Dallas Cowboys face true first test in trip to New Orleans

After three impressive wins against lesser teams, the Dallas Cowboys go on the road to face their first tough challenge in 2019 versus the Saints.

The Dallas Cowboys are 3-0 so far in the very young season. Their offense is humming along, third overall in total yards, fourth in passing yards and points per game. Only the New England Patriots, the gold standard of the league, have a better point differential.

Still, there are those who minimize the hot start for Dallas. The three wins have come against opponents who are a combined 1-8, with that one win being by one point.

The defense, projected to be one of the best in the league heading into 2019, has given up more yards than expected. They have failed to generate a consistent pass rush and, as always, have not been great at creating turnovers.

So, Week Four of the NFL presents the first true challenge for the Dallas Cowboys. On Sunday Night Football on NBC, the Cowboys head to New Orleans to face a Saints team that is always dangerous at home. Considering the Saints are coming off an impressive road domination of the Seahawks, there is no doubt this matchup lights up the marquee.

Even though the Saints are missing future of Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, they have one of the best backups in the league in Teddy Bridgewater. One of Bridgewater’s greatest strengths is something that has contributed the Cowboys lack of a pass rush this season. With a lightning quick release the Saints signal caller does not take too many sacks.

Last week, in arguably the toughest venue for an opposing quarterback to play, Bridgewater’s average time before throwing was 2.44 seconds. Only two other quarterbacks had faster release times last week.

The Cowboys can expect more of the same Sunday night and would be best served to employ a few surprise zone blitz packages. Dallas must also worry about two true dynamic skill players in running back Alvin Kamara and receiver Michael Thomas. Kamara is a do-it-all type back that threatens you most in the passing game. Thomas, meanwhile, is on the short list for best receivers in all of football.

So how does a defense, admittedly giving up yards by the dozen, slow down such a powerful offense? The answer is with their offense. The Dallas Cowboys can win this game if the offense we have seen through three weeks shows up Sunday night.

New Orleans is in the bottom five in total yards and passing yards allowed. They are just barely above the bottom five in rushing yards and points per game allowed. In fact, all three teams they have faced in 2019 have scored 27+ points against the New Orleans defense.

For Dallas to keep the train going, I believe they’ll need to be that fourth straight team to put up big numbers on the scoreboard. It doesn’t hurt that the Dallas Cowboys running game is finding their groove, with two straight 100+ yard games from Ezekiel Elliott and a career first in that category from Tony Pollard.

Oh, by the way, the quarterback with the Star on his helmet is kind of good in his own right. Dak Prescott has the best passer rating in the NFC. He leads the entire NFL in completion percentage and is responsible for ten touchdowns to just two interceptions.

The Superdome will be rocking. The Saints will be a very formidable opponent and the Cowboys have a good chance at losing their first game of the season. At the end of the day, however, I will side with the more high-powered offense, which is owned by Dallas.

Prediction: Cowboys 31, Saints 23