The New Orleans Saints, coming off of a nice 34-19 win will travel to Dallas on Thanksgiving to take on the Cowboys in their annual Thanksgiving game. Dallas is coming off of a 35-19 win against the Detroit Lions and has won two games in a row coming into this game.
The Saints need to keep on winning because they are still a game back of the Atlanta Falcons for the lead in the NFC South; if they stumble one more time, they may not be able to catch up and could miss the playoffs entirely. They need every win that they can get, and they will start trying to get those wins (again) against Dallas.
Dallas had a very poor start to the season, but have picked things up and are at least looking a little better now. They will also be playing at home which gives them an advantage, but it is going to be pretty tough for them to beat the Saints this Thursday.
So who will win and why? Can the Saints continue to keep pace with the Falcons for the lead in the NFC South?
Let’s find out in this extended game preview.
When the Saints Have the Ball
New Orleans found a lot of success passing the ball in their game against the Seahawks this past Sunday, and there is no reason to think that they won’t let up on the passing in this game. Through 10 games, the Saints are averaging 247 yards per game, and have had a lot of success controlling the ball and the clock by passing the football.
Do you think the Saints will win this game?
Yes No Submit Vote vote to see results
Do you think the Saints will win this game?
*
Yes
83.3%
*
No
16.7%
Total votes: 36
The Cowboys, despite their record, have a pretty solid defense. Through 10 games, Dallas is allowing opponents to gain 235 yards per game through the air. As a result, this should be an interesting match-up.
Can the Cowboys get to Brees and either sack him or force him to make mistakes? That will be a key part of how things go on Thursday. The Cowboys defense has managed to get 20 sacks so far and will have the opportunity to try to get more against a Saints offense that has given up 14 so far this season.
Teams aren’t getting a lot of pressure on Brees, but, when they do, they can create problems for the Saints passing game.
Everyone knows that the best thing to do (to alleviate pressure on a passing attack) is to become multi-dimensional and run the football as much as possible (and within reason).
The Saints have had their problems running the football, and the lack of a solid running game can be considered a big part of why they have lost three games this year.
Have they turned that around?
The answer to that question is “somewhat.” They did get a good game out of rookie running back Chris Ivory against the Seahawks. Running back Reggie Bush is back and adds another dimension to the offense. He didn’t make it into the lineup last week so hopefully he gets in there this week and helps improve the running game.
107053279_crop_340x234 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
New Orleans is averaging 84.3 rushing yards per game, but they wrangled 99 out of Ivory last week against the Seahawks. With Bush finally coming back, they could have some decent success on the ground against the Cowboys. But can they run against the Cowboys defense?
Dallas is allowing teams to gain an average of 117 yards per game so this should tell the Saints to run the ball in order to test the defense and see how far they can get. If the Saints can successfully run the ball, it will take pressure off of Brees, the passing game, and open up some things up for the offense.
When the Cowboys have the Ball
After suffering a very slow and painful start to the season, the Cowboys have won two games in a row and haven’t looked bad on offense. Their new head coach, Jason Garrett, has this team playing much better now and they will be ready for this game.
With starting quarterback Tony Romo out of the lineup, the Cowboys have been using backup Jon Kitna as their starter, and he hasn’t been doing that bad. Dallas is averaging 272 yards of passing, while the Saints have been allowing 149 yards per game on average.
New Orleans has been getting good pressure on opposing quarterbacks (going into this game they have 19 sacks) and should be able to get some pressure against the Dallas offensive line. The Cowboys have given up 18 sacks, so the Saints will try to get some pressure on Kitna and force him into making mistakes—or get him on the ground.
106532294_crop_340x234 Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images
Both Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are having good seasons, despite the fact that Dallas has had some issues at the quarterback position this year. The Saints secondary has been banged up. With a short week of rest, they may struggle at times against these two receivers (as well as tight end Jason Witten). They have to cover them well, or they will get burned.
The Cowboys are averaging 83 yards of rushing per game so the running game hasn’t been their best offensive weapon. With the Saints allowing 99 yards on the ground per game, there isn’t much that the Cowboys may be able to do on the ground, and Dallas will want to keep the ball out of the Saint’s hands as much as possible. If they can’t run the ball, this will be difficult.
Analysis
Both of these teams come into this game winners, and both teams have had a bit of a resurgence this season after having some difficult starts. The Saints need to win to keep pace with their division rivals while the Cowboys are trying to win to gain some respectability and prove that the first part of the season was a fluke.
Now that Bush is expected to be back in the lineup for this game, the Saints have another weapon that they can use to help enhance their running game and take some pressure off of Brees. New Orleans will also use Ivory to try to establish the run and control the clock.
107053391_crop_340x234 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
On defense, New Orleans needs to get plenty of pass pressure to mask some of the problems that they are having in their secondary. They should be able to get that pass pressure with the group that they have.
If they can do that, then they should be able to keep Dallas’ passing attack at bay and stop them from scoring a lot of points and keeping pace with the Saint’s offense.
