoring on a 30-yard pass from Brees to Keith Kirkwood to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 1:08 to play in the third quarter. On the play, Tre’Quan Smith was running right next to Kirkwood. Someone ran the wrong route but Brees put the ball on the money for the score, capping a 10 play, 88-yard drive, taking 4:39 off the clock.

Drew Brees finds Keith Kirkwood for a 30-yard touchdown!#NOvsDAL pic.twitter.com/sp50ekJzAo

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 30, 2018

**The touchdown pass was the 30th of season for Brees, the 10th time Brees has accomplished the feat, the most in NFL history.

**The Saints flipped the script, running 20 plays in the third quarter to just eight for the Cowboys.

**Then, Gregory committed another huge penalty, negating a sack and fumble by Brees which the Cowboys recovered but Gregory was deemed to be offside on what looked to be very close, giving the Saints new life.

**Von Bell then got a terrible roughing the passer call on a totally unnecessary hands to the face of Prescott on an incomplete pass that would have stopped the Cowboys and given the Saints much more time to try to win the game.

**Then, Cam Jordan showed his greatness, whipping La’el Collins off the edge, sacking Prescott and forcing a fumble which Jordan recovered. It was a great play. He was head locked on an obvious hold by Collins and still made the play, giving the Saints the ball at their own 15-yard line with 2:35 to play in the game.

Cam Jordan is held and STILL comes up with the strip sack! #Saints ball!#NOvsDAL pic.twitter.com/p5p1KuolbM

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 30, 2018

**Then, Brees ended any chance as he threw poorly and Jourdan Lewis intercepted it to put the game away with 2:08 to play. Brees had pressure in his face as Larry Warford was whipped in pass protection. Dallas got the ball at the New Orleans 15-yard line.

**For good measure, Marshon Lattimore was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Cowboys the ball at the New Orleans one-yard line and the Cowboys simply ran out the clock.

We learned a lot in this game.

The Saints offense can be stopped. Defense is still played in the NFL. When you show up a bit flat on the road, don’t block, don’t cover receivers and cannot get your own receivers open, you do not score.

The Saints were beaten and beaten badly on their offensive front and it was not just because Terron Armstead was missing.

Dallas is a pretty good football team. If you get consistent pressure in the face of Brees and you cover his wide receivers, you can stop him and the Saints. Dallas did both. For good measure, they got pressure off the edge and they stopped the run throughout.

I thought the Saints would win by 10 points. They were lucky not to lose by 10 points or more.

The win streak is over. It was a well-earned loss. Dallas simply whipped the Saints. Now, it is a little extra time to prepare for a game at Tampa Bay a week from Sunday against a team the Saints have lost two straight games to.

The Saints have won five straight games by double figures. Now, they are looking up at the Rams in the NFC and suddenly look a little vulnerable.