Cowboys vs. Saints: Are underdog Saints primed for an upset on SNF?

By: Dan Orlando

This game would look much different if Drew Brees were under center for New Orleans on Sunday Night Football.

Instead it’s the Teddy Bridgewater show. The result is a 3-point unfavorable spread at home against the 3-0 Dallas Cowboys.

I’d argue, the projected deficit is being generous to the Saints.

An injured Brees isn’t the whole problem…it actually may not be the problem at all

The Cowboys had an NCAA-level cupcake slate to begin the season, with their opening opponents having one total win between them. Still, the Dallas offense has looked impressive. That’s not likely to stop when they take on a Saints defense that is averaging more than 27 points allowed-per game.

Dallas is averaging 32.3 points-per-game and is currently the league’s third strongest offense. The Saints are only averaging 24, but at this early point in the campaign, that number is severly hampered by one poor performance. The 9-point outing against the Rams has marred two other 30-or-above showings.

The Saints hung 33 on Seattle last week despite being without Brees.

Bottom Line

This game will show the league if Dallas is for real. They’ll be without Michael Gallup but the focal points of the offense will be there. The Saints defense won’t contain Dallas much better than their previous three opponents.

The deciding factor comes down to the Cowboys averaging 14.7 points allowed-per-game.

Seattle is averaging over 26. You won’t see Bridgewater’s Saints getting to 33. Even if you tax Dallas with another TD due to the weak stable of opponents that they’ve held down.

Dallas 28 - Saints 21. Dallas doesn’t need to feat the three point spread.

Note: All articles by Dan Orlando on this site are analysis. They are not guaranteed outcomes of games.