Big plays doom Cowboys, 44-19

From dominant to dominated, the Dallas Cowboys defense simply had no answer for the New Orleans Saints.

After looking so good last week at Cleveland, Mike Zimmer’s men were no match for the visitors, who marched in and marched over the Cowboys in the 2024 home opener. New Orleans reached the end zone on each of its first six possessions to easily run away with a 44-19 victory.

Saints quarterback Derek Carr had his way with the Dallas secondary, throwing for 243 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for a 125 passer rating. The wideout combination of Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave benefited from that aerial attack, finishing with 96 and 81 receiving yards, respectively.

But when Carr wasn’t throwing over the Cowboys defense, running back Alvin Kamara was running through it. Behind an offensive line that controlled the game, Kamara rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns. He also added two catches for 65 yards and another score. Overall, the Saints averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

Despite the result, the Cowboys offense wasn’t that bad. They were just constantly chasing a big deficit. Sacked three times, Dak Prescott threw for 293 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for a 78.3 rating. CeeDee Lamb topped the team with 90 receiving yards while Jalen Tolbert added another 82, a career high. On the ground, the running back committee combined for just 3.2 yards per carry.

The Saints opened the game with a quick 7-0 lead, flying 80 yards on seven plays to the end zone. Kamara got the scoring honors a 5-yard run off right tackle, but it was a pair of crossing routes during the drive that caused the most damage, the gains going for 17 and 39 yards.

Dallas came right back and got some points on the board as well. Prescott kept the drive going with a fourth-and-1 conversion at the Saints’ 44, but a holding penalty stalled the Cowboys’ momentum. That left it to Brandon Aubrey to kick a 52-yard field goal. With that, he set an NFL record for consecutive 50-yard field goals made to start a career, a streak of 13.

One snap later, though, New Orleans was celebrating again. Carr dropped back and threw a bomb to the speedy receiver Shaheed, who raced behind the safeties and hauled in the pass for a 70-yard touchdown.

The Cowboys were on the move as the clock ticked over into the second frame, and while they were able to travel deeper into enemy territory – this time the New Orleans’ 12-yard line – they were again unable to go the distance. Aubrey at least provided another field goal, his boot from 38 yards good.

Another Saints possession, another big play with the Cowboys just unable to slow down the New Orleans offense. This time Kamara took a screen pass underneath, burst out of traffic and then ran down the right sideline untouched for a 57-yard score.

The Cowboys, however, were certainly not going to go quietly into the night – at least not yet. Finally, Prescott and company got a big play of their own. From his own 35-yard line, the quarterback connected with Lamb on the right sideline, who then ducked under two New Orleans defenders before dashing to the goal line for a 65-yard touchdown, the Cowboys narrowing the deficit, 21-13.

Desperately needing to slow down the Saints offense, the Dallas defense instead continued to struggle. This time New Orleans stayed largely on the ground with seven of its 11 plays in the series being runs. Kamara took five of those handoffs for 48 yards, the last of which was a 12-yard rush around the left end for the score.

Unfortunately, the Saints weren’t done with their first-half big plays. On first-and-10 at his own 49-yard line, Prescott threw a good pass to Jalen Brooks over the middle. But when the receiver slipped and fell out of his break, cornerback Paulson Adebo was there to haul in the interception. He then returned the pick 47 yards to give the visitors possession at the Cowboys’ 20-yard line with just over a minute left in the quarter.

That was plenty of time, as Carr threw a 19-yard pass to Olave down to the 1 before taking the sneak himself across the goal line The 35 points allowed by Dallas tied the franchise record for the most given up in the first half.

With 39 seconds on the clock, Prescott was able to get his troops back in field goal range, reaching the New Orleans 30-yard line. That was good enough for Aubrey, who put it through the uprights to make the score 35-16 at the break.

Hoping to find some momentum to start the second half, the Cowboys took the kickoff and worked their way down to the Saints’ 9-yard line, only to have Prescott stripped of the ball on a third-and-8 play. The series was saved when Tolbert, who had a 39-yard catch earlier in the drive, ran back to fall on the fumble, which allowed Aubrey to do what he does – kick a 40-yard field goal to draw it back to a two possession game.

Now, was the Dallas defense able to figure something out during halftime?

New Orleans continued the trend, again reaching the end zone on its first try of the third quarter. This time it was an extended 13-play, 70-yard drive. Kamara continued to do much of the heavy lifting and was rewarded with his fourth touchdown of the game, rushing around the left end 7 yards to the goal line. At least they missed the extra point, the score now 41-19.

With the outcome all but decided, the Cowboys basically were forced into a hurry-up offense for the final 15 minutes. They were able to again get deep into the Saints’ zone, but having to go for it on fourth-and-4 at the New Orleans 16-yard line, Prescott’s pass to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford fell incomplete.

Safety Donovan Wilson corralled a tip pass for a much-needed interception, but the ensuing possession was a short one. On the Cowboys’ first snap, Prescott returned the favor by throwing his own interception.

When Dallas then went for it on fourth-and-9 and at their own 13-yard line on its next series, and failed on a deep pass to Brooks, New Orleans stayed on the ground to let the clock tick. The Saints eventually settled for a 26-yard field goal for the final points of the game, 44-19.

With that, Prescott and Lamb called it a day, Cooper Rush coming on to man quarterback duties over the final five minutes before the game finally came to a merciful end.