First Look: Cowboys vs. Saints

The Saints and Cowboys meet for the 31st time in NFL history, and are sure to attract a high viewing crowd on Thursday Night Football.

John Hendrix | Nov 30, 2021

Thursday night feels like desperation mode for the Saints (5-6), as they welcome the Cowboys (7-4) to town and look to break their four-game losing streak. New Orleans has been plagued with injuries and has not been able to get off to anything that resembles a good start over the past several games, and it's been all three phases that have failed in their own way. NFL Week 13 gets started in the Superdome, and we take a look at some storylines to keep an eye on.

What to Watch For

Taysom Time? Taysom Hill is reportedly getting the start for the Saints, assuming that things go well during practice. He's been the backup to Trevor Siemian for the past couple of games, as he's dealing with a foot injury suffered against the Titans. New Orleans needs a jolt on offense, and Hill could provide it for them. It'd be something if Hill could help get the Saints into the postseason after everything that's happened since the offseason.

Health Check. It was a step in the right direction for some players, as Mark Ingram (knee) was a full participant of practice on Monday. Meanwhile, Ryan Ramczyk (knee) and Alvin Kamara (knee) were limited. The not-so-good for New Orleans is that they're still down Marcus Davenport (shoulder) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (ankle), and the Kaden Elliss (hamstring) experiment worked for sub-rush, but his outlook is in question. If there ever was a time for the Saints to get healthy, it's now.

Creeping COVID. Dallas Head Coach Mike McCarthy is out of this game due to testing positive for COVID, which means Dan Quinn will assume his duties for Thursday night. He's a familiar face to Saints fans from his time with the Falcons, and it'll be interesting to see how he handles things. There could be more coming for the Cowboys, but for now, this will be one of the bigger storylines of this one. Overall, New Orleans has been involved in several major headlines with COVID.

Defending Dallas. CeeDee Lamb (concussion) and Amari Cooper (COVID) are on track to play, which means New Orleans' secondary is going to be tested all game. Marshon Lattimore has had some struggles recently, so he's going to have to elevate his game here. The last time these two met in 2019, Lattimore held Cooper to 5 catches for 48 yards. We'll likely see the rotation of Paulson Adebo (concussion) and Bradley Roby in this one, with the emphasis on the pass rush.

Saints: Week 13 News Coverage

Published Nov 30, 2021

JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net