NEW ORLEANS – Shortly after midnight, the Fleur de Lis that adorns midfield at the Superdome had vanished, swept away in preparation for a Sunday bowl game.
Kind of fitting then that the Saints saw their perfect season vanish on that same part of the field.
Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware sacked Drew Brees, forcing a fumble that bounced around the black emblem before the Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff fell on it with six seconds to play Saturday night.
The Saints’ magic had finally run out.
New Orleans lost its bid for an undefeated season, losing to Dallas 24-17 in the Superdome.
“I’m not going to say we ran out of gas,” Saints safety Roman Harper said. “It’s almost like the clock ran out on us.”
For the second time this season, the Saints (13-1) fell behind by 21 points. Unlike at Miami, however, there was no full-scale comeback.
But Dallas (9-5) certainly tried to give the Saints a shot. Just like two weeks prior, a window opened at the end of the game when an opposing kicker missed a chip-shot field goal. This time it was Nick Folk and this time it clanged off the right upright instead of flying wide.
Brees and the offense – stuffed for much of the night – converted a fourth-and-10, a third-and-five and a second-and-10 to get from their own 20 to Dallas’ 42. However, with 12 seconds to play, Ware came through with his second sack and second forced fumble of the game.
“There’s a reason he’s the highest paid d-end in the league,” said Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who was beaten off the end by Ware on the play. “That’s what he gets paid to do, is make plays and I didn’t hold up on my part. So yeah, that’s about it.”
Brees finished the game 29 of 45 for 298 yards and a touchdown with an interception and the Saints fifth-ranked rushing attack gained only 65 yards on 13 carries.
But the stat of the game came down to third down, where Dallas was 8 of 15 while the Saints were only 1 of 7.
“They did a good job of staying back and not really allowing the big play,” Brees said. “We just didn’t really do a good job of sustaining drives and taking the underneath stuff or being able to convert third downs and move the football. We just didn’t execute very well tonight.”
Dallas took a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game when Tony Romo connected with Miles Austin for a 49-yard touchdown. Rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins bit on the play, giving Austin the opening he needed to quiet the at-that-point rowdy Superdome crowd.
The Saints trailed by two touchdowns a short time later after another three-and-out. This time, Marion Barber plunged into the end zone from the Saints’ 3. With 5:15 left in the opening quarter, New Orleans found itself behind 14-0.
Garrett Hartley’s 34-yard field goal with 7:23 to play in the opening half cut into Dallas’ lead 14-3.
Ware’s first forced fumble led to another Dallas score, this time on a Folk 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds to go in the second quarter.
“We just couldn’t put enough snaps together,” Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said. “We struggled on third down specifically and when you do that, you are going to have less snaps and you are off the field more.”
Dallas took the opening possession of the second half and just about put the game out of reach, going 74 yards in 13 plays. Barber’s second touchdown of the game handed Dallas a 24-3 lead.
New Orleans finally got into the end zone with 12:35 left in the game. Mike Bell raced the left end and barely got into the end zone from the 1. But the score cut into the deficit, making it 24-10 with most of the fourth quarter to play.
After a big defensive stop, the Saints officially announced their return to life with a seven play, 70-yard scoring drive capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Lance Moore.
New Orleans trailed by 21 entering the fourth quarter and with eight minutes to play, they were down only 24-17.
But the comeback fell short and now the Saints must regroup for a home game a week from Sunday against Tampa Bay. It’s a must-win game for the Saints if they want to keep alive hope of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
