Dallas City News

Cowboys vs. Saints staff predictions – Staff Writers, DallasCowboys.com

We saw yesterday that the six DMN panelists unanimously picked the Cowboys over the Saints. Not to be outdone, the four mothership writers also take the Cowboys 4-0. Here’s why:

Patrik Walker: I can’t shake just how badly the Cowboys need to rinse the taste of January from the mouths of both the teams and the fanbase on Sunday. It’s the first time they’ve stepped onto the field at AT&T Stadium since being embarrassed by the Packers, dominant in every home game prior to that one. It’s time to get back to business in that regard, and they’re gonna be juiced to pressure Derek Carr in a way the Panthers only wished they could. Taliese Fuaga is dealing with a back injury (and versus Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, no less) and the Cowboys’ linebackers are primed to keep Alvin Kamara bottled up on what will likely be plenty of outside runs and bubble screens. Meanwhile, even with Jake Ferguson, there is plenty of firepower for Dak Prescott to get going against a capable defense. This one is close until it isn’t at all. 44-20, Cowboys

Nick Eatman: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times … Week 2 is always an important game in my book and this is no different. Winners in Week 1 must figure out how to stack wins together and you have to learn how to handle success. So both teams need this game, because it also figures to be the stiffest test either team has faced this year. I think Saints will have a rowdy fan base to support them and that will create a fun environment, even for the Noon kickoff. I can see the Saints getting off to a fast start but once things settle down, I see the Cowboys pulling away. Malik Hooker will get an interception, Luke Schoonmaker will score a touchdown and Deuce Vaughn will have more yards from scrimmage than any game of his career. Those are my fun predictions, but give me the Cowboys 34-23.

Cowboys-Saints predictions and preview – Saad Yousuf, Jon Machota

Machota and Yousuf also both take Dallas.

Machota: I picked the Browns last week, so be cautious as you continue reading. Despite what the Saints did to the Panthers, it’s tough to pick against the Cowboys on Sunday at home. Yes, the last time they played at AT&T Stadium they turned in arguably the worst performance in franchise history. But this has been an excellent team at home for the previous two seasons. The defense we saw against the Browns will be good again Sunday. But I think the Dallas offense will be better. Cowboys 27, Saints 17.

Yousuf: The Cowboys were expected to be a good team coming into the season, and they reinforced that belief with their performance against the Browns. Even if Cleveland is not as good of a team as some thought, the Browns defense was legit, especially at home. I feel better about assessing the Cowboys than I do the Saints. The Saints are coming off a blowout win in Week 1, but it was at home against lowly Carolina. Are the Saints that good, or are the Panthers just that bad? The Cowboys have also been dynamite at home (in the regular season) the past two years, so it makes me think the Cowboys should be able to handle their business on Sunday. Cowboys 30, Saints 13.

NFL Week 2 picks and predictions – Staff, USAToday

4-0 in favor of the Cowboys here as well.

Lorenzo Reyes: Cowboys 28, Saints 20. Dallas in a home opener, with Mike Zimmer’s defense — this will be a far different task facing New Orleans when compared to its Week 1 assignment. I have a tough time seeing the Saints putting up enough points to match the Cowboys, and I [expect] Dallas’ offense to be much better in Week 2.

Jordan Mendoza: Cowboys 31, Saints 23. As good as New Orleans [was] in Week 1, Dallas was arguably the most impressive team. It completely exposed one of the best defensive units in the league while shutting down the Browns offense. In front of the home crowd for the first time this season, the Cowboys offense picks up right where it left off, being too much for a Saints defense that’ll have its hands full.

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Cowboys elevate TE Princeton Fant, LB Nick Vigil from practice squad – Charean Williams, PFT.com

With Jake Ferguson doubtful and John Stephens out, the Cowboys made a couple of moves.

They promoted Princeton Fant from the practice squad as expected.

Luke Schoonmaker, a second-round pick in 2023, is expected to make his first career start in place of Ferguson. He played 368 snaps last season as a rookie and made eight receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns.

Brevyn Spann-Ford also is on the active roster at the position.

The Cowboys also moved up linebacker Nick Vigil from the practice squad for the second consecutive game.

Previewing the Cowboys and Saints game from the enemy’s angle – Brandon Loree, Blogging the Boys

From behind enemy lines, here’s how you would see the matchup between the Cowboys and the Saints.

The Saints had a 4-5 record on the road last year and have lost the previous two matchups against Dallas on the road. Is the Week 1 version of the New Orleans Saints, who beat the Panthers 47-10 at home, indicative of who they can be all season? What do the Cowboys need to keep their eyes on before Sunday’s game? Here to help break down this matchup is Matthew Paras, the New Orleans Saints beat reporter for The Times-Picayune and The Advocate.

