Dallas Cowboys motivated by doubters vs. New Orleans Saints

"We Dat!"

For 13 weeks New Orleans Saints fans have been asking the NFL "Who Dat Talkin' Bout Beaten Dem Saints?" On Saturday night at Superdome, the Dallas Cowboys had the answer:

"We Dat! -- 24-17."

The Cowboys did it by keeping quarterback Drew Brees and the league's hottest offense bottled up most of the night. And they did it with great play from their own quarterback, Tony Romo, who entered the gamer with the reputation of having a hard time winning in December.

Romo shredded the Saints' defense for 312 yards on 22-of-34 passing for a 104.0 rating. He was especially clutch on third down, converting eight of 15 opportunities.

And he did it with a little help from an unlikely source -- former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy.

"The coaches showed us a clip from Tony Dungy today, and he was asked what our chances were in this game -- and he said we had no chance, " Romo said.

"That came as surprise, considering it was an ex-coach who said it. It was able to motivate us.

"It's funny. We don't normally go into a game thinking we don't have any chance. But a lot of people were thin king that, and I can understand it, how we've been playing lately. But it motivated us."

Romo said his teammates took special pride in knocking off the undefeated Saints in the rowdy Superdome environment.

"It's a tough, tough place to play football, and (we) stepped up and played well, " he said. "I'm proud of the way our guys played."

Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips said his team's defensive game plan was "not to give up big plays" to the Brees-led Saints offense, especially in the first quarter.

"We wanted them to come down the field, to work for the things they were going to get, and to try to keep them off the field, " he said.

The Cowboys pressured Brees all game, sacking him four times and forcing two fumbles.

Desperately needing a win, the Cowboys set the tone early, taking their first drive 79 yards in just five plays with Romo hitting Miles Austin on a 49-yard touchdown pass.

By the end of the first quarter, Dallas had 195 yards -- the most yards for a single quarter by a Cowboys team in 18 years -- en route to a 14-0 lead

"That was big, getting the lead, " Phillips said. "I don't think we can play a better quarter of football. And against this team, you need all the point you can get."


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