NFL Game of the Week: Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints

Story posted September 25, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Gabe Angieri

This week, the Dallas Cowboys (3-0) travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints (2-1) on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. and it can be seen on NBC. Last season when these two teams met, the Cowboys came out on top, winning 13-10.

The Cowboys are led by early season MVP candidate Dak Prescott. Prescott so far this year has nine passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. He has thrown for 920 yards with a completion percentage of 74.5 percent. Running Back Ezekiel Elliott has picked up right where he left off after his offseason hold out. Elliott has gotten hot recently, rushing for over 100 yards in back-to-back games. Prescott’s number one target is wide receiver Amari Cooper. Ever since coming over from the Raiders, Cooper has played like the number one receiver people thought he would be.

The narrative on the Saints is much different than it has been in the past. Their long time quarterback, Drew Brees, is out with a thumb injury. Teddy Bridgewater is now in control of the offense. So far, so good for Bridgewater. In what was his first meaningful game since 2015, Bridgewater played well last week. He threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in last week’s win against the Seahawks.

The focal point of the Saints offense is running back Alvin Kamara. Kamara does it all, on the ground and in the passing game. Along with wide receiver Michael Thomas, the two are the top playmakers in the Saints offense.

The Cowboys have had a fairly easy schedule to this point. They have beaten the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. All of those teams are at the bottom of the league. The Saints, on the other hand, have had a tough schedule. They beat the Texans and Seahawks and lost to the Rams. All three of those teams have a winning record.

The Cowboys’ high powered offense is ranked third in the NFL. The Saints defense is ranked 28th in the league. This is a bad matchup for the Saints defense with the balanced offensive attack that the Cowboys have. I don’t think the Saints will be able to slow down Prescott and Elliott. They are going to have to put up a lot of points in order to have a chance to win this game.

Ultimately, especially without Drew Brees, I think the Cowboys are the better team. Going on the road to New Orleans is always tough, but I believe Prescott and company will stay hot. Teddy Bridgewater is a good quarterback, but I don’t think that the Saints offense will be able to keep up with the sheer speed and explosiveness of the Cowboys offense.

Prediction: Dallas 30, New Orleans 20

 


Gabe Angieri is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email gabeangieri24@gmail.com.