Beating the Carolina Panthers is one thing.
Beating the Dallas Cowboys in their own home is another.
The New Orleans Saints did just that on Sunday, pulling off the biggest stunner of the early NFL season with a 44-19 win over the Cowboys in Dallas. A Saints team that was expected to be in play for a premium draft pick is now off to a surprising 2-0 start.
It was a stretch from the opening quarter. The Saints marched 80 yards on their opening drive, which ended with a 21-yard touchdown run by Alvin Kamara. Each of their next five possessions ended in the end zone as they blew the game open 41-19 heading into the third quarter.
Kumara scored four of those six touchdowns against a Cowboys defense that was helpless to slow him down. Derek Carr threw two on his way to a perfect 153.8 passer rating through three quarters.
Carr maintained that top passer rating until being intercepted by safety Donovan Wilson in the fourth quarter. It marked the first Saints drive that didn’t end in the end zone. But the Cowboys could not capitalize.
On the very next play, Dak Prescott intercepted Tyrann Matthews in double coverage on a downfield pass.
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 15, 2024
The interception was Prescott’s second of the day for a Cowboys team that turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter.
In the end, there was no precedent for a Dallas rally in front of a frustrated home crowd that last saw their Cowboys blown out by the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. By the time the game was over, Saints fans in the stands would be chanting “Who Dat?” on the broadcast. I was heard. Chanting
The Saints thrived under OC Clint Kubiak
While the Cowboys’ offense provided plenty of cause for concern, it was the Saints’ offense that handled the Dallas defense that starred on Sunday.
Through two weeks, the Saints are the highest scoring team in football. They beat the Panthers 47-10 in Week 1 and now have a two-week scoring total of 91 points against Dallas on their resume — a franchise record through the first two weeks of the season. Since last season’s 48-17 win over the Falcons in Week 17, the Saints have scored more than 44 points in three straight games.
But this is a new Saints team with a new offensive coordinator in Clint Kubiak, ready to start making plays in New Orleans for head coach Dennis Allen. Kubiak joined the Saints this offseason after spending 2023 as the passing game coordinator for the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The result is 11 touchdowns in 21 possessions over two weeks against the Cowboys and Panthers. The Saints have ended 16 of them by scoring points. He has been punished three times. They have only turned the ball over once.
On Sunday, the Saints put up 432 total yards on the ground and through the air en route to what Dallas called a stout defense. Kumara looked like his former Pro Bowl self while accounting for 115 rushing yards (5.8 yards per carry) and 65 receiving yards on two catches in addition to his four scores.
Kamara’s 57-yard scamper on a second-quarter screen pass from Carr put the Saints up 21-6 and put the Cowboys on notice that they were in for a long day.
There goes Alvin Kamara for 57 yards!
Carr, meanwhile, completed 11 of 16 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He added a rushing touchdown on a second-quarter sneak to put New Orleans ahead 35-13 just before halftime.
He made deep downfield connections with both Chris Olive (4 catches, 81 yards) and Rashid Shaheed (4 catches, 96 yards), who caught a 70-yard touchdown on a pinpoint play-action bomb that gave New Orleans the lead. 14-3 ahead. .
A week after holding the Panthers to 193 yards and 10 points, the Saints defense limited Dallas to 353 yards and 10 points while forcing two Prescott interceptions and sacking him three times. Dallas did most of its damage through the air playing from behind as Prescott completed 27 of 39 passes for 285 yards. New Orleans limited the Dallas ground game to 68 yards on 3.2 yards per carry.
It wasn’t expected of the Saints, who entered the season near the bottom of the NFC South projected to compete with the Panthers. Instead, they got the most explosive offense in football and a win over a Cowboys team expected to compete. It’s only been two weeks, but it’s as good as a start in the NFL gets. The Saints will look to keep it going next Sunday in a matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
