THURSDAY NIGHT PREVIEW: DALLAS COWBOYS (7-4) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-6)
Week 13 of the 2021 NFL season gets underway on Thursday, December 2 (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon) as the Dallas Cowboys (7-4) visit the New Orleans Saints (5-6). Both teams enter Week 13 after competing on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys lead the all-time regular-season series, 17-13, with the home team winning each of the past five meetings. In their last contest, Week 4 of the 2019 season, Saints running back ALVIN KAMARA totaled 89 scrimmage yards (69 rushing, 20 receiving) and safety MARCUS WILLIAMS recorded an interception on the final play as New Orleans earned a 12-10 victory over Dallas.
The Cowboys are coming off an overtime loss against Las Vegas as quarterback DAK PRESCOTT passed for 375 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receivers MICHAEL GALLUP (106 receiving yards) and CEDRICK WILSON (104) each recorded their first 100-yard receiving games of the season. Since 2016, Prescott has 12 games with at least 375 passing yards, tied with PATRICK MAHOMES for the most in the league over that span. He has 2,932 passing yards this season and can reach 3,000 passing yards for the fifth time in his six-year career.
Running back EZEKIEL ELLIOTT recorded his eighth rushing touchdown of the season last week and has a touchdown in each of his two career games against New Orleans. Since entering the league in 2016, he leads all players with 9,289 scrimmage yards and with 52 scrimmage yards would reach 1,000 for the sixth-consecutive season. Wide receiver AMARI COOPER has at least five receptions in each of his three career games against New Orleans. He aims for his fourth in a row on Thursday with a touchdown reception and ninth in a row in Thursday games with at least five catches. Wide receiver CEEDEE LAMB has 100-or-more receiving yards in three of his five road games this season.
Rookie linebacker MICAH PARSONS leads all rookies in sacks (nine) and tackles for loss (15) and can become the first rookie since JOEY BOSA (2016) to record a sack in five consecutive games. Cornerback TREVON DIGGS leads the league with eight interceptions this season and ranks tied for second with 13 passes defensed.
The Saints find themselves within one game of a playoff spot entering Week 13. Kamara has 14 touchdowns (11 rushing, three receiving) in his past eight home games and needs one reception to surpass ROGER CRAIG (358 receptions) for the most receptions by a running back in his first five seasons all-time. Running back MARK INGRAM aims for his third in a row with at least 100 scrimmage yards and leads all active running backs with 7,823 rushing yards.
Defensive end CAMERON JORDAN has 15.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 11 career games on Thursday. With one sack, he would reach five sacks for the 10th-consecutive season. Linebacker DEMARIO DAVIS is one of two players (T.J. WATT) with at least 10 tackles for loss in each of the past five seasons while cornerback MARSHON LATTIMORE is one of three players (JAMES BRADBERRY and MARLON HUMPHREY) with at least 10 passes defensed in each of the past five seasons.
FOX will broadcast 10 Thursday Night Football games between Weeks 5-15 (excluding Thanksgiving night). Thursday’s game is slated to be simulcast via NFL Network, distributed in Spanish on FOX Deportes and streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
The game will feature Joe Buck, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink on the call for FOX. The Amazon broadcast features Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm, and the Amazon Scout’s feed is called by Bucky Brooks, Daniel Jeremiah and Joy Taylor.
