The Dallas Cowboys had the most uncomfortable, comfortable win of the season in New Orleans against the Saints. With two and a half minutes left in the game, the Cowboys were up 17 points, but the game was closer than what the score board might have shown.
Dallas needed three interceptions in the last eight minutes of the game, one being a pick six, to finally pull away. Dallas had 14 drives on offense and only put up 20 points. They were absolutely atrocious on third down, only converting two out of 13 attempts, with six drives that went three-and-out. The Saints had more total plays and more rushing, passing, and total yards than the Cowboys. They topped Dallas in time of possession, also, 31:54 to 28:06.
Neither team was coming in whole, New Orleans might be the most injured team in football, having both offensive tackles, their two best weapons on offense, and a young stud edge rusher out. The Cowboys not only had big name players out, but the coaching staff was compromised by numerous members being in COVID-19 protocols.
Winning ugly allows a team to review a game like it was a loss, while still getting a win in the record column. Teams have to learn from winning ugly, and here are some things that were learned from the Saints game.