Cowboys vs. Saints: Can Dallas shock the world Thursday night?

Control the clock, Part 2

The Dallas Cowboys defense will need to play a major part in the time management success as well, although that task may be the most daunting.

The New Orleans Saints are fifth best in the NFL in yards per game. They are sixth best in both passing and running yet the score the most points.

Quarterback Drew Brees, who is having a MVP type season, orchestrates this efficient success.

Brees leads the league in completion percentage and passing rating. He’s thrown for 29 touchdowns, good enough for third in the league with just two interceptions. Only Aaron Rodgers has thrown fewer picks.

Unfortunately, the Saints are not just a one-man show.

Their running back tandem of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram ranks second to only Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler for most rushing yards from a tandem.

Kamara is on the very short list of best all-around running backs in the league. He currently sits at eighth in the league in all-purpose yards. This number would be higher if he did not split time with the most prolific “backup” in the league.

Thirteen different receivers have caught a touchdown pass from Brees. Six have caught multiple touchdowns and three have four or more.

As you can clearly see, the Dallas Cowboys will face their stiffest test of the year defensively.
The answer to this test may be a heavy dose of zone coverage.

Playing a zone, committed to giving up yards and allowing field goals in place of touchdowns would help control the clock in two ways. For one, the Saints would likely use very little time to get into scoring position, which would mean their defense would tire more quickly from constantly being on the field.

This would allow Dallas to be successful in using their ground game to keep the ball away.