Saints hold off Cowboys 34-31 in OT

Sports

December 26, 2012

Saints hold off Cowboys 34-31 in OT

By SCHUYLER DIXON/AP Sports Writer Associated Press Wed Dec 26, 2012, 09:51 AM CST

ARLINGTON, Texas — Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints won't go to the playoffs in their season without suspended coach Sean Payton. The Dallas Cowboys again need help to get there.

Playing near Payton's home in a Dallas suburb, Brees threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns and led a drive to Garrett Hartley's winning 20-yard field goal in overtime, and the Saints took the Cowboys' playoff fate out of their hands with a 34-31 overtime victory on Sunday.

The Saints, who started 0-4 after being stunned by the yearlong ban for Payton in the team's bounty scandal, lost their faint playoff hopes when Minnesota beat Houston, and had to hold off a two-touchdown rally in the final 3:35 from the Cowboys.

Tony Romo had 416 yards passing and four touchdowns, including a 19-yarder to Miles Austin with 15 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.

"We're never going to let anyone tell us we're not playing for something," Brees said. "We knew there were a lot of things that had to happen. We wanted to worry about the things we could control. What would have been worse is if Minnesota had lost and we had lost."

After New Orleans forced a punt on the first possession of overtime, Brees moved the Saints to the Cowboys 33. He completed a pass to Marques Colston, who took a couple of steps before Morris Claiborne stripped the ball, sending it rolling about 20 yards to the Dallas 2.

Jimmy Graham, who said he dislocated a finger on a 26-yard catch to start the drive, won a scrum with Dallas' Eric Frampton, and the completion that started the bizarre play was held up on review, clearing the way for Hartley's kick.

"I looked at the replay and I knew there was a fumble," Claiborne said. "I was looking at it saying, 'Please, let the pass be incomplete.'"

The Cowboys, who had their third straight game decided on the last play, had retaken control of their playoff hopes with a three-game winning streak. After the loss, Dallas' best hope for the postseason rested with the New York Giants' game at Baltimore on Sunday. A Giants loss would give the Cowboys, who play at Washington in next week's finale, a chance to make the playoffs as NFC East champions. Their chances of making the postseason as a wild card are remote.

The Cowboys pulled within a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Romo to Dwayne Harris and got the ball back with 1:29 remaining. Romo led the Cowboys 64 yards in seven plays, capped by the tying toss to Austin, who caught the ball on his knees in the end zone. It was Dallas' third overtime game in the past five at home.

"There was no panic," Brees said. "It was almost like we knew the game would come down to something like this. We just wanted that opportunity and the defense gave it to us."

Romo also had a pair of 58-yard scoring passes to Dez Bryant, who had a career-high 224 yards receiving. Romo was 26 of 43 and broke his own franchise record for passing yards in a season. He has 4,685.

The Saints will host Carolina Sunday.

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