New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo (29) runs with the ball after intercepting a pass by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
Derek Carr spent the offseason asking himself how he could have a faster start in a second season with the New Orleans Saints.
What amounted in his mind to a doubling up of plays in practice was one of the answers, and it's sure working so far.
Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns, including a 57-yarder on a screen pass, and the Saints ended Dallas’ 16-game home winning streak in the regular season with a 44-19 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday.
Carr threw for 243 yards and two TDs to go along with a 1-yard sneak for a score, and the Saints (2-0) got touchdowns on their first six drives a week after setting a franchise record by starting the season with points on nine consecutive possessions in a 47-10 rout of Carolina.
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The 33-year-old Carr started slowly a year ago, and the Saints ended up missing the playoffs on tiebreakers.
It stuck with a quarterback who has made the playoffs just twice and gotten a chance to play just once over 11 seasons, the first nine with the Raiders before the switch to New Orleans.
“I promised our team, and I promised our city I would do anything,” Carr said. “I know it’s not going to be perfect, but I will do everything in my power, exhaust everything that I could even begin to imagine to try to just be better this year. So far we’ve started off good.”
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It was actually the second straight loss at AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys (1-1) after their 48-32 wild-card shocker against Green Bay last January.
A week after holding Cleveland to 54 yards and one first down before halftime in a 33-17 victory, Dallas gave up two TD passes longer than that before the break — Rashid Shaheed’s 70-yarder, a career long, on a perfect deep throw and Kamara's catch-and-run that started behind the line of scrimmage.
The Saints kicked four field goals in offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's sparkling debut as their play-caller. There was no settling for three while taking control against Dallas.
Score one for the 37-year-old son of former NFL coach Gary Kubiak in his second game over 68-year-old defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer in his second game since returning to the Cowboys.
New Orleans finished with 432 yards and scored at least 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2018 when coach Sean Payton was calling the plays for quarterback Drew Brees.
The Saints are the fifth team to score at least 44 points in each of the first two games. They also were the most recent — in 2009, the season in New Orleans won its only Super Bowl.
“It’s just important to get off to a fast start,” said safety Tyrann Mathieu, who had one of two interceptions of Dak Prescott. “I think the last two years, we’re like one or two games outside the playoff race. We think about a lot of those games that we played that we let slip. This is a good feeling.”
Kamara, who had 180 scrimmage yards (115 rushing), capped an opening 80-yard drive with a 5-yard run, and Carr hit Shaheed in stride between safeties Wilson and Malik Hooker on the first play after the first of Brandon Aubrey's four field goals for Dallas. Shaheed had 96 yards receiving.
Carr was 11 of 16 but lost his perfect passer rating early in the fourth quarter when he was intercepted by Donovan Wilson with the Saints leading 41-19.
The mistake didn't matter, unlike early in the season a year ago when criticism mounted in Carr's slow start after he fell short of the postseason so many times with the Raiders.
“I would be lying if I stood up here and told you that it didn’t hurt him,” Kamara said. “I’m sure it hurt him. For him to come out and perform, it almost feels better for me seeing that than me getting the success.”
The long TD from Kamara, who had his career high with six TDs against Minnesota in 2020 when Zimmer was head coach of the Vikings, came after the Cowboys settled for three again.
Dallas tried to keep up when CeeDee Lamb ducked out of a tackle and ran the rest of the way on a 65-yard score, but Prescott had the first of his two interceptions on the next series.
Jalen Brooks slipped coming out of a route and Paulson Adebo weaved his way for 47 yards on the return, setting up Carr’s sneak for a 35-13 lead.
Prescott was 27 of 39 for 293 yards in his first game since signing the $240 million, four-year contract with a record $231 million guaranteed. He agreed to the deal hours before beating the Browns last weekend.
“It’s hard to say that we’re pressing, but obviously you’re trying to play complementary football and your defense is struggling to stop a group,” Prescott said. “You want to do your part and then score touchdowns and come back and we weren’t able to score touchdowns.”
Injuries
Saints CB Marshon Lattimore was out with hip and hamstring issues after leaving the victory over the Panthers. ... TE Taysom Hill exited in the second half with a chest injury. ... Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson was out with a left knee injury sustained against the Browns.
Up next
Saints: Philadelphia at home next Sunday.
Cowboys: Baltimore at home next Sunday.
