Here is a deeper look at five statistics from the Cowboys' 13-10 victory over the Saints:
• 7 – The Cowboys won this game despite Dak Prescott being sacked seven times. This marked only the 25th time in team history that a quarterback has been sacked at least seven times in a game and is the most since Prescott was taken down eight times at Atlanta a season ago. Of those 25 contests, however, this was only the sixth time that Dallas actually won, the Cowboys going 6-18-1. Prescott's 248 passing yards was also the fourth-highest total from those games while his 115.5 passer rating was the best among the group.
• 176 – How dominant was the Dallas defense? They held Drew Brees and the Saints to only 176 total yards of offense. That's the lowest offensive output for the team since both Sean Payton took over as head coach and Brees joined the team in 2006, and is just the second time overall that the Saints have failed to earn at least 200 yards during their tenure. The only other time came on Dec. 2, 2013 at Seattle when they earned 188 yards. This marked the fewest yards by a Saints offense since the 2001 season against San Francisco on Jan. 6, 2002, when they finished with 126. It was also the third-lowest total by an opposing team all-time at AT&T Stadium.
• 13 – Dallas managed only 13 points in the game, but that was enough for the victory. This was only the 21st time in Cowboys history that the team has totaled no more than 13 points, but still won the game. The last time it happened was in the finale of last season, a 6-0 win over the Eagles on Dec. 31, 2017.
• 8 – Officially, Amari Cooper was targeted eight times in the game and hauled in all eight passes. That improved his catch percentage in his five games since joining the Cowboys to 75 percent, which would be tied for 13th in the NFL if he had enough catches to qualify. This was only the fifth game of his career in which he caught every pass thrown his way and only his second time doing so when targeted at least five times. He grabbed 10 of 10 on Sept. 16 of this season while still with Oakland. Of those eight catches against the Saints, four went for first downs. He's now moved the chains on 23 of his 30 catches for the Cowboys, a 76.7 percent conversion rate.
• 4 – Ezekiel Elliott didn't crack the 100-yard mark in rushing, snapping a three-game stretch, but he did extend his streak to five games topping 100 yards from scrimmage. That came thanks to 76 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards, the latter the fifth-highest total of his career. When he posts at least 30 receiving yards in a game, the Cowboys are now 11-3. Elliott also recorded a receiving touchdown when he took a 16-yard screen pass to the end zone. With that, he now has a touchdown, rushing or receiving, in each of the last four games, which is the longest such streak of his career. He becomes the 10th running back in Cowboys history, 20th time overall, to post a single-season touchdown streak of at least four games.
Milestones
Team Notes
· With the victory over New Orleans, who had previously won its last 10 games, Dallas claimed its fourth straight win, its longest since an 11-game win streak in 2016.
· It also marked Dallas' second straight win at home against New Orleans to improve to 11-4 at home against the Saints.
· The Cowboys improved their all-time record against the NFC South to 57-32, and upped Dallas' overall record in the NFC to 6-3 in 2018.
· Dallas held New Orleans' top scoring offense, which entered the game averaging 37.1 points-per-game, to 10 points, the fewest in the 2018 season by the Saints, and the fewest scored by a New Orleans team since a six-point output at Houston on Nov. 29, 2015.
· Dallas shut out New Orleans in the first half, marking the first time the Saints have been shut out in a half since at Houston on Nov. 29, 2015. Additionally, the Cowboys shut out the Saints in the first half on Sept. 28, 2014.
· The Cowboys defense held the Saints offense to 59 total net yards in the first half, the fewest total net yards New Orleans has produced in a half since they had 24 total net yards at Cincinnati on Dec. 22, 2002.
Cole Beasley
· Cole Beasley's two receptions for 9 yards gave him 302 for his career to move past Doug Cosbie (300) and Miles Austin (301) for 10th on the club's all-time receptions list.
Amari Cooper
· Amari Cooper's eight receptions allowed him to surpass 250 for his career (255).
Ezekiel Elliott
· By totaling 23 carries, Ezekiel Elliott posted his 27th career game with at least 20 carries, second only to Emmitt Smith (115) and Tony Dorsett (57) in Cowboys history.
· With the win, the Cowboys improved to 21-6 in games in which Elliott rushes for 20-or-more carries.
· With 60 receiving yards tonight, Elliott established a single-season career best in receiving yards (423) to top his 2016 total (363).
· Elliott's receiving yards allowed him to reach 1,000 for his career (1,055), becoming the 16th running back in team history to accomplish that feat.
· Elliott became the ninth running back in team history to reach 50 receptions in a season (53)
· Elliott's receiving touchdown gave him three on the season and established a single-season career-high.
L.P. Ladouceur
· By playing in tonight's game, L.P. Ladouceur tied Bill Bates (217) for the third-most games played in franchise history. He trails only Jason Witten (239) and Ed Jones (224)
Dak Prescott
· Dak Prescott's 85.7 completion percentage was the second-highest of his career. He posted an 88.9 mark against Tampa Bay on Dec. 18, 2016.
· Prescott's 194 passing yards in the first half were his second-most yards in a half, and the most in a first half, of his career. He had 212 passing yards in the second half at the Giants on Dec. 10, 2017.
· Prescott had 18 straight completions in the game to establish a career best. It is the second-most consecutive completions in team history. Brandon Weeden had 21 straight completions, Nov. 2, 2014 to Sept. 20, 2015.
· Prescott topped Craig Morton (1,308) in pass attempts for sixth all-time in franchise history (1,313).
Jaylon Smith
· Jaylon Smith's tackle total in against the Saints allowed him to establish a single-season career high and cross the century mark in tackles for the first time in his career.
· Collectively, he also reached 200 tackles for his career.
Leighton Vander Esch
· Leighton Vander Esch's tackles moved him past Roy Williams (127 in 2002) for the second-highest tackle total by a rookie in team history, since 1981 when tackles started to be tracked by coaches film. He now trails only Dexter Coakley, who had 136 in 1997.
