[/spoiler]Except both teams had a full week to prepare since they both played on Thanksgiving. Cowboys game plan was perfect -- keep the ball as long as possible and blitz Brees relentlessly up the middle in his face. Saints also got stuffed on a 4th and goal from the 3 in the first half because they decided to run Kamara inside rather than doing it with the bigger Ingram.Just checked the Cowboys Saints score... Wow. I'll just chalk that up to Thursday night tomfoolery
That wasn't the only Payton f-up. He used both his challenges in the first half and so he couldn't challenge an obvious missed spot on a Beasley catch on 3rd and 9 that came up a yard short in the 4th quarter. Then with 2:08 left and holding a timeout, Payton takes the timeout after the first play at 2:03 instead of letting it run down to the 2-minute warning. Dallas decides that they have a free passing play since the clock will stop anyway and goes for the end zone. They get the defensive PI and that's the ballgame. If Payton lets it run down to 2:00 and then takes the timeout on the play after that, the Saints likely get the ball back down 6 (or 3 with a missed FG) and about 1:00 left on the clock.
I was being a bit facetious with the TNF stuff. This was actually a game that I thought could be a trap for a heavily favored Saints team. Dallas has been in every single game this year, even the ones they lost have been close. They have some legit playmakers on defense.
The Cowboys win pleased me last night for no other reason than that it puts a damper on the Eagles' hopes of winning that division. Until last night, I actually thought the Eagles had a chance to win the division at 9-7. Their remaining schedule is a lot tougher though. That said, this Cowboys team isn't going anywhere in the playoffs IMO. That offense is still way too inconsistent, Prescott had a good game but they are not an offense that can score points at will.
