DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for the home opener in 2024 and their slate begins with a visit from the New Orleans Saints. Both teams are off to good starts with blowout wins, but bigger challenges await in Week 2.
AT&T Stadium has been very kind to the Cowboys lately, where they’ve won 16 straight regular season games, including the last two against the Saints. However, the matchup won’t be a walkover for Dallas, as they seek to start 2-0 for the second consecutive year under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Saints have a new offense and a defense that has talent at every level, which makes life difficult for Dak Prescott and his Texas Coast offense.
Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses that the Cowboys will need to maneuver around against the Saints in the Week 2 matchup:
Strength: Passing defense
The Week 1 win was a good opening game all around for the Saints, as they crushed the division rival Carolina Panthers 47-10. But their passing defense really shined, allowing just 135 yards through the air with two interceptions.
While the accomplishment by the secondary came against what’s expected to be one of the worst passing teams in the league, the Saints have made a habit of being good against the pass. Their defense has been inside the top 10 in passing yards against in three of the last four years and they haven’t allowed an average of over 225 yards passing in any of the last five seasons.
New Orleans has been a very good unit against the pass and Prescott’s only thrown two career touchdowns in three games against the Saints. After facing one tough defense to start the 2024 campaign, the Cowboys get another difficult matchup in Week 2.
Weakness: Passing offense
This isn’t to suggest that the Saints can’t move the ball through the air, but they really don’t have an explosive passing game, or enough weapons to consistently make big plays. Top wide receiver Chris Olave does have two 1,000+ yard seasons in his first two years as he’s been the only reliable playmaker in the passing game. However, Olave only caught two passes for 11 yards in the season opener.
New Orleans also has Rashid Shaheed as their big-play WR, and he scored on a 59-yard touchdown against the Panthers, but he had eight games with three or fewer catches with less than 40 yards receiving in 2023. Shaheed has the speed and shiftiness to be a home run threat, yet the consistency isn’t there.
In quarterback Derek Carr’s first season with the Saints, the team averaged under 235 yards per game, and he threw for just 200 yards in the opener. Unless Shaheed gets a deep ball, it’s a passing offense that moves the ball more methodically through the air than one looking to strike early and often.
Strength: Alvin Kamara
While the passing offense isn’t a strength, the Saints employ one of the NFL’s best dual-threat running backs in Alvin Kamara. The Cowboys did an admirable job slowing the run against the Browns in Week 1, but the Saints under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had a successful debut with Kamara looking like he did in his early days.
Kubiak’s offense utilizes more motion than the Saints have used in the past and Kamara was the Week 1 beneficiary, running for 83 yards and a score, while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. It’s just one week, but Kubiak’s offense and how it features the running game is something that’s crushed the Dallas defense in recent years.
The difference this time around is the Cowboys now have a defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer who deals with shifts and motions much better than his predecessor. Nevertheless, it’s a defense that has struggled against the run in recent seasons, so Kamara presents a big challenge to Zimmer’s unit.
Weakness: Offensive line
One of the places that the Saints are most vulnerable is along their offensive line. The starting five includes four linemen drafted in the first or second round, but they’ve given up 110 sacks over the last three seasons.
The team drafted Taliese Fuaga with the 14th pick overall in April and he played well in his rookie debut.
However, he is questionable to play on Sunday with a back issue after missing Thursday’s practice. Fuaga might already be the Saints’ best offensive lineman, so if he’s out, it’s a huge blow that could aid a Cowboys’ defense that had six sacks and 20+ pressure in Week 1.
The Saints did have 379 yards of offense in their win over Carolina but also allowed a sack and six tackles for a loss from the Panthers, most of which occurred without their best defensive player. The Cowboys should be able to put pressure on Carr and have an advantage in the trenches when on defense.
Weakness: Dennis Allen
The Saints have a solid roster, but they haven’t been to the playoffs since Allen took over for Sean Payton at the start of the 2022 season. In his six seasons as a head coach, including a stop as coach of the then Oakland Raiders, Allen has a 25-46 record, good for a winning percentage of just .352.
Allen has never led a team to the playoffs in either of his head coaching stops and he ranked near the bottom of every coaching list this offseason. There aren’t many believers in Allen, so the Cowboys should have the better coach in this contest.
Do you think the Cowboys will overcome the Saints in the Week 2 home opener? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.
