The Saints really had a battle on their hands yesterday as the Cowboys missed a long field goal at the end of the game.  Drew Brees was solid as he completed 23 of 39 passes for 352 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Julius Jones led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 45 yards on 10 carries (4.5 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg).  Chris Ivory pitched in with 38 yards rushing on 7 carries (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  WRs Marques Colston (6 rec, 105 yards), Devery Henderson (4 rec, 97 yards), Robert Meachem (1 rec, 55 yards) and Lance Moore (5 rec, 39 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game as Brees was spreading the ball around.  The Saints finished up with 81 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 333 yards despite only having the ball for 25:19.

LB Jonathan Vilma (11 tackles) and safety Roman Harper (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Saints’ on D yesterday.  DE Will Smith (INT), CB Malcolm Jenkins (FR) and CB Tracy Porter (FR) also made huge plays for the Saints yesterday.  The Cowboys finished up with 144 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 42 passes for 313 yards.  The Saints are now 8-3 on the season.

Both the Saints and Cowboys are hot right now so something has to give later today.  The Saints have won three games in a row by a combined score of 88-32!  The Cowboys are 2-0 under new head coach Jason Garrett as they have outscored opponents 68-39 in those games.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Cowboys have a very weak secondary so I think Drew Brees is going to be in attack mode.  The Cowboys are giving up 235.1 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 103.2 rating against them.  So there are plays to be made.  The Cowboys probably won’t double anyone in this game because Brees likes to move the ball around in the passing game using almost everyone.  Chris Ivory and Reggie Bush will likely handle the running game for the Saints in this game.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are likely going to mix up things offensively.  They have been running the ball with Marion Barber & Felix Jones a little more lately so the Saints will have to be ready for them.  Jon Kitna has played pretty darn good football the last two weeks so the Saints better be ready for him.  The Saints should blitz Kitna because he makes mistakes when under duress.  If Kitna has time to throw the ball the Saints could be in some trouble with Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant going out for passes.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 30, COWBOYS 24

The Saints have signed 21-year old rookie long snapper Justin Drescher out of Colorado.  Drescher will be replacing 25-year old Jake Ingram who has been released after only one week.  A bad snap by Ingram last week caused Garrett Hartley to miss a 27-yard field goal and that’s the reason why he’s looking for a new job.

The Saints have placed 24-year old linebacker Stanley Arnoux and 38-year old long snapper Jason Kyle on I.R. ending their seasons.  Arnoux has a Achillies injury while Kyle has a shoulder problem.  Arnoux played in 9 games for the Saints this season and he had 5 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  Kyle played in 9 games for the Saints this season and in 25 games in his first two years with the Saints.  The special teams will be hurt by these two injuries.

The Saints had this game well in hand most of the way.  Drew Brees was outstanding last week as he completed 29 of 43 passes for 382 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Chris Ivory led the way for the Saints on the ground with 99 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) with a TD carry before dinging up his left shoulder.  Marques Colston (8 rec, 113 yards, 2 TDs) and Robert Meachem (3 rec, 50 yards, 2 TD grabs) were the top playmakers in the passing game for the Saints last week.  The Saints finished up with 112 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 43 passes for 382 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:45.

The defense got shredded by Matt Hasselbeck in this game.  He threw for 366 yards and the Saints’ D didn’t have any sacks as they weren’t getting anywhere near him.  The Saints finished up with 58 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 32 of 44 passes for 366 yards.  The Saints are now 7-3 on the year.

The Saints have won two games in a row over the Steelers and Panthers so they appear to be back on the right track.  I was waiting to see how they would respond after getting their butts handed to them by the Browns.  The Saints also had two weeks to get ready for the Seahawks so it’s all systems go.  The Seahawks have won two of their last three road games so they might put up a fight for a little while.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  With Reggie Bush back the offense should be better than it has been.  They have needed a RB to step up and catch some passes out of the backfield which has been missing lately from the offense.  I look for the Saints to pass to build a lead against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 272.2 yards passing per game before grinding the win out on the ground.  Look for Drew Brees to spread the wealth around as long as he has time to throw the ball as the Seahawks have 26 sacks already this year.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  I think the only chance the Seahawks have of winning this game is by running the ball with Justin Forsett & Marshawn Lynch against a Saints’ D that is allowing 110.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Matt Hasselbeck is playing with a broken bone in his left wrist.  If the Saints can get him out of the game the final score will be ridiculous.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 28, SEAHAWKS 13

The Saints have really improved defensively this year and that’s a good thing because the offense has taken a small step back.  The Saints are only allowing 16.8 points per game and 277.0 total yards per game so far this year.  Payton has the Saints at 6-3 which has them tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 game behind the Atlanta Falcons.  The 46-year old Payton has a record of 44-29 (60.3%) during the regular season in his first five years with the Saints.  If Payton can get the offense clicking like it used to the Saints are going to finish this season very strongly.

27-year old TE David Thomas is doing a solid job of backing up Jeremy Shockey this year.  He has played in 9 games for the Saints so far this year and he has 27 catches for 189 yards (7.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Thomas has now played in 24 games in his first two years with the Saints and he has 59 catches for 545 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He could start on a lot of teams in the NFL so the Saints are glad to have him.

25-year old DT Sedrick Ellis has played well for the Saints so far this year.  He has played in 9 games for the Saints so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 4 sacks and 1 tackle for a loss.  Ellis is stepping up as he was kind of cruising his first three years in the league.  Ellis played in 32 games in his first 3 years in the NFL and he had 87 tackles, 9 passes defensed and 10 sacks.  The Saints need him to keep up the good work the rest of the way.

22-year old rookie RB Chris Ivory separated his left shoulder last weekend against the Panthers and he’s likely going to be out for a while.  Ivory has played in 7 games for the Saints so far this year and he has carried the ball 78 times for 382 yards (4.9 ypc) and he has also caught 1 pass for 17 yards.  Julius Jones & Ladell Betts are going to have to step up and give the Saints a running game while Ivory, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are out of action.