Roy Williams (above just before the fumble) was stripped after a 47-yard catch and run with 3:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, leading to the Saints capitalizing by scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 left in the game. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jose Yau)So close, yet so far away.
After rallying from down 17-0 in the first half and taking a 27-23 lead with under 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, some key blunders cost the Dallas Cowboys (3-8) the game against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints (8-3).
For the third straight week, the Cowboys refused to let adversity stand in their way, clawing back with some explosive plays on offense and a suffocating defense in the third quarter. Dallas outscored the Saints 14-3 in the third, thanks to a game-breaking 60-yard touchdown rush on a beautifully executed fake-handoff reverse to Miles Austin - the Cowboys longest run of the season. Marion Barber bullied his way into the end zone on 4th and 1 later in the quarter, after a Reggie Bush fumble on a punt return gave Dallas possession at the Saints 15-yard line, putting the exclamation point on an 11-play drive and putting the Cowboys within three points down 23-20.
New Orleans had only two offensive possessions in the third, due largely to the Cowboys holding the ball on offense for nearly seven minutes during the frame. When the Saints did have the ball, the Dallas defense tightened, allowing only a field goal and causing New Orleans to turnover the ball on downs after failing to convert on 4th and 5 from the Dallas 34-yard line.
"I think we demonstrated again what we've done the last few weeks -- battle and fight," Cowboys' interim head coach Jason Garrett said.
Gerald Sensabaugh's interception (Saints' quarterback Drew Brees only one of the day) on the Saints first possession of the fourth quarter set Dallas up another score as momentum seemed to be in the Cowboys favor. Two receptions for 21 yards to Cowboys' wide receiver Roy Williams put Dallas in a goal-to-go situation and Tashard Choice punched it in from 1-yard out two plays later to give the 'Boys their first lead of the game at 27-23.
However, in the end, it all came down to one play that looked like a game-sealer for Dallas, but turned out to be the impact play going the other way that would swing the momentum back to the Saints.
The Turning Point
Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna threw a strike on a slant pattern to Williams, who had severely beaten the corner off the line, and he took off down the middle of the field for what appeared to be a game-sealing 47-yard reception down to the Saints' 11-yard line. Williams saw Saints' corner Tracy Porter coming from his right side, so he decided to switch the ball into his left arm and brace for contract.
Little did he know, the corner he had beaten off the line in the first place was coming from his left with only one objective on his mind: strip the ball. In the blink of an eye, second-year corner Malcolm Jenkins snatched the ball away so fast, it didn't even touch the ground.
"He didn't see me from the blind side," Jenkins said. "A bad play turned good for us. Not only ripped it out, it just kind of fell in my stomach."
While at normal speed it appeared as though Williams may have had a knee down before the strip, replays showed the football had come out before he hit the ground. Williams shouldered the blame for the loss after the game.
"I lost the ballgame," Williams said. "I let my teammates down. I need to fall down. We run the clock down and win the game. I was trying to make a play and they did a good job. It's late in the game. That's the nail in the coffin. We had the momentum going our way. We were there. That was a W. I get tackled, we get in the end zone and we win.
"I fall down and we win."
The Aftermath
New Orleans took the ball from their own 11-yard line and needed only five plays to drive 89 yards down the field. Brees needed only three completions to get his first touchdown pass of the game, picking on Terence Newman twice for a 22-yard completion to Marques Colston and a 55-yard bomb to Robert Meachem - who sprinted right past the speedy Newman for the huge gain. One play later Lance Moore beat the Cowboys other corner, Michael Jenkins, on a quick slant in the end zone. The football went into Moore's hands just out of the reach of a diving Jenkins to put the Saints up 30-27 with 1:55 to play.
Just as was the case in the first half, the Cowboys weren't ready to call this a game just yet.
Dallas drove to the Saints 41-yard line, but three straight decisions to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage - instead of trying a run or two with two timeouts and only six yards away from kicker David Buehler's career-long set earlier in the contest - led to a 59-yard attempt on 4th and 10. Buehler's try had the distance, but the kick was just left.
Just like the Cowboys' comeback hopes: so close, yet so far away.
"There were a lot of things to be proud of," Garrett said. "Guys played with a lot of passion, energy and enthusiasm. ... But you've got to get the bottom line right.
"We didn't get it done."
News and Notes:
- The loss snaps a four-game winning streak on Thanksgiving Day for Dallas. It was the Saints first-ever win on Turkey Day. The Cowboys are 27-15-1 all-time on Thanksgiving.
- There were many Saints fan in the building Thursday afternoon. Many in the crowd chanted defense and got loud during Cowboys' offensive possessions. Even before Bush's punt return (and fumble) during the Cowboys third quarter comeback, you could hear fans chanting "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" before the punt.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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