Cowboys-Saints Thursday Night Preview


One of the more fascinating match-ups of the NFL season is set to take place tonight, with the league-leading 10-1 New Orleans Saints visiting the NFC East-leading 6-5 Dallas Cowboys.

 This match-up intrigues me for multiple reasons, the first and most obvious being that I flat out just like watching the Saints play. They're the only team in the NFL that does everything well, and watching them execute offense, defence and special teams is a treat. Drew Brees is likely going to win the MVP award this season, and their defence has surprised many people (myself included), in their ability to stop the run and make other teams offence's one-dimensional. The key to beating the Saints is to keep their offence on the sidelines by running the ball and working the clock, but the Saints ability to stop the run neutralizes that idea.

 I also like this match-up due to the fact that the Saints aren't playing at home. If this game was in New Orleans, it would likely result in a 20-30 point Saints win. However, with this game being in Dallas at "Jerry's World", the Cowboys will be able to stay in the game longer due to their home field advantage. They're going to need it too, if they have any hope of ending the Saints 10 game winning streak. 

 With the newly-acquired Amari Cooper doing serious damage since his trade to the Cowboys (4 games, 349 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns), the Cowboys are no longer just having the rely on Ezekiel Elliot to provide the offence. This balanced approach is why they've won their last 3 games, and have overtaken the Redskins for first place in the NFC East.


The last reason why I'm excited for this game is the match-up between the potent Saints offence and the Cowboys defence. According to NFL.com, the Cowboys are only allowing 19.4 points per game. If they're able to keep the Saints to under 25 they'll have a definite shot to win tonight. They'll need to avoid giving up the big plays down the field, and force the Saints to kick field goals. If they can do that, they will be successful.

 As for my prediction, I think the Saints will win but it will be a closer game than people think. Look for the Saints to try to take away Ezekiel Elliott early in the game, and force Dak Prescott and the Cowboys passing attack to beat them.

 Final Score Prediction: Saints 30 - Cowboys 22

 - Cameron Begin

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