Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees accomplished something he had never done before. Brees went 0-for-4 in passing attempts to start the game, per ESPN. Doing so for the first time in his career, the veteran certainly did not look like himself at the outset of the game.

Throughout the opening moments of the game, the Cowboys' defense played fast, physical, and spirited. The defensive backs played Saints receivers tight and made a play on the ball as soon as it approached their hands. In the meantime, the pass rush did their job as well. They gave the Saints' offensive line all they could handle, sending multiple rushers off the line of scrimmage.

To their credit, the Saints' offensive line did a nice job of trying to push the linemen back. Brees had enough touches to make throws, but it was more of a question for his receivers. Michael Thomas and company had a tough time getting separation from Dallas' secondary, and when they did, the Cowboys were able to make a play on the ball.

The upstart Cowboys defense continued a trend during that stretch that has been occurring over the past couple of games. They have done a better job of covering the receivers and making quarterbacks uncomfortable in the pocket. Looking at the bigger picture, if they want to stay in the playoff hunt, they need to continue to do this. For now, a potential win over the Saints would give them a tremendous boost as they look to make noise in the stacked NFC conference.