Looking at the sustainability of what the Saints displayed last weekend, Paras believes that blowing teams out every week isn’t something to count on, but how the team wants to play football in 2024 may be a constant.

Paras: Well, they aren’t going to blow out teams every week, but I do think the formula for how they want to play is sustainable. Klint Kubiak has come to New Orleans and his offense emphasizes the run, pre-snap motion and play-action deep shots. And then defensively, this team is still poised to be very sharp and has a lot of top-tier talent.

Klint Kubiak, son of former Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak, is an up-and-coming name to watch in the NFL. The Saints offensive coordinator is in his first season with the team but has experience as a play-caller. He spent time as the quarterbacks coach and then OC with the Minnesota Vikings from 2019 to 2021. The head coach at the time? Current Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Last year, in Derek Carr’s first season with New Orleans under then-OC Pete Carmichael, the Saints’ offense sometimes struggled to click. Any time they could score 28 or more points, the team was 4-1. Any time they scored less than that, their record was 5-7.

If the offense takes a step forward and builds off the momentum from Carr’s cleanest performance as the Saints quarterback, Paras feels it starts with Kubiak and his offensive game plan.

Paras: The Saints saw the effects in Week 1, and the offensive coordinator has helped make life easier for Derek Carr and his supporting cast. [Dennis] Allen said he hired Kubiak because the scheme he brings is one of the more effective in the NFL. And though Kubiak isn’t a first-time playcaller — he was the previous OC in Minnesota — his year with the San Francisco 49ers last season adds an interesting wrinkle for the Saints.

In the past, Allen’s coaching style has been described as no-nonsense with his players. However, Paras says he’s re-tooled his approach this year, hoping to connect better with them while keeping things the same on defense.

Paras: Defensively, this is the same scheme, though Chase Young’s addition should boost a pass-rushing unit that underwhelmed last year. But Allen did change his approach in the offseason, from retooling his offensive staff to altering how he interacted with players in pre-practice meetings.

Five things to watch in Cowboys-Saints game – Nick Harris, Star Telegram

One of the things Harris is looking out for is the number of touches the Dallas running backs will get.

The “running back by committee” approach from the Cowboys offense saw starter Ezekiel Elliott carry the ball 10 times for 40 yards in week one, Rico Dowdle rush eight times for 26 yards and Deuce Vaughn garner just one carry for four yards. While some other touches were given in the running game to CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, Mike McCarthy said earlier in the week that he would like to see the running backs have an uptick of opportunities against the Saints.

“The biggest thing I talked about on Monday was getting the running backs more touches,” McCarthy said. “If you look at just the second half, our performance on third down, we didn’t get enough touches, period, for the whole offense.”

While Elliott was able to punch into the end zone against the Browns, just 70 yards of production from the Cowboys’ trio of running backs will need to see improvement to help facilitate an offense that has had the benefit of a 1,000-yard rusher for each of the past three seasons.

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How elite expectations fuel brotherly bond between Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs – David Moore, DMN

Trevon Diggs reflects on his bond with Micah Parsons.

“That’s my brother,” Diggs said of the pass rusher. “We’ve got a great relationship. Our families know each other and we’re really close. I’m always pushing him if he’s doing something that he’s not supposed to or if he sees me doing something I’m not supposed to — whether that’s eating something I’m not supposed to — we always get on each other. I appreciate our relationship.”

Diggs admits he’s not an easy person to get to know. He has a pleasant demeanor but is cautious before opening up.

Parsons is inviting. In interviews with reporters, he’ll answer anything.

Diggs?

He speaks softly. If he warms up to you, he’ll present a sense of humor.

“I’m not a friendly person and he’s a friendly person,” Diggs said. “It takes one to know one and when I see him I knew what he was about.”

Last year, the relationship blossomed as Diggs recovered from a torn ACL suffered in late September, costing him 15 games. Parsons reached out. He called. He texted. He visited.

It meant a lot.

“One of my close friends,” Diggs said. “He was there for me, you know, always checking in on me, coming over to the house hanging out with me, just being there because [rehab] takes you to some dark places. You need somebody for sure.”

“He just likes to have fun, and I think that’s kind of what we missed last year,” Parsons said of Diggs. “When he went out, I just felt like it sucked the air out of all of us. His energy is contagious, like I said. He’s just so competitive. His drive to want to win and willing to win and doing whatever it takes, it’s great to have that guy back.”