These two teams are a lot alike despite the Saints winning five more games than the Cowboys.  The Cowboys would be smart to come out running the ball with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice against a Saints’ D that is allowing 112.0 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  That will help them control the clock and keep the Saints’ offense off the field.  The Cowboys must keep the Saints’ D (27 sacks) away from Tony Romo so that he has time to throw the ball.  If he does he should be effective against a Saints’ D that is allowing 235.6 yards passing per game.  But, Romo will have to be careful as the Saints have 24 interceptions this season.

The Cowboys have their fingers crossed hoping that DeMarcus Ware can play tomorrow night against the Saints.  If he can’t go the Cowboys will have a hard time getting much of a pass rush on Drew Brees and that could be big trouble.  The Saints prefer to throw the ball down the field but they can also keep the passing game short and quick to the TEs and Reggie Bush.  That makes them very hard to defend.  The Cowboys could also have some problems stopping the Saints’ running game as Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush are all running the ball well.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 33, COWBOYS 30

The Dallas Cowboys (8-5) lost a defensive battle against the San Diego Chargers (10-3) on Sunday, and they also lost their star defender DeMarcus Ware who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a neck injury.  Good news was that it was only strained, but he may be out next game as well.  Tony Romo played well, throwing for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19/30 passes.  He didn’t do enough though, and his kicker didn’t help either as Nick Folk missed a field goal for the fifth straight game.  His job may now be in jeopardy.  The Cowboys got nothing in the 4th quarter until seconds left when the game was already decided.

The defense did a pretty solid job, considering the held the talented Chargers’ offense to a season-low 20 points.  They didn’t do enough though, and let the Chargers score 10 points in the fourth quarter.  That included a drive that ate up over 7 minutes, leaving the Cowboys little time to comeback from a 10 point deficit.  Philip Rivers passed for 272 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception on 21/32 passes.  The December woes continue for the Cowboys.

I know it’s December but it’s almost impossible to blame Tony Romo for this loss.   Romo completed 41 of 55 passes for 392 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Marion Barber had a poor game carrying the ball 15 times for 36 yards (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 7 yards (2.3 avg).  Barber also lost a fumble as his play yesterday hurt the Cowboys.  Felix Jones also didn’t do too much yesterday carrying the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg).  Jason Witten led the way in the passing game for the Cowboys yesterday with 14 catches for 156 yards (11.1 avg).  Miles Austin also had a solid game with 10 catches for 104 yards (10.4 avg) with a TD.  Roy Williams pitched in with six grabs for 60 yards (10.0 avg) with 2 TD catches.  The Cowboys finished up with 424 total yards in this game (45 rushing, 379 passing) on offense as they had possession of the ball for 38:50! 

DeMarcus Ware led the way for the Cowboys yesterday on D with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  Bradie James pitched in with 7 tackles for the Cowboys.  The Giants finished up with 337 total yards on offense (100 rushing, 237 passing) in his game.  But, the Cowboys also had troubles on special teams as they let Domenik Hixon get loose for a 79-yards punt return for a TD late in this game to pretty much finish them off.   The Cowboys are now 8-4 on the season.

The Cowboys looked like a determined bunch yesterday as they came out of the locker room swinging to start the game as they built a 17-0 lead at the half and then they cruised to victory in the 2nd half.  Tony Romo had a good game completing 18 of 29 passes for 309 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs while playing with a badly bruised back.  The Cowboys got all of their stable of running backs in on the action yesterday.  Felix Jones led the way for the Cowboys with 68 yards on 7 carries (9.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Tashard Choice only carried the ball three times but he still finished up with 67 yards (22.3 ypc) rushing.  Marion Barber also had a good game with 14 carries for 61 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 41 yards (20.5 avg).  Miles Austin had another great game for the Cowboys yesterday with 7 catches for 145 yards (20.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Jason Witten shook off an injury to pitch in with 5 catches for 107 yards (21.4 avg).  Roy Williams only caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) but one went for a TD.  The Cowboys finished up with 494 total yards in this game (195 rushing, 299 passing) on offense.

LB Keith Brooking led a solid Cowboys’ D yesterday with 9 tackles and 1 QB hit.  But, OLB Anthony Spencer was a monster in this game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits as he was playing like a man possessed.  The Raiders finished up with 305 yards on offense (124 rushing, 181 passing) in this game.  The Cowboys are now 8-3 on the year.

The Dallas Cowboys’ (7-3) offense was unimpressive for the second straight week, but they only needed one touchdown to beat the Washington Redskins (3-7) on Sunday.  Some of the struggles can be attributed to Tony Romo injuring his back early in the game.  Romo was in obvious pain after having to make a tackle on DeAngelo Hall, who recovered a Marion Barber fumble.  After that play, Romo was terrible and was missing his receivers over and over.  Marion Barber did a good job taking some of the pressure of Romo, rushing for 99 yards on 20 carries, but his fumble was costly since Romo injured his back on the play.  Romo came through when it mattered most though, when he found Patrick Crayton in the endzone to put the Cowboys up 7-6 with 2:41 to play.  Romo finished the game with 1 touchdown and 1 interception for 158 yards on 15/27 attempts.

The Cowboys defense did a good job keeping the Redskins out of the endzone, but they benefited from two missed field goals.  With very little production from the offense, the Cowboys would have lost the game had Redskins’ kicker Shaun Suisham not missed a 39-yard field goal attempt and a 50-yard field goal attempt.  They did not do a good job on third downs, letting Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell go 12-12 for 150 yards on 3rd downs.  They also let third string running back Rock Cartwright get 140 total yards on 13 carries and 7 catches.  They kept the Redskins out of the endzone though, and that is what you want out of your defense.  The Cowboys should be concerned about their offense and have only a few days to get the kinks out.  They play Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders.