METAIRIE White Morten Andersen Jersey , La. (AP) — Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan doesn’t sound interested in reviewing how the Saints gave up 48 points in Week 1 or 37 points in Week 3.“Early in the year, they gave up some points and yards and things like that, but you just really look at them in their last I guess three or four ballgames,” Linehan said.The more recent version of New Orleans’ defense hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in any of its past three games.“They’re just really doing a good job of getting stops and creating negative plays for the other team, whether it be sacks or turnovers,” Linehan said. “We’ve got a big challenge.”Indeed, for all the offensive star power in Thursday night’s Saints-Cowboys clash — from New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara to Dallas’ Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper — it is also about defenses that have played well lately. Or in the Cowboys’ case, most of the season.Dallas has not allowed an opponent to score more than 23 in any of its past three games, has not allowed 30 points in a game all season and ranks third in the NFL in points allowed per game at 19.4.“They’re playing extremely well,” Saints coach Sean Payton said of the Dallas defense. “Their front gets after the quarterback. I think that their back end is really good relative to their scheme. … They’re well-coached and I think that they’re playing with real good passion. It’s one of the better defenses we’ve seen.”Saints quarterback Drew Brees was similarly effusive in his praise.“Defensively, they fly around. They’re very well-coached, disciplined,” Brees said. “They are just doing all the things that the great defenses do — getting pressure on the quarterback, good against the run. So really in every facet of what you would say is winning football, championship-caliber football, these guys are doing it right now.”Cowboys coach Jason Garrett cited coordinator Rod Marinelli’s work and an infusion of “some good young pieces on all three levels of our defense over the last couple of years” as reasons why Dallas has played well on that side of the ball this season.“The guys have a good understanding of what we want them to do and I think we play hard,” Garrett said. “We’re physical, we run to the ball and take great pride in being a great defensive unit.”Both defenses feature relatively young players in prominent roles, such as defensive end Taco Charlton, linebacker Jaylon Smith and safety Xavier Woods in Dallas, and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, linebacker Alex Anzalone and cornerback Marshon Lattimore in New Orleans.Meanwhile, each team has a playmaking defensive end in his prime: Cameron Jordan for the Saints and Demarcus Lawrence for the Cowboys. Their linebackers also are led by accomplished veterans in New Orleans’ Demario Davis and Dallas’ Sean Lee.New Orleans ranks No. 1 in the NFL against the run, which creates a compelling matchup against Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher.Some of the Saints’ success against the run stems from the fact they’ve played with large leads, which leaves opponents little choice but to try to come back through the air.“At the same time, you see the first, opening, couple drives — three-and-outs — limited success in (opponents’) run game,'” Jordan said. “There’s also been games where we had to play all four quarters, all 60 minutes and even beyond that, and we still come out with the same result.”Dallas is tied for fourth against the run as it prepares to face Kamara and Mark Ingram, and ranks 12th against the pass.The Saints have a less flattering No. 30 ranking against the pass, but have been able to counter that with turnovers, such as three in the red zone against Atlanta last week. And they’ve gotten good pressure on quarterbacks, with 13 sacks in the past three games.“I don’t think quarterbacks are getting comfortable back there,” Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison said. “There’s not space for them to step up. You can’t escape on the edges. I feel like when quarterbacks play against us now, they have to have that clock in their head. They know that, ‘If I don’t get this ball out, something’s going to happen to me.’ Especially with our offense doing so well, it allows us to pin our ears back and go attack the quarterback.”Game Balls from the Saints 33-18 capture of New York The New Orleans Saints won their third straight game, and second consecutive on the road, with a 33-18 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday. With the win Morten Andersen Jersey 2019 , the 3-1 Saintsmove into sole possession of first place in the NFC South over the idle Carolina Panthers. New Orleans won without having to rely on statistically strong performances from quarterback Drew Brees or wideout Michael Thomas. The Saints instead got an improved performance from their struggling defense. They allowed the Giants just 239 yards after their initial scoring drive, sacking Eli Manning 3 times, forcing two turnovers, and controlling the Giants playmakers. New Orleans still left some points on the board in the first half, and the Saints complimentary targets still have not shown a consistent ability to produce if Thomas or Kamara are controlled. Nevertheless, New Orleans still had control of the game throughout the final three quarters. Here are the game balls from this important conference win on the road. Alvin Kamara Brad Penner-USA TODAY SportsKamara takes his weekly place among our game ball recipients with his best rushing output of the season. He carried the ball 19 times for 134 yards and a team record tying three rushing touchdowns. He also added 47 yards receiving on a team-high five receptions. Kamara's 181 total yards were nearly 47% of the Saints total output for the day. The New Orleans game plan again called for attacking the defense on the perimeter with their rush attempts, hoping to get their second year superstar in space. Kamara also showed the ability to pick up tough yards between the tackles as well against a rugged New York defense. When more special teams buffoonery from Ted Ginn Jr. caused the Saints to be pinned at their 3-yd. line in a one score game, it was Kamara that saved the game. He would have four carries for 61 yards on a 6-play, 97-yd. march, and clinched the game on a 49 yard touchdown dash over the right side. Demario Davis Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsDavis' play is improving with each week, and is showing why his free agent addition this offseason had so many excited. The team's leading tackler had 11 more stops this game, including 2 tackles for loss, and 2 monstrous second half sacks on blitzes up the middle. Davis led a defensive charge that hurried and harassed Giants quarterback Eli Manning all afternoon, as well as controlling Saquon Barkley, the talented rookie running back. Outside of a 28-yd. rush due to broken outside containment, Barkley averaged only two yards per rush, and was held to 100 total yards on 16 touches. Davis has added athleticism to an improved New Orleans linebacking corps, and looks to be emerging into a playmaker for the defense. Taysom Hill Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsThe "swiss army knife" of the New Orleans team is more of a trick gadget than a primary offensive weapon, but one that seems to make plays on a weekly basis. Hill completed a pass to Justin Hardee on a fake punt that led to the Saints first score, and would have had his first career touchdown pass later in the first half, if not for a Kamara drop at the goal line. He also caught a pass, provided some key blocks in short yardage, and rushed for 28 yards. He is the team's second leading rusher on the season, and coach Sean Payton has been showing increasing confidence with his play calls when Hill is in the game. Taylor Stallworth and Tyeler Davison Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesThe Saints were expected to pressure Manning with an outside rush from Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport against New York's struggling offensive tackles. While both Jordan and Davenport had solid games, recording multiple tackles for loss, it was the play of the Saints interior line that dominated. Davison returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with injury. He, Stallworth, and Sheldon Rankins stonewalled the Giants inside run attempts all afternoon, and provided good push on the New York pass pocket. Stallworth and Davison combined for five tackles, but also allowed the Saints linebackers to flow freely through the play to create havoc for the New York offense. Davison's 4th quarter sack of Manning forced a fumble that was recovered by Stallworth, and sealed an important road victory for the defending NFC South champions. Marshon Lattimore Photo by Al Bello/Getty ImagesWhen you scoop up a fumble and are on the way to a sure touchdown, only to get pushed out of bounds by one of the slowest quarterbacks in the league, you may not be worthy of a game ball. Still, Lattimore provided exemplary pass coverage and physicality all afternoon. He was primarily responsible for holding Odell Beckham Jr. to just 59 yards in five catches, including minus four yards in the first half, visibly frustrating the Giants star. Fellow corner Ken Crawley still had his struggles, and New York wideout Sterling Shepard caught 10 passes, a touchdown, and a 2-pt. conversion, but the Saints secondary prevented any big plays over the top. Lattimore, last season's defensive rookie of year, will need to continue this kind of lockdown, physical performance if the New Orleans pass defense is going to repeat it's 2017 success. www.nflshopoutlet.com/cincinnati-bengals