2012 Week 16 · Sun, Dec 23, 2012 · Cowboys Stadium
New Orleans SaintsWinner
34
at
Dallas Cowboys
31
DAL -1 upsetO 55 ✓Dome
New Orleans Saints 34–31 — decided on the final possessions.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · NO
37/53, 446 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
30.4 expected points added · +4.5% completion over expected
Passing · DAL
26/43, 416 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT
17.3 expected points added · +1.2% completion over expected
Receiving · NO
10/13 for 153 yds, 0 TD
25% of team targets · 10.2 expected points added
Full stat lines
Box score
New Orleans Saints
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Brees | 37/53 | 446 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 30.4 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Ingram | 21 | 53 | 2.5 | 1 | -6.1 |
| Darren Sproles | 9 | 48 | 5.3 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Pierre Thomas | 7 | 16 | 2.3 | 0 | -1.3 |
| Drew Brees | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Colston | 10 | 13 | 153 | 0 | 25% | 10.2 |
| Darren Sproles | 7 | 10 | 104 | 0 | 20% | 3.8 |
| Jimmy Graham | 7 | 11 | 88 | 0 | 22% | 5.1 |
| Pierre Thomas | 7 | 9 | 61 | 1 | 18% | 6.0 |
| Lance Moore | 4 | 5 | 30 | 1 | 10% | 5.7 |
| Mark Ingram | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2% | 0.2 |
| David Thomas | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2% | 1.0 |
| Devery Henderson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.6 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Robinson | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isa Abdul-Quddus | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Lofton | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Casillas | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Patrick | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| David Hawthorne | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Jordan | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tom Johnson | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Harper | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Herring | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Dallas Cowboys
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Romo | 26/43 | 416 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17.3 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeMarco Murray | 11 | 40 | 3.6 | 0 | -5.9 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dez Bryant | 9 | 12 | 224 | 2 | 29% | 13.8 |
| Jason Witten | 6 | 8 | 60 | 0 | 20% | 3.1 |
| DeMarco Murray | 4 | 6 | 51 | 0 | 15% | 0.4 |
| Miles Austin | 4 | 8 | 45 | 1 | 20% | 2.9 |
| Dwayne Harris | 1 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 7% | 1.9 |
| Kevin Ogletree | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2% | 0.6 |
| James Hanna | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2% | 0.6 |
| Felix Jones | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.6 |
| John Phillips | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.5 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Connor | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morris Claiborne | 9 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Anthony Spencer | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Carr | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Victor Butler | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brady Poppinga | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gerald Sensabaugh | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jason Hatcher | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alex Albright | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Peprah | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- DAL -1
- Closing total
- 55
- NO moneyline
- +131
- DAL moneyline
- -145
Cowboys closed -1 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 55; the game landed 65 — over by 10.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Cowboys Stadium
- Roof / surface
- closed · matrixturf
- Kickoff weather
- Indoors — weather neutralized
- Referee
- Walt Coleman
- Rest
- NO 7 days · DAL 7 days
- Coaches
- Joe Vitt vs Jason Garrett