Defense in the NFL isn’t dead after all, and 4 other takeaways from the Cowboys’ win over the Saints

Defense is alive, y’all! Hallelujah! The Dallas Cowboys stunned the New Orleans Saints in Jerry World, 13-10, slugging their way to victory. The mighty Saints offense only mustered 176 total yards including only 65 yards rushing. They were 27 percent on third down and Drew Brees had a costly interception late in the game to seal the win for the Cowboys.

Here are five takeaways I have from this game.

Defense and running the football is a winning formula when everything is clicking, like it was Thursday night — a night when the Saints played their worst game of the season and lost by 3. But, let’s give the Cowboys defense their due.

The Cowboys defense is built for 2018. They play fast. They play physical. They lay the wood. They can rush the passer and their linebackers can match with running backs in space. Their secondary can challenge routes to make things difficult for wide receivers. There are no free releases against the Cowboys.

All this was on display early in the game as Brees started 0-4, which was his worst start in any game of his career. The Cowboys continued to harass Brees and put the clamp on the run game for the rest of the night.

They ended with 308 yards of total offense, good for 4.7 yards a play. Not outstanding but good enough in a game like Thursday night. The best stat of the night for the Cowboys was 36:53 — time of possession. They controlled the ball and limited the amount of drives for the Saints offense.

While Dak Prescott was 24 of 28 for 248 yards, he wasn’t particularly crisp. Prescott often didn’t look to push the ball downfield and when he did, he missed an open receiver by two yards. He took seven sacks, some of which were Prescott not moving well in the pocket. He turned the ball over in a critical spot with poor ball security, fumbling the ball with less than three minutes to go.

But here’s the issue with doing “just enough to win” on offense: the margin of error is so small. So while this win was outstanding for the Cowboys, their offense still proved to be bland, boring, and not explosive. They attempted one pass that would resemble a deep throw. They barely attempted any play-action passes, which again is mind-blowing considering how they allow for easier throws and huge windows for Prescott. How about a zone read every not and then?

Just nothing creative at all. Their best offensive play continues to be the same screen they run multiple times a game. These are all issue that will hurt them going forward and especially in the playoffs when they run into the Saints again, or the Rams, or whomever. But for one night, the formula worked.

The Saints were down 10-0. They hadn’t done much on offense for all of the first half. After a challenge overturned an incomplete pass, they got the ball on the 7-yard line. An incomplete pass on first down was followed by a 3-yard rush to the 4-yard line. On third down, Brees completed a 3-yard pass, so they faced fourth-and-goal at the 1. The Saints tried running the football and the Cowboys stuffed them.

This play won the game for the Cowboys and it might propel them into the playoffs and beyond. The confidence of the defense, and the team, is now through the roof in these situations. That feeling goes a long way. In 2007, the New York Giants had a similar situation. They stuffed Washington at the goal line in Week 3 to avoid dropping to 0-3. We know how that season eventually ended, and the players often credit that play as the turning point in their season.

This win, plus the way the Cowboys will probably end the season, will save Jason Garrett’s job. He’s a .500 coach at best and they need a change. It’s laughable that people deflect the blame for the average offense from Garrett to offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Garrett is a former quarterback. He’s an offensive coach. The offense that’s being run is being designed with input from Garrett and installed at his wishes. Garrett isn’t sitting in the defensive install meetings. He’s with the offense, as he should be.

So winning these games, while awesome for the team and fan base, just means the Cowboys will have the same issues next season if Garrett stays.

With Garrett staying in Dallas, we (and the Cowboys front office) waste another year in evaluating Dak Prescott. I want to see him in an offense that uses his talents wisely. He attempted that one deep pass on the stutter go route. When you only attempt a single pass like that all game I can understand why it’s off the mark. They probably don’t even practice it much either. Are all these check downs because of the play calling? Or is Prescott scared to let it fly? We might never have answers for those questions until we get a new play caller in Dallas.

They might have lost home-field advantage, which is rough for them, but remember where they’d be playing the Rams, if it ends up with that matchup? In sunny Los Angeles. Last season the Falcons, a dome team, went into LA and beat the Rams. I’m not worried about the Saints playing in Los Angeles.

The Saints defense is playing some awesome football. They sacked Prescott seven times, forced two turnovers, and only allowed 13 points. Throw out the Rams game where they allowed 35, and they haven’t allowed over 23 points since Week 3. Their secondary has continued to improve, and their run defense is one of the best in the NFL. We all know about Cam Jordan, but rookie Marcus Davenport has been a boost to the pass rush. Sheldon Rankins has been a beast in the middle of this defense, too.

This one loss shouldn’t set the Saints back.