Dallas Cowboys (1-1) – New Orleans Saints (2-0): 19-44
The Saints were not a flash in the pan. After a convincing victory against the Panthers, New Orleans obtained a prestigious victory in Dallas on Jerry Jones' land. Alvin Kamara (180 yards, 4 TD) and the Saints attack were resplendent, with notably 35 points in the first half.
The runner is the star of this game, with 4 touchdowns and a performance worthy of his best years. The offensive line was a question mark before the start of the season, it looked like a force for Dennis Allen's men.
Dallas will need to improve defensively quickly to survive in 2024. The loss of Dan Quinn didn't seem to bother the group in Week 1, but Week 2 told a completely different story. Picking up speed, relying on a Micah Parsons who was far too alone, the Cowboys seemed more feverish than ever. The offense didn't shine either, with a borrowed Dak Prescott (27/39, 293 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT).
The Saints are therefore officially a serious candidate for the playoffs, while Dallas will already have to react against Baltimore in week 3.
Alvin Kamara Superstar
The Saints had 5 offensive drives in the first half, for 5 touchdowns! Alvin Kamara opened the scoring to start the festival. It was then the aerial attack that took over, with a 70-yard pass from Derek Carr (11/16, 243 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) to Rashid Shaheed (96 yards, 1 TD) (14-3). Each play is an ordeal for a defense incapable of putting pressure and containing Kamara, Shaheed or Chris Olave (81 yards).
After a third Saints touchdown, the Cowboys thought they were getting back into the game with a long-distance touchdown by Ceedee Lamb (90 yards, 1 TD). But what could have been a revolt turned out to be nothing more than a vain attempt to push back the deadline.
The Saints added two touchdowns, with an interception by Paulson Adebo in the middle. Dallas only survived by sequence, responding with field goals by the always reliable Brandon Aubrey (35-16).
New Orleans in control
With Dallas' backs against the wall, Dak Prescott can't find the solutions and settles for a field goal to start the second half. It's then that New Orleans will demonstrate an unprecedented control of the clock, proof of the maturity of this group. In 13 plays and 8 minutes of play, the Saints score a new touchdown by Alvin Kamara, signifying the end of a one-sided game (41-19).
The end of the game looked like a long ordeal for Dallas, and no longer provided any lessons other than the Saints' domination of the game.
