The Dallas Cowboys will take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night in a possible preview of this year's NFC Championship game. Currently, the Cowboys are slight favorites to defeat the Saints to improve to 4-0 on the season.
The Cowboys offense has a new look to it with Kellen Moore as the offensive coordinator. Dak Prescott is playing as efficiently as he's ever had and they still have a dominant rushing attack with Ezekiel Elliott.
With those two in the backfield, Dallas is one of the seven remaining undefeated teams in the NFL. However, the Cowboys have faced three teams with a combined record of 1-8 to begin the season.
This Sunday night will give us a fair assessment of where the Cowboys truly are at this point of the season. They will face a New Orleans team that is 2-1 after beating the Seattle Seahawks in convincing fashion in Week 3.
Teddy Bridgewater will be the starting quarterback for the Saints for the second straight week with Drew Brees nursing a thumb injury. Bridgewater played fairly well last Sunday by throwing for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, he will get a tougher test with the Cowboys defense coming to town. With that being said, here are four reasons why the Cowboys will defeat the Saints in Week 4.
4. Cowboys Offensive Line Can Slow Down Saints Pass Rush
The Cowboys offensive line struggled in 2018 with Travis Frederick missing the entire season. Now, with Frederick back to snapping the ball to Prescott, the Cowboys have arguably the most dominant offensive line in the NFL.
To begin the season, Prescott has barely been touched as he's only been sacked twice in Dallas' first three games (tied for least in the NFL). The offensive line will continue their ability to keep their franchise quarterback upright on Sunday night.
The Saints defense has nine sacks this season but their pass-rushing unit of Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, and Trey Hendrickson will be neutralized in Week 4.
3. Dak Prescott Will Pick Apart New Orleans Secondary
As everyone raves about Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott has played just as well to start this season. The fourth-year quarterback is playing confidently as he's thrown for 920 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions in three games in 2019.
Heading into Week 4, the Cowboys quarterback will face a New Orleans secondary that has a bevy of big plays in the passing game. The Saints defense has surrendered 301.7 passing yards per game this season (fourth-most in the NFL).
With how hot Prescott is right now, a Saints secondary in disarray isn't going to slow him down in Week 4.
2. Cowboys Have the Linebackers to Contain Alvin Kamara
After watching New Orleans game tape from Week 3, the Cowboys know they have to contain Alvin Kamara. Luckily for them, they have multiple linebackers who can slow the electric running back on Sunday.
Last year, when these two teams faced each other, Dallas held Kamara to 72 yards from scrimmage. They were able to keep him in check by having Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch shadow him on the field.
With Bridgewater under center for the Saints, he is constantly looking to get the ball to his running back. On the other hand, Dallas has the perfect linebacker duo to combat New Orleans game plan for Kamara.
1. Cowboys Can Control Time of Possession
Again, Dallas is throwing the ball more often than they have in recent years to begin the season. At the same time, they are still able to pound the rock to prevent the opposing offense from seeing the field.
Ezekiel Elliott has rung off two straight games where he's surpassed 100 yards on the ground. In doing so, the Cowboys are sixth in the NFL in time of possession. Furthermore, Dallas averages slightly over 32 minutes of possession in their games this year.
The Saints may not have Brees airing the ball, but that doesn't mean their offense can't put up points on the scoreboard. The Cowboys will use their rushing attack to control the clock and quiet the New Orleans crowd on Sunday Night Football.
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