National Football League
New Orleans 34, Dallas 31
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 23, 2012
Where: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Walt Coleman
Attendance: 92570


Saints 34, Cowboys 31 (OT): Garrett Hartley kicked a 20-yard field goal 4:27 into overtime as visiting New Orleans ended Dallas' three-game winning streak and delivered a blow to its playoff hopes.

After the Saints (7-8) stopped the Cowboys on the opening possession of overtime, Marques Colston caught a 9-yard pass from Drew Brees before fumbling. Jimmy Graham recovered the ball at the Dallas 2, and Hartley booted his second field goal of the game on the next play to end the contest.

Tony Romo completed 26 of 43 passes for 416 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of 58-yarders to Dez Bryant in the second quarter. Bryant, who has at least one TD reception in each of his last seven games, had nine catches for 224 yards as Dallas (8-7) fell one game behind the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys can still win the NFC East with a victory at Washington next week but cannot reach the postseason via the wild card.

Brees was 37-of-53 for 446 yards and three scores while Colston had 10 catches for 153 yards. Darren Sproles also eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards, gaining 104 on seven receptions.

Dallas fell behind by 14 when David Thomas caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brees early in the fourth. But Romo provided late heroics to force overtime, connecting with Dwayne Harris on a 16-yard TD strike with 3:35 remaining before hitting Miles Austin for a 19-yard score on fourth-and-10 with 15 seconds to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New Orleans CB Jabari Greer exited the game with a concussion and did not return. It's unknown when he suffered the injury. ... Cowboys LB Ernie Sims left the contest in the first half with dizziness. Sims was forced out of last week's victory over Pittsburgh with a concussion. ... Dallas' Jason Witten set the single-season record for receptions by a tight end early in overtime with sixth catch of the day. With 103 catches, Witten eclipsed the previous mark set in 2004 by Tony Gonzalez.


Top Game Performances
Rushing
New Orleans   Dallas
Mark Ingram Player DeMarco Murray
21 Attempts 11
53 Yards 40
2.5 Avg Yards 3.6
1 Touchdowns 0
9 Long 9
Receiving
New Orleans   Dallas
Marques Colston Player Dez Bryant
10 Receptions 9
153 Yards 224
15.3 Avg Yards 24.9
0 Touchdowns 2
60 Long 58
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New Orleans 562 116 446 4 2 0 2.0 1
Dallas 446 40 406 4 1 0 0.0 2
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Cowboys have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Saints have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.