Are the Saints Unbeatable?

A lot of people seem to believe that the Cowboys have no chance on Saturday. I'm not saying that the Cowboys will win the game, but I am saying that they have as good of a chance as anyone else to beat the Saints. The Saints have struggled to beat the Rams, the Redskins and the Falcons in recent games. Say what you want about the Cowboys, but they are better than all three of those teams.

So will the Cowboys win the game on Saturday? Time will tell. I'm not going into the game expecting a win but I'm hoping that the Cowboys will find a way to finally fire on all cylinders. A great game in all three phases will be necessary for the Cowboys to win.

The offense needs to go on long, time-consuming drives that end in touchdowns. The Saints are going to score points no matter how well the defense plays. So the Cowboys will need to put points on the scoreboard or they won't stand a chance. The offense has to score and they have to score touchdowns not field goals. The best defense in the game will be long drives to keep the ball away from the Saints offense as much as possible.

The defense needs to limit the big plays from the Saints offense. They Saints will score but the defense needs to make them earn every score they get. If they can go on long drives consistently throughout the game then it will be tough for the Cowboys to win. I don't think the Saints can put long drives together consistently from what I have seen from them. A lot of their scores come on big plays. Eliminate the big plays and the Saints can be beaten.

The special teams will have to play a good game if the Cowboys are going to win. They can't allow any big returns from the Saints. If the special teams can give the Saints bad field position regularly during the game then they will help limit the scoring for the Saints. I'm especially concerned about Reggie Bush on punt returns. He is a dynamic returner and the punt coverage team will have to stay disciplined when he has the ball. If the Cowboys are forced to kick a field goal then we all need to keep our fingers crossed that Nick Folk finds his groove.

And most importantly, the Cowboys can't turn the ball over. Tony Romo needs to play at the top of his game. If Romo has a bad game then you can count on a loss. Romo needs to protect the ball while still finding a way to make big plays down the field to keep the defense honest. The running backs need to hold onto the ball. The Saints' defense creates a lot of turnovers and often returns them for scores. The Cowboys can't afford to give the Saints any cheap points.

I look at the game like this. Are the Saints the best team of all time? To me they aren't even close. So the thought of them running the table is a little ridiculous to me. The Saints will lose at some point this year. Sure they are 13-0 but their defense is average so the Cowboys should be able to move the ball against them. But the Cowboys will have to solve their scoring problems or they won't stand much of a chance. I just hope the game doesn't come down to a field goal since it looks like Nick Folk will still be the kicker this week.