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Cold Brees just what Dallas Cowboys needed
By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune

It wasn't just the poorly thrown interception in the second quarter that signaled Saturday night wouldn't belong to Drew Brees.

Or solely the two fumbles off sacks, both recovered by the Dallas Cowboys -- one in the second quarter to lead to a field goal and the other in the fourth quarter to squash the New Orleans Saints' hopes for one more miracle -- and both caused by a defensive end (DeMarcus Ware) who was wheeled off the field in Dallas on a stretcher seven days ago with a neck injury.
As much, you knew the Cowboys would be rewarded for their dominance, and that Saints would experience defeat for the first time this season, when Brees caught his own batted pass and lost 4 yards with two minutes left in Dallas' 24-17 victory at the Superdome.
Because with the kind of season Brees has had and the kind of year he has engineered for the Saints, it only would've been fitting if he'd caught the ricochet, ran 15 yards for a first down and guided the Saints to a game-tying touchdown to extend the December misery for Dallas.
That comfortably would've aligned with what Brees and the Saints have done this season.
But the Cowboys (9-5) repeatedly made Saturday uncomfortable for Brees. And if Brees is uncomfortable, the Saints (13-1) are uncomfortable.
And much more beatable.
Pair that with the Dallas offense having its way with the Saints' defense, and it was a killer combination for New Orleans. And an off night by Brees standards (29-for-45 for 298 yards and a touchdown, and the interception) isn't enough to offset a miserable night by the defense, which allowed Dallas to convert eight of 15 third-down attempts, coughed up 439 yards and was on the field for 73 snaps and 36:26 of the game.
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"Early on we felt like we couldn't get in a rhythm, " Brees said. "We didn't do much to help our defense or help them get off the field. Early on, we just weren't able to get in a rhythm and that was disappointing.
"They've got a good defense and they deserve a lot of credit. Unfortunately, we didn't handle it very well. We weren't very good on third downs. We were 1-of-7 (on third down) -- that's not going to score you many points."
In fairness, Brees can't be as perfect every time he sets foot on national television as he was the last time, when he shredded New England. The man is so phenomenal that, literally, we often forget to remember that he's a man and that every performance won't be virtuoso.
But the fact, too, is that given the likelihood of the Saints' battered defense having an off night, the Brees-led offense simply might have to do more or, at least, do what has become average for it. And when it bats under its average, and the defense strikes out, trouble can loom.
The two second-quarter turnovers were devastating. The interception killed a drive that reached the Dallas 41-yard line with two minutes left in the half and the Saints trailing 14-3. The fumble -- after the Cowboys brainlocked and had to punt because they threw a couple of incomplete passes on drive after the interception -- gave Dallas possession at the Saints' 24 with 45 seconds left in the first half.
The Cowboys kicked a field goal, took a 17-3 halftime lead and hung on.
"We left ourselves in a hole, basically, and we weren't able to come out of it, " Coach Sean Payton said.
The digging started with a lack of protection for Brees. He was sacked four times (one sack was wiped out due to a Dallas penalty), pressured repeatedly and unable to get in rhythm.
And if the mixture of frustration and disbelief that appeared to grace his face after his deep pass for Devery Henderson was intercepted -- a mix that Saints fans related to most of the night -- looked displaced, it's because it was.
Because during the most successful regular season in Saints history, that combination was a potion Brees had avoided even during the rare dips in his play. New Orleans' Pro Bowl, league MVP-caliber quarterback had engineered 13 consecutive victories before Saturday night, several of them as pulsating as they were improbable.
But Dallas' desperation attacked the Saints' perfection with a machete and hacked it to bits.
The Saints' unblemished season took on a stain Saturday night, with the win-starved Cowboys improbably rising to a level they previously couldn't locate with a posse in late-season games. Dallas has an NFL-record 12 consecutive regular seasons without a winning record in December and January.
That didn't change against the Saints. The Cowboys still haven't done enough to say they've mastered December.
But they tamed the Saints, because they shackled Brees and his potent offense.

Cold Brees just what Dallas Cowboys needed: John DeShazier | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com