Should the New Orleans Saints return to Cowboys Stadium to defend their Super Bowl title, images of Malcolm Jenkins desperately chasing Roy Williams will surely flash across the giant video screen hanging over the field. And the Saints, arguably the NFL's hottest team after winning four games in a row and five of their last six, will be able to point to Thanksgiving as the pivotal point in their season. All Dallas wide receiver Williams had to do was not fumble after racing to the Saints' 11-yard line on what seemed to be the clinching play with 3 minutes 3 seconds to go. Instead, Jenkins stripped Williams of the ball after a 47-yard reception, setting up a great escape by Drew Brees. He drove the Saints 89 yards in five plays, firing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore for a 30-27 win. 'It could have been a catastrophe,' Jenkins said. 'I took a bad angle. That's why he was so open.' Jenkins also recovered the fumble, helping New Orleans (8-3) stay in the playoff mix in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons (8-2) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3). The Cowboys put a final scare into the Saints, but David Buehler's 59-yard field-goal attempt sailed a couple of yards wide left with 31 seconds to play. Dallas (3-8) lost for the first time in its three games under the interim coach Jason Garrett. 'I had two hands on it, but the guy made a great play,' Williams said. 'I lost the ballgame. I will say that. I let my teammates down. I wish I had kept the ball in my right hand, fallen down, let us run the clock out. I was trying to make a play, and they did a good job.' Saints coach Sean Payton acknowledged his worries about Williams' reception. 'You see him in the open field, and you're just hoping you get him down,' Payton said. 'It was a heart play, one of those plays that inspires everyone on the team.' Brees completed 23 of 39 passes for 352 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Cowboys' Jon Kitna completed 30 of 42 passes for 313 yards with an interception, but Dallas fumbled seven times, losing two. Two New Orleans turnovers helped Dallas wipe out the Saints' 20-13 lead. Gerald Sensabaugh intercepted a tipped pass from Brees, giving Dallas the ball at the Saints' 39. That led to Tashard Choice's 1-yard touchdown run and put the Cowboys ahead for the first time, at 27-23, with 5:51 to play. Earlier, the Cowboys had turned a fumbled punt return by Reggie Bush into more drama than the Saints had bargained for, before a crowd of 93,985 fans. Leon Williams recovered the ball at the New Orleans 15, and on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Marion Barber burst through the middle to cut the Saints' lead to 23-20 with 4:30 left in the third. Preseason expectations were loaded with references to the Cowboys' chances of becoming the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home city, but those imploded much like the old Texas Stadium amid a 1-7 start. Come February, the owner Jerry Jones may still throw plenty of parties, but after the Giants sent quarterback Tony Romo to the sideline with a broken collarbone on Oct. 25 and Jones fired Wade Phillips as coach on Nov. 8, the Cowboys were reduced to playing spoilers. Consecutive victories over the Giants and the Detroit Lions -- games in which the Cowboys were outgained in total yards -- eased the upheaval, but the loss to the Saints may rekindle the compiling of lists of possible coaching candidates. Indeed, fans from Green Bay and Chicago, from New Orleans and Tampa, and from Seattle and St. Louis and Arizona will have a strong rooting interest in the so-called America's team. The Giants, who have lost their last two games, will be especially interested in the weekly effect Dallas has on the postseason. Dallas travels to Indianapolis next week to play the injury-depleted Colts, whom several AFC teams -- in particular South Division rival Jacksonville -- would enjoy seeing lose. The Cowboys face the Washington Redskins once and the Philadelphia Eagles twice in games that could help determine the NFC East champion. Even the Cowboys' game Christmas night against the Arizona Cardinals could have playoff ramifications for an NFC West mired in mediocrity. 'November's not the only month, but it's certainly a critical month; that's what makes this win significant,' Payton said. 'It was a gut-check win. The momentum had clearly shifted from us to them.' The Saints had gone ahead early, needing only four plays after the opening kickoff to grab a 7-0 lead. Brees hit Devery Henderson for a 57-yard gain, which set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Chris Ivory. Ivory later scored on a 6-yard run, and Garrett Hartley kicked field goals of 50 and 45 yards as New Orleans took a lead of 20-6 into halftime. 