be thinking, "this is just our year." It wasn't two weeks earlier that Washington had the Saints beat in the same, exact way. The Redskins were up by seven points after virtually dominating all game long, and had a 23-yard field goal attempt in the final two minutes to seal the win.
Instead, Washington kicker Shaun Suisham shanked his kick to the right, giving the ball back to Brees, who threw a touchdown pass moments later to force overtime, where the Saints eventually prevailed.
Well, that was Suisham's last field goal with the Redskins. Who knows if that's what the Cowboys end up doing with Folk, who has now missed a kick in the last six games.
But unlike the Redskins, the Cowboys didn't let that miss deflate them.
"We just kept fighting," Witten said. "The defense played outstanding. To do that against the Saints - they're a great team - but our defense just stepped up all game. We didn't put them in the best situations but they made big plays, especially down at the end."
Sure, the Saints got past midfield - you knew it wouldn't be that easy - but this Cowboys team just found a way. It's sound simple enough, but they haven't done that in the past. This is not a characteristic we've seen from the Cowboys lately, being able to step on the throat when it's time.
But they did all of that here Saturday night.
No, this team isn't completely cured. They're not out of the woods yet either, as they currently sit in the final NFC Wild Card spot.
But they proved a lot of things with this win. They showed they can win big games. They showed they can win on the road in what has to be the toughest place to play these days. They showed they can win a big game in the final month of a calendar.
More than anything, they showed an ability to fight. And not just to wait until a punch got thrown, but they actually did the swinging first.
This team has something. Whatever it is exactly, remains to be seen. But that something was good enough to answer that constant question New Orleans has been boastfully singing all year.
It was the Cowboys, to beat' dem Saints.
