Saints vs Cowboys: Who are the experts picking in Week 13?

The New Orleans Saints trudge toward Week 13 with back-to-back losses against the Eagles and Bills. Unfortunately for them, NFL experts believe NOLA will take another L against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.

NOLA is a 4.0-point underdog in this matchup despite being the home team. No surprise there.

The Saints’ recent landslide could be halted with Taysom Hill starting at quarterback this game, but Hill’s performance remains a toss-up.

New Orleans would like Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram back on the field as soon as possible, but both have been limited in practice so far.

On their opponents’ end, CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper will likely re-enter the lineup after missing Week 12, and Dallas also gets a boost with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence’s return.

Both teams lost big on Thanksgiving day, but no one would argue that the Saints are in the worse position right now.

Everyone saw how quickly the Saints crumbled against the Bills’ top-ranked offense, and they may fall behind yet again to a Cowboys unit that scored 33 points without their best two wideout threats.

Here’s what the experts have to say about Week 13:

Expert picks for New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys

• Ben Rolfe (Pro Football Network) – Cowboys 28, Saints 20
• Ashley Anderson (Twin Spires) – Cowboys 27, Saints 21
• Matt Johnson (Sportsnaut) – Cowboys 26, Saints 24
• Top Bet – Cowboys 27, Saints 20

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a close game, per these NFL writers.

All four writers predict this will come down to one score, which seems pretty generous based on New Orleans’ current team form.

Pro Football Network’s Rolfe offers an inkling of a potential upset in his prediction:

"The Saints will be hoping to get Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram back, but their offensive woes are bigger right now than those two. It is tough to see how this Saints offense can score enough to win this game, but the Cowboys’ defense did just manage to bring the Raiders’ failing offense back to life."

Las Vegas, at the very least, have offensive boom-potential threats in DeSean Jackson, Hunter Renfrow, and Josh Jacobs.

If neither Kamara nor Ingram plays on Thursday, the Saints will only have Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and a few other unimpressive names to rely on.

Add in the double-edged sword of Taysom Hill, and the Saints could be due for yet another blowout defeat.

After Week 13, New Orleans has a much easier slate of games ahead of them, but they have to go through Dallas first.