Cowboys have reason to dream
Dallas gets to 7-5 with defensive highlight reel against the Saints
Arlington, Texas — Leighton Vander Esch howled through the open retractable roof after a booming tackle on a huge thirddown stop negated by a potentially crushing roughing-the-punter penalty.
Jourdan Lewis answered an ominous fumble by quarterback Dak Prescott that gave Drew Brees another chance by intercepting the MVP contender , putting the Dallas Cowboys in position to finish off a victory that stopped New Orleans' 10-game winning streak.
When owner and general manager Jerry Jones talked of the season changing in a 13-10 win over the NFC's hottest team Thursday, he had the rookie linebacker whose nickname is "Wolf Hunter" and a confident backup second-year cornerback in mind.
That's just to name a couple of players on a team that might now dare to think an
NFC East title is just the beginning. The Cowboys (7-5) will have another important game in pursuit of that division crown Dec. 9 against Philadelphia, the last of three straight home games.
"When you win a game like this, it changes you," Jones said after Dallas' fourth straight victory guaranteed at least a share of the division lead and the inside track to a home wildcard playoff game going into the final quarter of the season.
"This is a young, impressionable bunch. And so they know now that they can go out there and play our game and play it in a way to beat an offensive machine. I just am so proud for them because they are not going to be the same kids that looked in the mirror this morning."
The defense kept the Cowboys in games, and ultimately in the playoff hunt, while the offense mostly struggled through the first half of the season.
While the score against the Saints indicated a similar formula, Prescott had 194 yards passing at halftime and finished 24 of 28 without an interception. The third-year pro led a nearly seven-minute drive in the fourth quarter before his fumble with the Cowboys in position for a field goal.
The Cowboys held the ball for more than 21 minutes in the first half and had 100 yards rushing against the NFL's No. 1 run defense. Making Brees a spectator fit the signature of the Dallas offense, and the same objective will be in play when Carson Wentz visits.
"We didn't make enough plays on offense," Prescott said. "We left plays out there. But when we have the defense that we have versus an offense like that, how can you not be confident?"
Vander Esch shared credit for the tackle with Daniel Ross when Mark Ingram was dropped for a 1-yard loss on third-and-2 late in the third quarter. But Randy Gregory ran into punter Thomas Morstead, and Brees threw his only touchdown pass two plays later.