Cowboys vs. Saints Since 1990 is a Matchup Made for December

Dallas vs. New Orleans has been a great Christmas present... in New Awlins

The Cowboys face the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night in the first matchup between the teams since December 10, 2006. For those who don’t remember that debacle, the Cowboys had absolutely no idea how to stop the Saints in a 42-17 Dallas loss. My summary of that game was that the Cowboys were badly outcoached and badly outplayed on both sides of the ball. New Orleans piled up 536 total yards.

Not something to remember if you want to have confidence regarding Saturday night’s game.

The Cowboys have faced the Saints eight times since 1990. Each one of those games took place during the month of December, which is rather bizarre as far as scheduling goes. The Cowboys are 3-5 in those games, and New Orleans has won five straight.

December 2, 1990: Dallas 17, New Orleans 13
December 8, 1991: Dallas 23, New Orleans 14
December 19, 1994: Dallas 24, New Orleans 16
December 6, 1998: New Orleans 22, Dallas 3
December 24, 1999: New Orleans 31, Dallas 24
December 28, 2003: New Orleans 13, Dallas 7
December 12, 2004: New Orleans 27, Dallas 13
December 10, 2006: New Orleans 42, Dallas 17

The last time the Cowboys beat the Saints was in 1994, but that game was not especially memorable. After gaining 74 yards, Emmitt Smith injured his hamstring, and the injury stayed with him for the rest of the season.

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Incidentally, I have never been to New Orleans, and I would have no idea how to pronounce it properly if I did visit. According to Urban Dictionary, a tourist should just refer it as New OR-Lenz unless the tourist wants to annoy the locals. Richie Whitt at the Dallas Observer might know better, and he says he pronounces it New OR-lee-unz. I suppose New or-LEENS is another possibility.