The Cowboys are going to find out who the Saints really are on Sunday.
Things went really well for the Cowboys in Week 1. Dak Prescott got his deal done and the team walked out of Cleveland with a pretty big win and solid performances all the way around. The good news continued with word that Jake Ferguson, who suffered an injury that looked pretty serious, is actually week-to-week.
Meanwhile, the Browns – who were favored to win the game, mind you – have had a terrible start to the year. Their offense looked putrid, and their high-priced quarterback found himself in the news yet again for reasons outside of football. It all begs the question: were the Browns really much of a test for the Cowboys? More importantly, is that first real test coming this week in the Saints, who obliterated the Panthers by a similarly wide margin a week ago? Our Tom Ryle and David Howman have some thoughts.
Tom: There were certainly some impressive aspects of the Cowboys’ win, but without question the Browns turned out to be a much less formidable foe than we expected. Now Dallas faces a Saints team that had an even more impressive win in week 1.
Simply put, the Cowboys didn’t have to have their A-game to beat Cleveland. After a good but not spectacular start on offense, they sputtered through the second half. The defense was simply overwhelming, but faced a battered offensive line and a quarterback that is not looking good for the Browns. Special teams certainly showed out, but that is not always replicable week to week. The New Orleans game is going to tell us a lot more about whether this is a good Dallas team or not. I am cautiously optimistic, but this could go south.
David: I’m inclined to agree that the Saints are a better team than the Browns, if only by virtue of the quarterback position, but let’s not discount the Browns so quickly. Their defense is legit, which is why the offense “sputtered” in the second half when trying to chew clock, and the offense has weapons in Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, and David Njoku. Plus, they’re led by the reigning Coach of the Year. Beating them in Cleveland – the Browns were 8-1 at home last year – is no small task, and blowing them out of the water is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Last year we did the same song and dance. The Cowboys lose to a team and it’s “oh the Cowboys can’t beat good teams, same ol’ Cowboys” but when they beat a team it’s “there’s those frontrunnin’ Cowboys, beating up on bad teams.” Let’s not forget that the Cowboys were underdogs in Week 1. They were supposed to lose by a field goal, and they won by 16 points.
Now they’re at home and they play host to a team with a better quarterback but a slightly less talented everything-else. Not to sound cocky but they should roll these Saints.
Tom: Yeah, I’m more about slow rolling this. Remember, this is just the second week of the season, and many NFL teams still have a lot of work to define themselves. Still, the results of Week 1 are all we have to go on.
When the Saints had the ball against the Panthers, they ran it. A lot. 180 yards, led by Alvin Kamara with 83. Stopping the run is going to be key for Dallas. We have to be encouraged by how they kept the Browns bottled up on the ground, although with the early big lead they had, they also forced Cleveland to throw it a lot. Here, the performance of players like DeMarvion Overshown and Eric Kendricks needs to continue from the opener. If they do, we will find out if Derek Carr was just benefitting from the Panthers’ poor showing. I admittedly feel better about this phase of the game.
Offensively, the Cowboys just need to play a complete game. They looked good in the first half, and I hope you are right about them. The Saints are obviously not bad on defense, but obviously Dak Prescott is an entirely different quarterback from Bryce Young.
One pleasant surprise from last week was that Ezekiel Elliott looked pretty danged good in the first half. If he can do that for an entire game, with help from Rico Dowdle, that is going to be pretty big. The proof, of course, is going to be on the field.
David: I think for me this game’s outlook comes down to the context of who each team played in Week 1. Both teams won big and looked good doing it, but who was it against? The Saints crushing the Panthers – a very familiar opponent who’s also extremely bad – in New Orleans isn’t as impressive, or surprising, as the Cowboys crushing the Browns – a playoff team a year ago with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year – on the road. I think, in context, the Cowboys had the better and more meaningful win.
You’re right about the Saints being a run first team under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who runs the Shanahan style offense. But Cleveland was the same way; they’ve been top 5 in rushing attempts in three of Stefanski’s four years there. Yet the Browns had to abandon the run because the Cowboys got up big, and even when they did run they had nowhere to go. The Saints are good on defense, but not as good as the Browns. Plus, Dak Prescott always does better in AT&T Stadium.
If the Cowboys’ best players do their thing, this game ought to go the same way as last week. I really don’t see that big of a difference between these teams, stylistically, to expect a drastically different outcome.
Tom: I suppose I still have to see a bit more before I start believing, but it was a good start. Now it’s on to step two in the process. It would really shock me for this one to be lopsided either way. I expect this one to go a lot closer, coming down to a game decided by a field goal. Of course, when we have Brandon Aubrey, that isn’t such a bad thing.
