The New Orleans Saints were looking to bounce back after being shut out by the Los Angeles Rams when they faced the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Friday night. Here’s a recap of all the action from the black and gold’s final preseason game.
First Quarter
Spencer Rattler started at quarterback for New Orleans and converted each of his first two passes for 15 yards as the Saints quickly entered Dallas territory on the opening drive.
But the visitors were soon held to a field goal attempt, which Daniel Carlson
converted from 38 yards.
With Joe Milton starting at quarterback, the Cowboys quickly had a field goal of their own. Brandon Aubrey converted from 49 yards to level the game at 3-3.
Rattler returned and continued to complete passes on the ensuing drive, though the bulk of the work was done on the ground through Audric Estime and Kendre Miller.
But it was rookie receiver Barion Brown who ran in for a 7-yard score to cap off a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive for the Saints, restoring their advantage at 10-3.
Milton and the Cowboys offense found themselves instantly in a third-and-long as they returned to the field. But the quarterback was able to extend the drive with a 27-yard pass to Camden Brown.
Second Quarter
Dallas was soon in another third-and-long situation, but this time had to settle for a field goal. Aubrey converted from 51 yards.
Rattler found Estime for 13 yards as the Saints’ ensuing possession began positively. However, the black and gold were eventually forced to punt.
The Cowboys offense responded with another decent possession. The highlight of the drive was Milton’s connection with Marquez Valdes-Scantling for 22 yards. But a 57-yard field goal attempt from Aubrey went wide right, and the score remained 10-6.
Despite being sacked on the opening play of the next drive, Rattler and the Saints offense came back with a touchdown. A 4th-down run from CJ Donaldson preceded a 33-yard dash by Estime to set up 1st-and-goal, and it was Rattler himself who ran it in from 8 yards for the score.
Milton converted all three of his passes on the next drive as Dallas looked for a quick response, but a holding penalty limited Dallas’ momentum. Aubrey was good from 58 yards this time.
Third Quarter
Sam Howell entered at quarterback for the hosts, and they went three-and-out to begin the half.
Meanwhile, Zach Wilson entered for the Saints and completed his first pass to Ronnie Bell for 23 yards.
The Saints’ running backs continued to move the ball effectively, and a 13-yard connection from Wilson to Donaldson set up an 11-yard touchdown run from Zamir White to put the black and gold up 24-9.
The teams proceeded to exchange punts. As Dallas’ offense returned to the field, Howell found Jordan Hudson for 52 yards on the opening play of the drive.
Fourth Quarter
Howell then found Hudson again for a 26-yard touchdown pass, with the extra point pulling the Cowboys within one score of their visitors.
The Saints then went three-and-out before Dallas came back with a 12-play, 67-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 21-yard grab in the end zone by Mitch Van Vooren for the score. A successful two-point conversion attempt levelled the game at 24-24.
With 6 minutes to play, Wilson and the Saints offense grabbed their opportunity to restore the lead. Wilson was 4/4 for 38 yards on what turned out to be the game-winning drive, and Carlson nailed his 53-yard field goal attempt after the two-minute warning.
Trailing 27-24, Howell threw four straight incompletions as the Cowboys turned it over on downs. Wilson knelt out the clock to secure the win for the black and gold, their first of the preseason.
Next up is the regular season, with a visit to Detroit on September 13th kicking things off for New Orleans.
