Arlington, Texas – Twenty-four hour rule my eye.
The New Orleans Saints undressed their second consecutive opponent in as many weeks to open this season and Sunday's opponent – the Dallas Cowboys – on the road at AT&T Stadium – made the 44-19 beating as impressive a road victory as the franchise has seen in several years.
Saints players and coaches will be careful to not be over celebratory in the wake of the team raising its record to 2-0 for the second consecutive season. But after drubbing Carolina 47-10 in the season opener, it's going to be difficult not to believe that New Orleans is on to something.
The Saints, again, were dominant in all three phases.
OFFENSE: Rolling up nine consecutive scoring drives (five touchdowns, four field goals) was impressive. Blitzing your way to six straight – all touchdowns – to open against Dallas probably was more impressive. The Saints touched up Dallas' vaunted defense for 432 yards and 7.7 yards per play, and converted their first five third-down attempts. Again, the balance was dreamy (242 passing yards, 190 rushing) and the Cowboys were left off balance by the array of attacks. New Orleans had touchdown drives that required 11 and 13 plays, and touchdown drives that needed one, four and three plays. It was a thorough undressing as the offense continues to hopefully stack great days.
DEFENSE: Bend-but-don't-break is a fantastic philosophy when the bend forces field goals while your offense is scoring touchdowns. That's what the Saints were able to manage to do early defensively against Dallas, and then the defense began to take advantage as the lead expanded. Two interceptions (now four for the season) and three sacks (season total raised to seven) offset the fact that Dallas converted six of its first nine third-down attempts. In fact, New Orleans made stops on Dallas' final four third-down tries, and got off the field on two of three fourth-down tries. True, the Cowboys were able to amass 353 yards on 66 offensive plays but the Saints held a quality offense to 19 points on the road, and that's nothing to be downplayed.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Units just needed to be steady, and they were. No significant returns were made or allowed and Blake Grupe made a 26-yard field goal attempt. But a missed extra-point attempt (it was blocked) is a blemish that shouldn't be repeated.
