WEEK 2 SAINTS AT COWBOYS

   Saints fans are riding high after last week’s victory against the Panthers. This week will start a stretch of games that will put this team to the test! Will we see the same team from last week or was that 47 point performance a bit of a fluke?

This Week’s Matchup:

   This Cowboys team will be a big test for a Saints team trying to get back to the top of the NFC. This Cowboys defense is hungry! The defense got home on 6 sacks last week along with 17 QB hits. The Saints O-line will certainly be tested this week. Micah Parsons is a player you have to gameplan against. Both teams come in at 1-0 so the fight to stay undefeated is alive for both teams. 

Series History:

   The Cowboys lead this head to head series 18-13. Anytime the Cowboys and Saints get together there will surely be fireworks. The two teams have split the last six contests at 3 wins each. 

Your Saints:

   This Saints team gave fans a reason to be excited. We had expectations for this team and they delivered last week. 47 points is a great performance no matter who your opponent was. Derek Carr looked rejuvenated in a new offense that featured a lot of play action and pre-snap movements. I was pleased to see that Dennis Allen gave Klint full reign of the offense. One obvious takeaway from last week is that Klint Kubiak wants to establish a run game. The O-line did their job to create running lanes which led to a big day out of the backfield. This week will be a different story. The O-line will have their work cut out with the defensive front that the Cowboys present. People are on notice after last week’s game. 

   This offense needs to show up again week in and week out. If the offense does their job, the defense will feast. This game will get out of hand if our defense is on the field for too long. We have a previous issue of mobile quarterbacks. What will the game plan be to contain Dak Prescott and make him uncomfortable? If we can step up and keep the Cowboys offense off the field then I believe we have a good chance of winning this game. The injury bug is starting to hit this Saints team. Let’s see what the injury report looks like.

Injury Report:

   Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, Marshon Lattimore, and Taliese Fuaga are all listed as questionable. Khalen Saunders is still listed as out as he works his way back. A lot of these guys are gametime decisions so we’ have to wait and see who is able to play.

Prediction:

   I predict this game to be closer than many expect. I think the Saints will put up a fight but fall short at the end. I think this will be a defensive game on both sides. This game will tell us where we truly are as a team. I think Olave will be targeted more and Kamara will have a big day. Alvin Kamara has a good history against the Cowboys and specifically Linebacker Eric Kendricks. Both teams have a good special teams group so I expect that to be a factor in this contest. I think the Cowboys will sneak away with a 20-17 victory while the Saints fall to 1-1 to start the season.