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They outscored Tennessee and St. Louis 60-41 on the road, but both teams were 7-9 last year and are off to 1-2 starts this season. The Rams were missing two of their best players in quarterback Sam Bradford and defensive end Chris Long, and yet Dallas still dug a 21-0 hole there before saving face with an impressive comeback.
If the Cowboys truly are better now—if the defense has somehow improved despite a slew of departures and injuries and if that new-look, run-first offense can maintain a 2013 pace while insulating less-than-100-percent quarterback Tony Romo—then they'll find a way to beat a powerful yet vulnerable New Orleans Saints team Sunday night.
This is Dallas' big chance to flip the script. Prime time, at home and against a team that embarrassed it last season.
It was November when the two met in 2013, and the Cowboys were on the road. They weren't expected to win that game, but at 5-4 they were expected to compete. It was yet another chance for them to break from the orbit of the .500 mark after back-to-back 8-8 seasons and another pedestrian start.
But instead they lost 49-17 in a game that saw the Saints convert 40 first downs to the Cowboys' nine. It was the franchise's fourth-most-lopsided loss this century and an indictment on a defense that had hit rock bottom.
It was the second time in less than a year that New Orleans lit up the Dallas defense:
Unsurprisingly, 5-5 Dallas went 3-3 from that point forward, defeating three losing teams and losing to three winning teams. Same old, same old for a franchise that had exactly 136 wins and 136 losses since the 1997 season.
If head coach Jason Garrett is going to save his job, Romo is going to start paying off financially and the Cowboys as a whole are going to start delivering on the field in order to reward the league's largest fanbase for its loyalty, they'll have to start by beating good teams.
At home, Dallas is only a three-point underdog against a Saints team that has already lost road games against Atlanta and Cleveland this season.
I know Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a future Hall of Famer and his weapons—All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and sensational receivers Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills—won't be easy for a defense lacking four 2013 starters to contain.
But that New Orleans defense surrendered 63 combined points in losses to the Falcons and Browns. That defense, which lost Jabari Greer, Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper and Will Smith in the offseason, made Matt Ryan look like Peyton Manning and Brian Hoyer look like someone other than Brian Hoyer. It's early, but they're one of only two defenses in football that has generated fewer than two takeaways, and they rank 29th in the league against the pass.
That's why the Cowboys are only a three-point underdog Sunday night, according to Odds Shark. This thing is winnable, especially if they can stay disciplined against that D while preventing Brees from making big plays. Getting top cornerback Orlando Scandrick back in a full-time role will help.
Beyond this, Dallas has a favorable home game against the Texans before having to travel to Seattle. A win here could give them a solid chance to open up 4-1. That type of separation from the .500 mark would be huge, especially with the Seahawks looming.
The Giants and Commanders will enter the weekend with a combined three wins in eight games, and the depleted Eagles are in tough one on the road against the 49ers. There's a window here.
The Cowboys have started 2-2 each of the last three years, leading to 8-8 finishes in all three cases. They haven't been 3-1 since 2008. This is this team's big chance to break the mold. It's still early, but Sunday's game might be the most important September game this team has played during the Jason Garrett era.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
Follow @Brad_Gagnon
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