On November 27, the NFL announced that the game was moved to 8:15&#160;p.m. EST (7:15&#160;p.m. CST) to be nationally televised on NBC Sunday Night Football. New Orleans Head Coach and former Dallas Offensive Coordinator, as well as Passing Coordinator, Sean Payton thoroughly dissected the Cowboys defense by showcasing the talents of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and Deuce McAllister.  Perhaps more surprising was the performance of  Mike Karney.  Previously an unknown fullback who had never had a touchdown in his 43 NFL games, Karney scored a hat trick (three touchdowns).  Brees topped 4,000 season passing yards for the first time in his career, having 26 completions for 38 attempts and 384 yards and five touchdowns.  Deuce McCallister and Reggie Bush both proved their worth with 135 and 162 all-purpose yards, respectively.  Payton was even feeling so confident as to attempt an onside kick early in the third quarter, further demoralizing the Cowboys and increasing momentum for the Saints when they recovered it.  With 3 minutes left in the game and the ball deep in Cowboys territory, Payton's Saints went to kneeling, either to let Parcells keep some of his pride intact, or to make a statement. The Cowboys had one of the worst games of their season.  Payton's defense never gave them a chance to get into a rhythm, and Tony Romo threw for 16 completions of 33 attempts for 249 yards for a single touchdown and a pair of interceptions.  The Cowboys started out promising, stopping the Saints' offense and Julius Jones responding with a career record 77-yard touchdown run.  Though after that play, nothing seemed to go right.  Gramatica missed another crucial field goal, soaring wide right, and the only other touchdown came from a fourth-down pass to Terrell Owens that could have been an interception had cornerback Fred Thomas not had a cast on his hand. New Orleans defeated Dallas 42-17, snapping Dallas' four-game winning streak and dropping them to 8-5 while improving their own record to 9-4. Stats. How many total points were scored in the game?