Listening to the unbridled enthusiasm bubbling out of Big D after the Cowboys improved to 3-1 with a 38-17 dismantling of the Saints -- yes, those now 1-3 Saints -- you would think the glory days are back. That's right, Cowboys fans, a Week 4 win over a vastly under-performing Saints team has just erased three consecutive .500 seasons and a four-year playoff drought. Hooray!
Let’s not overreact to the Cowboys’ win over the Saints
Yes, Dallas looked great against New Orleans. No, that doesn’t mean they’re waltzing back into the playoffs.
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"In my time in the NFL this is as complete a unit as I've been a part of," chirped Tony Romo, who followed up a night of tossing touchdowns to teammates (three scoring passes) by tossing them effusive praise.
ESPN Dallas beat writer Todd Archer took it one step further: "The ghosts of Cowboys past -- think Green Bay Packers loss last year, Detroit Lions in 2011 -- were put to bed."
Nobody's taking away from the Boys' impressive offensive showing on Sunday night, or the fact that the team is off to its best start since 2008, but let's not get carried away just yet. This is the same Saints team that allowed Matt Ryan to break a franchise record for passing yards in its season opener and followed that up by losing to the Browns.
Romo's lofty claim about his offensive supporting cast does have some bite -- Dez Bryant may be the most talented wide receiver outside of Detroit, DeMarco Murray leads the NFL rushing race by over 150 yards and the offensive line is one of the league's top units -- but it's too early to put them above the 2007 cast that Romo and the Cowboys rode to the NFC East crown. Terrell Owens and Jason Witten both topped 1,000 yards receiving, Marion Barber ran for 975 yards and double-digit touchdowns and three members of the offensive line were named to the Pro Bowl. The offense ranked second in the league in scoring, third in yardage and had seven Pro Bowlers.
We’ll need a larger sample size to determine if 2014’s version stacks up.
Regardless, offense has never been the problem during the Cowboys' extended postseason absence (in the four year's since their last playoff game, they've ranked no lower than No. 11 in scoring) -- the real question is on defense. That unit was shockingly impressive against Drew Brees and the Saints' prolific attack (holding them out of the end zone for three quarters and forcing three turnovers), but they're still allowing just shy of 380 yards per game and rank 28th in pass defense. Orlando Scandrick's early return from suspension is a boost to the secondary, but that's offset by the loss of Morris Claiborne to a torn patellar tendon, the latest in a string of devastating injuries that have left the defense riddled with question marks.
The Cowboys looked like outright title contenders against the Saints, and if they can consistently play that way for the next 13 weeks, they’ll be a lock to re-enter the playoffs. But if you’ve been watching Dallas for the last half-decade, you know that they’ve been anything but consistent. We need more than four weeks against middling opposition before we declare the Cowboys’ era of mediocrity dead and buried.
Don’t hang the division title banner just yet, folks.
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