Special teams could play a role in a victory for either side as well. The Saints need to make sure that Bryant doesn’t get the best of them on return teams because one special teams score could change the game for either side and earn a victory.
The Saints need to keep on winning because they are still a game back of the Atlanta Falcons for the lead in the NFC South; if they stumble one more time, they may not be able to catch up and could miss the playoffs entirely. They need every win that they can get, and they will start trying to get those wins (again) against Dallas.
Dallas had a very poor start to the season, but have picked things up and are at least looking a little better now. They will also be playing at home which gives them an advantage, but it is going to be pretty tough for them to beat the Saints this Thursday.
So who will win and why? Can the Saints continue to keep pace with the Falcons for the lead in the NFC South?
Let’s find out in this extended game preview.
When the Saints Have the Ball
New Orleans found a lot of success passing the ball in their game against the Seahawks this past Sunday, and there is no reason to think that they won’t let up on the passing in this game. Through 10 games, the Saints are averaging 247 yards per game, and have had a lot of success controlling the ball and the clock by passing the football.
Do you think the Saints will win this game?
Yes No Submit Vote vote to see results
Do you think the Saints will win this game?
*
Yes
83.3%
*
No
16.7%
Total votes: 36
The Cowboys, despite their record, have a pretty solid defense. Through 10 games, Dallas is allowing opponents to gain 235 yards per game through the air. As a result, this should be an interesting match-up.
Can the Cowboys get to Brees and either sack him or force him to make mistakes? That will be a key part of how things go on Thursday. The Cowboys defense has managed to get 20 sacks so far and will have the opportunity to try to get more against a Saints offense that has given up 14 so far this season.
Teams aren’t getting a lot of pressure on Brees, but, when they do, they can create problems for the Saints passing game.
Everyone knows that the best thing to do (to alleviate pressure on a passing attack) is to become multi-dimensional and run the football as much as possible (and within reason).
The Saints have had their problems running the football, and the lack of a solid running game can be considered a big part of why they have lost three games this year.
Have they turned that around?
The answer to that question is “somewhat.” They did get a good game out of rookie running back Chris Ivory against the Seahawks. Running back Reggie Bush is back and adds another dimension to the offense. He didn’t make it into the lineup last week so hopefully he gets in there this week and helps improve the running game.
107053279_crop_340x234 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
New Orleans is averaging 84.3 rushing yards per game, but they wrangled 99 out of Ivory last week against the Seahawks. With Bush finally coming back, they could have some decent success on the ground against the Cowboys. But can they run against the Cowboys defense?
Dallas is allowing teams to gain an average of 117 yards per game so this should tell the Saints to run the ball in order to test the defense and see how far they can get. If the Saints can successfully run the ball, it will take pressure off of Brees, the passing game, and open up some things up for the offense.
When the Cowboys have the Ball
After suffering a very slow and painful start to the season, the Cowboys have won two games in a row and haven’t looked bad on offense. Their new head coach, Jason Garrett, has this team playing much better now and they will be ready for this game.
With starting quarterback Tony Romo out of the lineup, the Cowboys have been using backup Jon Kitna as their starter, and he hasn’t been doing that bad. Dallas is averaging 272 yards of passing, while the Saints have been allowing 149 yards per game on average.
New Orleans has been getting good pressure on opposing quarterbacks (going into this game they have 19 sacks) and should be able to get some pressure against the Dallas offensive line. The Cowboys have given up 18 sacks, so the Saints will try to get some pressure on Kitna and force him into making mistakes—or get him on the ground.
106532294_crop_340x234 Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images
Both Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are having good seasons, despite the fact that Dallas has had some issues at the quarterback position this year. The Saints secondary has been banged up. With a short week of rest, they may struggle at times against these two receivers (as well as tight end Jason Witten). They have to cover them well, or they will get burned.
The Cowboys are averaging 83 yards of rushing per game so the running game hasn’t been their best offensive weapon. With the Saints allowing 99 yards on the ground per game, there isn’t much that the Cowboys may be able to do on the ground, and Dallas will want to keep the ball out of the Saint’s hands as much as possible. If they can’t run the ball, this will be difficult.
Analysis
Both of these teams come into this game winners, and both teams have had a bit of a resurgence this season after having some difficult starts. The Saints need to win to keep pace with their division rivals while the Cowboys are trying to win to gain some respectability and prove that the first part of the season was a fluke.
Now that Bush is expected to be back in the lineup for this game, the Saints have another weapon that they can use to help enhance their running game and take some pressure off of Brees. New Orleans will also use Ivory to try to establish the run and control the clock.
107053391_crop_340x234 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
On defense, New Orleans needs to get plenty of pass pressure to mask some of the problems that they are having in their secondary. They should be able to get that pass pressure with the group that they have.
If they can do that, then they should be able to keep Dallas’ passing attack at bay and stop them from scoring a lot of points and keeping pace with the Saint’s offense.
Special teams could play a role in a victory for either side as well. The Saints need to make sure that Bryant doesn’t get the best of them on return teams because one special teams score could change the game for either side and earn a victory.
