Cowboys End Saints Perfection

Last night, the Dallas Cowboys looked like a potential serious playoff contender. The New Orleans Saints lost their bid at a perfect regular season. And the NFC playoff picture was brought more into focus with Dallas pulling off a stunning 24-17 win in the Superdome agains the Saints.

The Cowboys outgained New Orleans 439-336, stifled the NFL's #5 rushing attack, held about a 13 minute advantage in time of possesson, and sacked Drew Brees four times. Yet, the Saints still had a chance to tie the game in the closing minute.

Four things to take away from this one.

First, Tony Romo (right) had another good game. He had more passing yards than Brees (312 to 298), a higher QB rating (104.0 to 81.5), and no INT. In Romo's last three games, he has 6 TD and 0 INT. Last night was his lowest QB rating in those three games. December has actually been good to Romo.

Second, Dallas stayed with the running game and that was a major reason the Cowboys were able to take such a decided edge in time of possession. Marion Barber produced two rushing TDs for his first since week 8. That's a sign all Cowboys fans should love seeing.

Third, just when you think you have the Saints, they battle back. Dallas led 24-3 going into the 4th quarter. A couple of Saints scores made it 24-17 with 8:06 remaining. New Orleans got the ball back with 2:16 left and started a drive to a tie which was thwarted by a sack of Brees and a fumble recovered by Dallas' Jay Ratliff.

Maybe the most important thing going forward was this. Dallas took the kickoff after New Orleans made it 24-17 and drove all the way to the Saints 6. With 2:19 left, Cowboys kicker Nick Folk did his best Shaun Suisham impression and knocked his filed goal attempt off the right post. That miss was the sixth straight game Folk has missed a FG attempt. That missed permitted the Saints a last gasp. That's something the Cowboys will no longer be able to afford as the Redskins and Eagles await.

Dallas did solidify its playoff position and holds their fate in their own hands...win out and they're in the postseason.

That just might get Wade Phillips (left) another season or two.

But with Jerry Jones calling the signals, I stress the word "might".

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Saints Seek 14th Win v. Cowboys

Here's a look at tomorrow night's Cowboys/Saints game. Indianapolis managed a 35-31 victory last night. Can New Orleans match the Colts 14-0 record?

Dallas Cowboys (8-5) @ New Orleans Saints (13-0)

Dallas: No questions the Cowboys need this win a lot more than the Saints. A lot of people already have this as a win for New Orleans. It's in the Superdome, the loudest home stadium in the NFL. The Saints offense seems to run to perfection. The more I think about it, the more sense Dallas WR Roy Williams made by channeling his inner Dennis Green.

But what must Dallas do to get that win? Run the ball on offense. Chew up the clock. I might be crazy, but with the exception of the goal line stand last week, Dallas seems to want to abandon the run way too early. That train of thought will not work against the Saints. The more your offense is on the field, the less Drew Brees and the Saints offense is on it.

It's hard to fathom, but Marion Barber (right) has managed only 4 rushing TD this season and he hasn't had one since week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks. In fact, Barber has only one 100+ yards game to date and that was the second game of the season. Sure, Dallas is giving more carries to Felix Jones and  few to Tashard Choice, but Barber is the Cowboys main threat at running back.

Come to think of it, the Cowboys aren't exactly a shabby offense (3rd overall) and despite losing the last two games, QB Tony Romo has performed well. And WR Miles Austin has evolved into a star right before our eyes. The only thing lacking is getting the ball in the endzone. At this point, we've seen that relying on K Nick Folk for three isn't a safe option.

But it's Dallas' defense that worries me. Last week against the Chargers, Dallas had virtually no pass rush and the secondary had trouble containing the Chargers big receivers. It's a similar situation this week against the Saints.

Having LB Demarcus Ware available will aid that defense greatly. Ware suffered a sprained neck last week, but he's trying to get in a position to play against the Saints. But for the Dallas defense, it's pretty easy to see. No Ware, no pass rush. No pass rush, no help for the secondary. We all know what happens after that.

Saints: Can the express known as the Saints offense be stopped? I don't think it can, but you can slow it down. Well, you better hope you can.