Dallas Cowboys fans have been circling the wagons all week, muttering among themselves about some sort of prophecy: remember the last time the New Orleans Saints were in a long winning streak, and we ended it? Every Cowboys fan forum, blog, or subreddit was chattering about that game when the 13-0 Saints hosted Dallas at 8-5, coincidentally just a week after thrashing the Atlanta Falcons.
And a great Cowboys pass rusher, DeMarcus Ware, made the game-changing play to seal their upset victory. Ware abused Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod all night long and ultimately sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees, forcing a fumble that his defense recovered.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it can rhyme. That’s what happened on Thursday night when the 6-5 Cowboys hosted New Orleans at 10-1, off the heels of a fun Thanksgiving win over Atlanta. Cowboys superstar pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence was boastful before the game, and he came through, logging a sack and pressuring Brees – often against Bushrod. Brees eventually threw an interception when the constant pressure rushed him into an awful throw. The Cowboys won (again) and the Saints were humbled (again).
But what happens next?
Way back when, the Cowboys used the energy from their win to launch their own winning streak. They cruised into the playoffs, beat down their division rival Philadelphia Eagles, and came up short against the second seed Minnesota Vikings in a 34-3 blowout. They haven’t made any real playoffs noise since, squandering the career of a great young (at the time) quarterback, Tony Romo.
As for the Saints, well, they stopped buying their own hype and rallied to go on a series of historic playoff victories, with every game featuring iconic plays (Tracey Porter’s interceptions, Garrett Hartley’s field goal) and all-time great coaching decisions (Ambush, anyone?). It was the peak of a golden era of Saints football. Who’s to say that’s not where we’re headed again?