The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, who square off Sunday at 11 a.m. at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, looked great in Week 1, which perhaps was a mild surprise.
After an eerily quiet offseason, Dallas roared out of the gate and blew out a Cleveland Browns team that was supposed to be a playoff contender.
The Saints weren’t supposed to be good this season, but they drew a terrible Carolina team in the opener and they annihilated the Panthers 47-10. As a result, the Saints look to have an edge over Dallas on a one-game stat sheet, but the oddsmakers, taking into account the level of competition, have the Cowboys as a 6.5-point home favorite as they look for a 16th consecutive victory at AT&T Stadium Sunday at 11 a.m. Mountain time.
In other words, this game could reveal whether both teams’ openers were a fluke or a glimpse of better things to come.
How Cowboys vs Saints match up
Cowboys pass offense vs. Saints pass defense
Cowboys 19th (179.0 yards per game) vs. Saints 8th (161.0 yards allowed)
Cowboys rush offense vs. Saints rush defense
Cowboys 20th (102.0) vs. Saints 1st (58.0)
Cowboys rush defense vs. Saints rush offense
Cowboys 13th (93.0) vs. Saints 4th (180.0)
Cowboys pass defense vs. Saints pass offense
Cowboys 12th (169.0) vs. Saints 16h (200.0)
Dallas Cowboys players to watch
Dak Prescott, quarterback
After signing a $240 million contract that made him the highest-paid player in the history of the game, he did everything he needed to do to keep Dallas in command of its opening win against New Orleans. He completed 59% of his passes for 179 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
CeeDee Lamb, receiver
Another member of the new contract club, Lamb affected the game in several ways. He had five catches on 10 targets for 61 yards, plus a touchdown and three rushes for 25 yards.
Micah Parsons, linebacker
The man Cowboys fans hope will at some point be a member of the new contract club, he was as disruptive as he usually is, getting one sack and he batted a pass that led to an interception.
New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr, quarterback
Like most of the Saints after their season-opening rout of Carolina, Carr had a huge game. He was 19-of-23 passing for 200 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, which are winning numbers just about all the time.
Alvin Kamara, running back
The workhorse tailback looked young for his 29 years, carrying 15 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
Alontae Taylor, cornerback
The Saints felt he could have been a league defensive player of the week after he had three sacks and a pass breakup in the opener to go with six total tackles.
Dallas Cowboys injury report
TE Jack Ferguson is questionable with a knee injury.
New Orleans Saints injury report
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore is questionable with a knee injury.
Odds and prediction for Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints
The line: Cowboys 26, Saints 20
Dallas is a 6 1/2-point favorite. An over-under of 45.5 implies a score of Dallas winning 26-20 or 25-20.
Bookies.com: Bet the over in Saints vs Cowboys NFL Week 1 game
Bill Speros writes: “This is the Fox game of the week. Tom Brady returns to the booth and looks to improve on his spotty performance in Week 1. The Cowboys demolished the Browns in Week 1 after Dak Prescott got his record $240 million deal. They were also a solid 6-3 ATS at home last season, covering an average line of 8.9 points. The Cowboys need to show off at home whenever they can, as they will do here. But this number is moving in the wrong direction. It’s now 7 points after opening at 5.5. The over here is solid play given how both offenses performed in Week 1.”
Sports Betting Dime: Cowboys 24.6, Saints 16.7
Sports Betting Dime’s formula predicts the Cowboys will beat the Saints.
ESPN: Cowboys have a 65.6% chance to beat Saints on Sunday
ESPN.com gives the Saints a 34.1% shot at winning the NFL Week 2 game.