When Do the Saints Paly Again? Players

Information technology'south hard to believe, but we're at present into Calendar week xiii of the 2021 NFL season. This week's edition of "Thursday Night Football game" pits the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys, who take lost three of their concluding four games, confronting the New Orleans Saints, who are trying desperately to hold onto their playoff hopes in the absurdly crowded NFC after having lost four games in a row.

Dallas is closer to getting whole as it bring several players dorsum from either injury (CeeDee Lamb and Demarcus Lawrence) or COVID-19 (Amari Cooper), merely will also be without caput omnibus Mike McCarthy (COVID-nineteen) and several assistants. New Orleans is still dealing with several of import injuries, just should at least get Mark Ingram back in the lineup, and may take Alvin Kamara likewise.

So, which of these two teams will get back on rails? We can't await to notice out. Permit'south break down the matchup.

How to watch

Date: Thursday, Dec. ii |Time: 8:xx p.m. ET
Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
TV: FOX |Stream:fuboTV (click hither)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Cowboys -4.5, O/U 47.5

When the Cowboys have the brawl

For the kickoff fourth dimension ever, the Cowboys will have each of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and La'el Collins -- aka the core players of their criminal offense -- in the starting lineup together. They've had games where only one or 2 of those players were out, but never take they had all eight on the field together. So, this should exist an interesting game to watch on that level alone.

Of course, not all of those players are fully healthy. Elliott has been dealing with a knee injury for several weeks, and despite Jerry Jones' repeated assertions that the running back is only fine, he is very conspicuously not. Prior to the team's bye, Elliott was averaging 5.one yards per comport. Since then, he's at only 3.4 per conduct. Tony Pollard has been less effective during that more recent stretch than he was before in the twelvemonth, too, but not to the aforementioned degree as Elliott. And Pollard has at to the lowest degree broken some big plays during that time. Zeke hasn't broken a run longer than 11 yards since Calendar week half-dozen, and has only two carries of 10 or more than yards in that fourth dimension.

Running behind the total-force offensive line (with Collins in the lineup in place of Terrence Steele, who is on the reserve/COVID-nineteen list and unable to inexplicably start ahead of Collins) should help both players. Having to confront the Saints' No. i-ranked run defense (by Football Outsiders' DVOA) probably volition not help, but if at that place's any offensive line that come move the Saints' seemingly immovable front end, it might exist that of the Cowboys. Dallas checks in second in Football Outsiders' Adjusted Line Yards and offset in Pro Football Focus' run-blocking grades. That hasn't helped the team run the brawl all that well of late, just that may have something to do with being without at least ii of Smith, Collins, Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb in their recent games.

The line being at full forcefulness should afford Dak Prescott the best protection that he's had in recent weeks. It hasn't been a major event for the Cowboys, merely when the group up front is really cooking and Prescott has time to ready his feet and look downfield, he is as dangerous as any passer in the league -- as we saw before this season.

We don't notwithstanding know whether or not we'll see a full workload for Cooper, who is returning from the COVID list. Mike McCarthy told reporters before in the calendar week that Cooper was withal non feeling neat and had a bad cough, and he got in only one limited do during the calendar week. It seems reasonable to expect Lamb and Gallup to play nigh of the snaps in two-receiver sets, while Cooper joins them on the field when Dallas goes 3-wide (which is most of the fourth dimension) -- even if just to preserve Cooper's energy.

Cooper'southward likely return moves Lamb back to the slot, which provides the Cowboys with a large advantage. The Saints take immune 66 catches for 690 yards to receivers aligned in the slot, per PFF. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is the team's most heavily-utilized slot encompass homo, and he'southward allowing career-highs in completion percent, yards per target, and passer rating.

It'll be interesting to run into whether the Saints use Marshon Lattimore, their top corner, on Cooper or Gallup on the outside. Cooper is the ameliorate player, only he'southward likewise a worse matchup for Lattimore (much similar Stefon Diggs was a week agone). He might be able to exercise more than good for the New Orleans defense by taking away the deeper routes to Gallup than trying to stay with Cooper on short and intermediate stuff. That would go out Cooper to piece of work against rookie Paulson Adebo, though, and the Saints might not desire to task him with that responsibility. However New Orleans lines up, Dallas should have advantages on the outside.

Meanwhile, Demario Davis should exist able to practise a solid chore of taking away passes to one of Prescott'due south favorite outlets over the center of the field: Dalton Schultz. Davis continues to play at an extremely high level even every bit he nears his mid-30s, and while he's not quite the coverage player he was at his height, he is withal quite good.

When the Saints have the ball

It appears every bit though the Saints volition exist changing class and starting Taysom Hill at quarterback, rather than Trevor Siemian. Many expected Hill to open the flavor every bit the team'due south starter, only for Sean Payton to opt for Jameis Winston instead. When Winston got injured, it was once again expected that Loma would start, simply he was stilll dealing with the after-furnishings of a concussion at the time, so the Saints rolled with Siemian. Averaging simply 6.three yards per attempt and having racked up an 0-four tape as a starter, he'll now hit the bench.

Colina had some success as a backup starter terminal flavour, simply information technology'south worth noting how much unlike his supporting bandage was then than it is non. For one thing, Michael Thomas is out for the year. So is Andrus Peat. Jared Cook is on the Chargers, and Adam Trautman is injured. Both Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk are listed as questionable, but seem unlikely to play afterward logging DNPs on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Alvin Kamara is questionable besides subsequently being limited all week. If he plays, he seems unlikely to see his total compliment of snaps.

Colina performed improve than expected as a passer when he filled in last flavor (82 of 114 for 834 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions across four games), but he will likely challenge the Dallas defense more with his abilities every bit a runner -- especially in these circumstances.

The Dallas defence force has non been most equally solid confronting the run (18th in DVOA) every bit against the pass (fourth), and it has yet to confront a quarterback who can threaten the defense equally a rusher like Hill can. The only two mobile quarterbacks the team has played confronting are Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, who each run the ball as more of a last resort. It'll be interesting to see how Dan Quinn'south defence, which plays extremely aggressively up the field, deals with a quarterback run threat both upwardly the eye and to the perimeter. (It'll also be interesting to see if being on the sideline, rather than in the booth, affects Quinn'south play-calling.)

Getting Demarcus Lawrence back on the field will surely help. Lawrence was widely, and rightly, considered the team's best defensive actor coming into the flavour, and he hasn't played since Calendar week 1 subsequently fracturing his foot in practice the following week. The Cowboys accept gotten by thanks to a breakout season from Randy Gregory (who is now on injured reserve himself) and the outrageous talent of Micah Parsons, simply information technology's notable that Lawrence is easily the squad's best edge defender against the run. That should assistance immensely against Hill.

Dallas has used Trevon Diggs to shadow the opponent'south top receiver fairly frequently this year, but it'southward tough to decide who that would be in this case. Tre'Quan Smith has seemingly taken over the target pb in contempo weeks, just that was with Siemian under center. Hill locked in on Thomas last yr, but he's not in the lineup. The Cowboys might be better served playing things straight up until the run into how the Saints want to attack in the passing game, and so adjusting to that plan.

Latest Odds: New Orleans Saints +6.five

Prediction: Cowboys 27, Saints 17

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Source: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cowboys-at-saints-how-to-watch-pick-time-tv-live-stream-everything-to-know-for-thursday-night-football/

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