The Landry Hat
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Dallas Cowboys fight the Saints: 5 things to ponder

By Michael H. Vu

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 22: The trees show their fall colors before the football game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 22: The trees show their fall colors before the football game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images /

The coach against our coach

Sean Payton is a Hall of Fame coach. He’s an offensive mastermind. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have a clapper. A cheerleader.

Sure, head coach Jason Garrett offered an emotional speech after the big Thanksgiving win, which was written up by our editor Steven Mullenax.

Let’s be real: These are two very different head coaches on opposite ends of the football field. Regardless of how things flip towards the end of the season, I’m convinced one is still fighting for a job while the other is elbowing his way into Canton, Ohio.

Drew Brees picks his X’s and O’s

Well, this should be fun for the Cowboys’ defense. Drew Brees is leading the NFL with a 127.3 quarterback rating. His second place competition is nearly 10 points away. Patrick Mahomes has a rating of 117.9.

Brees is good. Maybe too good. His numbers are eye-popping. He is completing 76.4 percent of his passes, also best in the NFL. He has passed the 3,000 passing yards mark. He owns 29 touchdowns to just two interceptions.

He has only been sacked 10 times. In comparison, quarterbacks Eli Manning and Dak Prescott have each ate 38 sacks, which is worst in the NFL (at the time of this writing).

Ezekiel Elliott holds the rock, controls the time

Wait! Don’t freak out just yet. There is good news, right?

Yes, there is. The Cowboys have the best runner in the NFL. Duh. Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL with 1,074 yards. He has run for 20 or more yards eight times, which is good for fourth in the NFL. Clearly, if you have a running back that averages 97.6 yards a game, which is the best in the league, you hand the ball to him.

But how will number 21 fare against the rush defense? Can Scott Linehan channel something out of his 2014 or 2016 playbook?

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