Saints close out the 2026 preseason with 27-24 win over Cowboys at AT&T Stadium

The New Orleans Saints finished their 2026 preseason campaign with a 27-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 of the exhibition season on Aug. 28 at AT&T Stadium. The result capped a stretch in which both teams used game reps to sort out roles, test combinations, and evaluate depth at positions where the regular-season margins are usually thin.

For the Saints, a preseason finale carries a specific kind of pressure even without standings implications. Late-summer games are the last meaningful chance to confirm which starters and key reserves can sustain execution beyond scripted sequences. Coaches typically use these contests to tighten fundamentals, confirm timing between groups, and pressure-test what the team looks like when substitutions change the field.

Against Dallas, the Saints’ ability to finish with points mattered as the game moved through multiple looks. A one-possession outcome in a preseason finale is often less about a single unit dominating and more about which side manages the full sequence of possessions, including the exchange between momentum and field position. New Orleans’ four-point win suggests it played the closing phases cleanly enough to convert opportunities into points rather than allowing a late swing to decide the game.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, also treated the contest as a final evaluation checkpoint. Dallas’ response to trailing moments was part of the reason the score remained within one possession late. In preseason games, the scoreboard often reflects a tug-of-war between play-call experimentation and the growing clarity of which players can make it work when the game tightens, especially among second- and third-team groups.

This matchup also underscores how quickly roles can change from preseason to the regular season. Even when coaches intend to keep plans stable, the exhibition schedule is built around incremental adjustments, and the Week 3 matchup is often where decisions become more final. Teams enter this stage wanting evidence of consistency, not just isolated highlights, because roster-setting requires confidence that performances can repeat.

With the preseason now concluded, both franchises turn to their regular-season preparation through the lens of what was effective over the final week of exhibitions. The immediate next steps are typically focused on refining the depth chart, finalizing game-day packages, and making sure communication and assignments carry over once the stakes shift from evaluation to execution. For Saints supporters, the 27-24 win offers a clean finish to the preseason, but the bigger takeaway is the readiness it indicates going into the first true games that count.

For the Cowboys, the narrow final margin provides its own lesson: there is always room to improve, even when teams feel comfortable with progress. Preseason results do not determine regular-season outcomes, but they can expose tendencies that become problematic once the schedule accelerates. The Saints’ ability to hold off Dallas in a close game will be one more reference point as New Orleans continues building toward early regular-season continuity.