New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys

Prior to this season, the last time the New Orleans Saints went a whole game without finding the end zone was week 14 of the 2016 season.

But now, the Black and Gold have failed to score touchdowns twice through four games, only this time it didn’t come back to haunt them.

Saints hosting the undefeated Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night football in their first meeting since Big D ended the Saints’ 10 game winning streak in week 13 of last season.

The Saints get a little revenge in the form of a 12-10 triumph, bringing their record to 3-1.

They say offense wins games, defense wins championships, but that doesn’t mean defense can’t win games too.

That’s exactly what got the Saints the victory on Sunday Night Football, not only limiting last year’s rushing king Ezekiel Elliot to just 35 yards on 18 carries, but also winning a game without scoring a touchdown for the first time in the Sean Payton era.  Defensive End Cameron Jordan said, “I mean we scored four times. They just happened to be field goals. We’ve got to make that work.”

Kicker Wil Lutz said, “That was a really good team on the other side and we knew that points were going to be at a premium and you’ve got to get them however they come. And fortunately, all it took was four field goals tonight and defense was outstanding. Special teams unit was outstanding and we were able to get the job done.”

Head Coach Sean Payton said, “You’re really focused more on the keys to win the game are. Winning the turnover ratio. That was a key to victory. Winning the rushing battle. That was a key to victory. And if you win both of those, you have a really good chance of winning the game and I thought those were important stats.”

“At the end of the day, our job is to find a way to win the game. And we have to play the game that’s in front of you. And the game that we knew was going to be in front of us today was going to be a slugfest. We knew it was going to be a battle in the trenches where they were going to be feeding one of the top backs where it was going to be a dogfight with the offensive line. And so we knew it was going to be a slugfest and we knew it was going to be a game – one of those games that go down to the wire. So we just knew we needed to dish out more punches than they dished out.”

“This is the level we’re supposed to be playing at. It’s not because Drew is out. It’s not if Drew is out or when Drew is coming back. It’s the ability to come to the field and know that we have our 11 starters on our defense, and that’s something that we need to take pride in. We’re always striving for perfection. That’s the name of the game. And so every win we get closer to where we want to be, but at the same time we still have a lot more we can go.”

Starting the season with a record of 3-1 would have been ideal with Drew Brees under center. The Saints are 3-1 anyway with Teddy Bridgewater calling the shots, having played teams with a combined record of 10-6 through the first four weeks of the season.

Next up for the New Orleans Saints is its first NFC South tangle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.