Marques Colston nearly fumbled away the game in overtime but some quick hustle by Jimmy Graham allowed the Saints to sneak away with a victory.

After missing his first field goal attempt earlier in the game, Garrett Hartley nailed his next two, including the overtime game-winner, as the Saints held on in Dallas to beat the Cowboys 34-31.

It was complete domination by New Orleans for the entire first quarter in Dallas with 11 first downs, 12:03 in time of possession, 154 total yards and a perfect 4/4 on 3rd down conversions. The Saints were able to really pull away in the third quarter after capitalizing on a DeMarco Murray fumble at the Cowboys own 5-yard line.

But Dallas was able come back and force overtime following touchdown passes to Dwayne Harris and Miles Austin in the final 3:35 of regulation tied the score at 31 apiece.

The Cowboys would punt after winning the overtime coin toss and receiving the ball first.

Then this happened:

The Saints finished with 562 total offensive yards, the 5th most ever in franchise history. Marques Colston quietly racked up 153 yards and Darren Sproles added another 152 through both the ground and air.

On the other side of the ball, the defense took a step backward today after displaying steady improvement in the second half of the season and shutting out the Buccaneers last week. Pass coverage was atrocious, most noticeably by Patrick Robinson, as Dez Bryant had a field day with 224 yards and 2 TDs.

Unfortunately, none of it matters because the Saints have already been mathematically eliminated from the 2012 NFL playoff race.

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