The New Orleans Saints were able to pick up a 12-10 win against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night without scoring a touchdown.
The last time the franchise won a game without finding the end zone was a 9-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998, nearly a decade before Sean Payton became the team’s head coach.
So it was no surprise that he couldn’t recall an instance where that happened. But he was just happy to be 3-1.
“We did what was necessary tonight,” Payton said. “I was proud of how we played to win this game.”
The Saints were able to earn the victory scoring just field goals as Wil Lutz tied his career high of four makes Sunday night. His four kicks were proved to be enough for the win thanks, in part, to the play of their defense which limited the Cowboys, who came in to Sunday’s contest averaging 32.3 points and 481.3 yards per game, to just 257 total yards.
“I’m so proud of the defense and how we responded,” said Saints safety Vonn Bell, who finished with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. “We were able to finish the game and put four quarters together. We have a resilient group and I love being out there with those guys.”
Payton said he thought the Saints were “outstanding” on defense. New Orleans held last season’s NFL rushing champion, Ezekiel Elliott to just just 35 yards.
“I thought we populated him well. I thought that we tackled well,” he said. “He is a really good running back. I thought that we got hats on him. I am anxious to watch the film, but I thought that we did a really good job.”
The defensive unit particularly stood out on the Cowboys final drive. The Saints were forced to punt to Dallas with 1:45 remaining in the game after Teddy Bridgewater was sacked outside of field goal range. The Saints defense was able to keep the Cowboys from getting into field goal range and safety Marcus Williams sealed the win with an interception as time expired.
“It was a great thing to see,” Bridgewater said. “We practice situational football and practice situations like that on Friday and Saturdays. To see practice translate to the football field is a great thing to see. It’s great to see the defense hold those guys.”
