Delhomme Leaves Dent in Cowboys

Jake Delhomme did something no other New Orleans quarterback had been able to do this season by helping the Saints to a come-from-behind victory.

And the Saint defense did something it hadn’t been able to do in a 31-24 upset of the Dallas Cowboys Friday.

Delhomme, playing in his first NFL game, passed for two touchdowns and ran for one while completing 16 of 27 passes for 278 yards. Keith Mitchell and Mark Fields teamed for an interception in the end zone that clinched victory for the Saints (3-12) and seriously damaged Dallas’ playoff chances.

“I stayed loose all week,” Delhomme said. “I think maybe the biggest thing that I might have done was stay calm and be relaxed. I think the players felt that.

“We were 2-12, we had nothing to lose. We might as well have fun.”

“He sure made some plays,” Cowboy Coach Chan Gailey said. “He threw it up and gave his receivers a chance to make a play for him. He got out of some tight spots. You’ve got to give him credit for the way he played.”

Said Dallas defensive back Darren Woodson: “They haven’t played well all season. We didn’t know the quarterback. We figured he wouldn’t be that good. But he was.”

Delhomme may have gotten Saint Coach Mike Ditka out of a tight spot as well.

Ditka, wrapping up his third losing season with New Orleans, admitted he had told his offense Tuesday that he would return next season, despite owner Tom Benson’s vow to shake up the losing team.

“I’ll be back,” Ditka said after Friday’s game. “I’ve said that all the way, all along.”

New Orleans, which beat the Cowboys, 22-3, last season, led in 10 of its 12 losses this season, but failed to hold on as the offense was unable to score points.

The most-productive outing previously was in a 24-6 victory over San Francisco. Against Baltimore last week, New Orleans scored eight points and made eight first downs.

Delhomme, who played in NFL Europe the last two springs but had not suited up since the Saints re-signed him four weeks ago, showed poise and a strong arm.

Delhomme’s first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted and he also lost a fumble when blindsided in the third quarter.

The Cowboys (7-8) seemed to have the upper hand early in the third quarter.

Troy Aikman hit Jason Tucker with a 20-yard touchdown pass on Dallas’ first possession for a 14-10 lead and Eddie Murray’s field goal stretched the lead to 17-10.

Delhomme found Eddie Kennison with a 51-yard scoring pass that tied it at 17-17.

Dallas came back quickly on David LaFleur’s three-yard reception to retake the lead, 24-17.

The Saints didn’t crumble. Delhomme’s touchdown on a four-yard, fourth-quarter draw tied the score and Fred Weary put the Saints ahead, 31-24, when he grabbed Emmitt Smith’s fumble and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

New Orleans, victimized by long passes this year, held on this time as Mitchell batted Aikman’s pass in the end zone into Fields’ hands with less than a minute left.

Aikman was 23 of 39 for 246 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions.

Delhomme’s inexperience didn’t seem to hurt him. His first pass was picked off by Woodson, but Delhomme came back on the next series to take the Saints 66 yards, setting up a 32-yard field goal that gave New Orleans a 3-0 lead.

On the next possession, Delhomme scrambled free to hit Keith Poole with an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 10-0 lead after one quarter.

Smith ran for a yard in the second quarter to make it 10-7 at halftime.

Smith finished with 110 yards in 23 carries.

The Cowboys had 11 penalties, including a holding call that nullified what would have been a 97-yard kickoff return by Tucker in the first quarter.

The Saints have not sold out a game in the 70,000-seat Superdome this year, and only 47,835 tickets were sold for the Christmas Eve game.

Actual attendance was at least 10,000 lower than that but the small crowd had a good time and stayed until the end.