This time, it’s the Saints who had to make one of the longest shortest flights in the NFL, the distance extended by the sheer weight of the defeat.
After pummeling the Cowboys in recent years, they were the ones taking the beating Sunday night, losing 38-17 on Sunday Night Football to fall to 1-3.
“We were disappointed and slightly embarrassed,” Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton said, via Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Having been there before, such as last year’s 49-17 loss in New Orleans, the Cowboys know the feeling.
“They got the ride home this time. I had it last time, and it’s not fun. It’s a long ride. I never knew,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I’ve had New Orleans friends all my life, but it’s a long ride when you have a night like I had a year ago.”
The Saints made a brief run to close to within two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but fell short in part after a ridiculous fake punt attempt.
“When you look at the final score, you see 38-17 and think ‘Man they didn’t have a shot,’” quarterback Drew Brees said. “But despite the 24-0 deficit coming out of the half, it still felt like something within our grasp. ... It was there for us to take.”
Instead, all they took was a beating.
