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Wow.It’s been almost 24 hours as I write this [url=https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/L.-P.-Ladouceur-Jersey]L. P. Ladouceur Color Rush Jersey[/url] , and it still doesn’t seem real. The Dallas Cowboys really did beat the New Orleans Saints by the highly improbable score of 13-10. Looks like my Twitter wish was fulfilled.But of course it wasn’t a dream after all. It was real.The defensive numbers have been hashed out in numerous posts here and elsewhere, so this week’s foray into finding meaning from the stats will look beyond that. Here are some other numbers that have implications both good and bad for the team.3 point margin of victoryYou take a win however you can. But close games are dangerous over the long run, because they can go either way. And as exciting and gratifying as the four-game winning streak has been, all have been wins with a one possession margin of victory. Seven points over the Eagles, three over the Falcons, eight more than Washington, and three again over the Saints. The Cowboys need to get some bigger margins in the last month of the season. The onus for that falls clearly on the offense, which continues to leave points on the field. However, the victory over New Orleans comes with a caveat. The Cowboys were in a position to push that edge to ten points at the end, but wisely elected to take three consecutive kneel downs starting at the Saint’s one-yard line. Given the way Ezekiel Elliott was grinding out tough yards on play after play, it was overwhelmingly likely that he would have punched it in, and then there was a high probability that the defense could have gotten one more stop of the battered and bewildered New Orleans offense. But a sure thing is a sure thing, and the team wisely took it.Minus one turnover marginThis was the first game of the season where Dallas came out on the short end of the turnover battle and didn’t lose. That is another way they are living dangerously, and they could easily have had another giveaway with Dak Prescott once again not maintaining good ball security. Of course, Dallas lost a takeaway on the highly-marginal neutral zone call against Randy Gregory, and that defense looks like it is going to get some more down the stretch. But the offense has to take care of the rock better.Seven sacks surrenderedThat is another negative stat that is somewhat amazing to see in a win. Combine it with losing the turnover battle, and this game is entering into surreal territory for overcoming adversity. The blame is not on just one thing [url=https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Taco-Charlton-Jersey]Taco Charlton Jersey[/url] , as Bob Sturm observed in his Morning After post at The Athletic.Woof. 45 sacks to date, and unless things change, there will be too many more coming. But the team is hoping that Tyron Smith will finally return to action, and that is likely to be a big help (despite PFF’s claim about Cameron Fleming). But even if Smith gets back, the rest of the line is still going to have to improve dramatically. And Prescott has to do his part as well.85.7 completion percentage, 22 yards rushing for three first downsNow let’s give credit where credit is due. Despite missing what would have been an easy long touchdown to Michael Gallup, Prescott was excellent when he wasn’t being taken down by the pass rush. He has his issues, but in this game his strengths came into play. While the offense only mustered 13 points, it put together multiple clock-eating long drives that played a big part in securing the win. It may have just done enough, but that was all it took thanks to that monster of a game by the D.50% third down conversion rateThis is a key positive stat that was hidden by the lack of points. Since the arrival of Amari Cooper, the Cowboys are among the league leaders in this extremely important statistic. Keep that up, and good things are bound to happen.76 and 75Those are the receiving yards for Gallup and Cooper respectively. And that is exciting. The Cowboys have a legitimate one-two punch at WR1 and WR2 for the first time in years. It will stretch the field, open up the box for the run game, and should soon lead to more touchdowns. Now if they can effectively get Cole Beasley out of the slot into the mix and continue to keep Ezekiel Elliott a factor in the passing game, look out. Get to it, Scott Linehan. 