These are the type of heartbreakers the Dallas Cowboys probably thought they'd moved beyond.
On NFL Network
NFL Replay will re-air the
New Orleans Saints' 34-31 OT victory over the Dallas
Cowboys from Week 16 on Tuesday, Dec. 25 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Led by Tony Romo, the Cowboys wiped out a 14-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation, only to watch the New Orleans Saints recover -- mentally and physically -- to pull out a 34-31 win in overtime.
The game's penultimate play will be remembered in Big D, a fumble by Marques Colston that bounced nearly 25 yards before it was recovered by Jimmy Graham at the Cowboys' 2-yard line. After the play was upheld on review, Garrett Hartley knocked through a 20-yard field goal to end it.
The Cowboys drop to 8-7 with the loss but remain very alive in the NFC playoff picture. They trail the Washington Redskins by one game in the NFC East, but they will win the division with a victory in D.C. next week.
The Cowboys were fortunate just to get Sunday's game to overtime. Rob Ryan's defense had no answers for Drew Brees, who threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns. Dallas struggled to put pressure on Brees all afternoon, a task made more difficult when DeMarcus Ware was forced to exit the game in the second half with a shoulder strain. Ware returned in overtime, but he didn't last.
Though it will be overlooked now, Romo was outstanding, throwing for 416 yards and four touchdowns of his own. Romo was so hot, it was stunning to see the Cowboys punt the ball away in their first possession of overtime. Romo surely worried he wouldn't see the ball again. He didn't.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
