Another dud at home for the Cowboys, who still have plenty of games to play after this one
Another dud at home for the Cowboys, who still have plenty of games to play after this one
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)
New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young, left, tackles Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. The Saints won 44-19. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, right, makes a catch in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, center, fumbles the ball while being pressured by New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) and defensive end Carl Granderson (96) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, top right, takes a snap while running a play against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin, front, is wrapped up by New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
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)
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)
New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young, left, tackles Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young, left, tackles Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. The Saints won 44-19. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. The Saints won 44-19. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, right, makes a catch in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, right, makes a catch in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, center, fumbles the ball while being pressured by New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) and defensive end Carl Granderson (96) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, center, fumbles the ball while being pressured by New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) and defensive end Carl Granderson (96) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, top right, takes a snap while running a play against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, top right, takes a snap while running a play against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin, front, is wrapped up by New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin, front, is wrapped up by New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — No more having to twist around the reality of that playoff debacle to talk about what had been an NFL-best 16-game home win streak for the Dallas Cowboys.
That is over after another impressive in-game streak by the New Orleans Saints.
Loud chants of “Who Dat?” from visiting fans echoed loudly and got more frequent during the home opener for the Cowboys, who lost 44-19 after New Orleans scored touchdowns on its first six possessions on Sunday.
It was another dud at AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys (1-1) when expectations were so high.
Coming off a dominating season-opening win at Cleveland and with Dak Prescott playing his first game since signing a $240 million, four-year contract. the Cowboys instead lost again eight months after their previous home game — when they fell behind 27-0 in the first half in a wild-card loss to Green Bay. They trailed the Saints 35-16 at the break.
“I’m not comparing last year to this year. We’re talking two completely different teams honestly,” Prescott said. “Talking a whole different defensive coordinator. You’re talking new players in different positions, particularly on offense.”
And now talking about another big disappointment, though there is still plenty of season left to play this year.
“Got to reset, and we’ve got to respond. ... We’re not going undefeated. It hasn’t been done in 50 years, what a surprise,” Prescott said.
“We’ve got so much ahead of us,” said owner Jerry Jones, who insisted that he really didn’t have any flashbacks to that 48-32 loss to the Packers. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of good players that can do the work. I’m confident we’ll get it done. We’ll learn from this.”
Prescott finished 27-of-39 passing for 293 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. He was sacked three times.
Dallas is the only team other than New England since 2000 to have a 16-game home win streak — the Patriots had four in that span. The Cowboys, whose previous regular-season loss at AT&T Stadium was the 2022 opener against Tampa Bay, came up short of their franchise-record 18 consecutive home wins from 1979-81.
Chicago now has the NFL’s longest home win streak at six in a row. The Bears’ next game at Soldier Field is in two weeks.
The Cowboys are back home next Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned right now just because it’s so early in the year. We can do so much better,” defensive end Micah Parsons said. “We didn’t do our job to our best of our standard, and the standard wasn’t held today.”
After scoring on their first nine possessions in their season opener, the Saints already had 310 total yards on 26 plays (11.9 yards per play) at halftime after scoring on all five drives. The first four of those were at least 70 yards, and they needed only 20 on the last one after an interception in the final minute.
“Unacceptable,” Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs said. “It’s unacceptable we didn’t come to play today.”
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