136 yards from scrimmageThe defensive plan for the Saints clearly was to stop Elliott and force Prescott to win through the air. They really couldn’t, as Zeke still accounted for 44% of the team’s 308 total yards from scrimmage and their lone touchdown. He is still the engine that drives the offense [url=https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/La_El-Collins-Jersey]La'el Collins Color Rush Jersey[/url] , and the mini-bye gives him a well-deserved chance to rest up and stay fresh.8 defensive snapsThat is all that Jourdan Lewis saw in this game (he also was in for 2 snaps as the jet sweep guy and in on 3 ST plays). But his impact was incredible for such limited action, almost all covering the very dangerous Alvin Kamara. He was only credited with one tackle, but had one of the biggest, and probably the most decisive play, of the night on the interception of Drew Brees - and nearly had another earlier in the game. Kris Richard needs to rethink how he uses him despite not fitting Richard’s profile for a corner. The guy makes plays no matter his size.19 tackles and some wolf howlsOf course, this refers to the linebacking duo of uber-rookie Leighton Vander Esch and third-year player Jaylon Smith (two on the field after sitting his rookie year out recovering from his devastating college injury). They are young, obviously, but already are getting legitimate consideration as the best inside linebacking pair in the league. Both show incredible closing speed and the ability to finish plays against ball-carriers in space. And Sean Lee is hoping to return to action against the Eagles. If Rod Marinelli and Richard can figure out how to distribute the defensive snaps among them (maybe by getting all three on the field at times), the middle level of the defense is going to be a real horror story for opposing offenses. When they aren’t making plays behind the line, it must be added.Pressure up the middleOK, cheating a little here, because this didn’t show up so much as stats. But Troy Aikman repeatedly talked during the FOX broadcast about how the pass rush in Brees’ face kept him off balance and out of sync. Antwaun Woods, Maliek Collins, Daniel Ross, and Caraun Reid were almost on top of him all game. They were the unsung heroes of arguably the best defensive game in the league so far this season.Those are some numbers and data points that show both good and bad things for the Cowboys. It was a major accomplishment to go out and take one from one of the best teams in the NFL, but it also gives the coaches and players plenty to work on. The Dallas Cowboys being extremely relevant and on the cusp of a division title, as we all do our Christmas shopping [url=https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Robert-Newhouse-Jersey]Robert Newhouse Jersey[/url] , is a very enjoyable experience.The cold isn’t as bitter. Those special sugar cookies are a little sweeter. Everything we do, look at, or experience is made all the more great by America’s Team being at the top of the NFC East with yuletide greetings.As you can imagine Cowboys fans are feeling quite good about the state of things. Each week we’ve been measuring confidence of the fan base with SB Nation’s FanPulse tool and we are almost at a season high. In fact you could actually argue that we have topped out during the season as the only point where confidence was higher was before any games had kicked off.Growth has been incremental over the five-game win streak that the Cowboys are riding, and maybe that’s because we’ve all been scarred before. The peaks and valleys from earlier in the season were much more sharp and large in terms of the direction they jumped, but lately fans are coming ever so slowly out of the woodwork to believe again.The largest movement thus far has been the drop following Week 1’s loss to the Carolina Panthers. You’d have thought that maybe the wins over New Orleans or Philadelphia (last week, I know you’re confused since the Cowboys swept the Eagles this season, it’s never not fun to say) would have caused larger jumps, but again, people are reserved.Dallas is a win (or a loss from Philly and Washington) away from securing their third division title in five seasons. While the Eagles won the Super Bowl in that stretch of time, 60% success rate is pretty impressive regardless of what team you’re talking about. That merits some serious belief in the organization (not total belief, obviously).The rest of the NFC East is either sad or delusionalWith the division basically wrapped up under the Christmas tree at AT&T Stadium (hopefully it’ll be opened before December 25th) it’s understandable that the three stooges in the NFC East would be feeling quite down. That’s definitely the case. Grid View Both the Eagles and Redskins fan bases have reached the point of fandom where they’re curled up in a ball and sobbing because the season went south. Such is life in sports, although Philadelphia has a lot more problems than just losing.What’s interesting to note here is that fans of the New York Giants are actually feeling quite good about their team. To be fair the G-Men have won four of their last five games, but to be equally fair Eli Manning is still their quarterback. Whatever helps them sleep at night, I guess.
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