Fresh off an impressive win over the Washington Redskins to grab a share of the lead in the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys will welcome the New Orleans Saints to AT&T Stadium Thursday night.

While this game isn't a 'must-win' for Dallas, it is a great opportunity for the team to find out where it falls in the NFC's hierarchy.

Both teams are currently playing their best football of the season, as the Cowboys are coming off three straight wins while Saints have a plus-92 point differential in the last three weeks.

On paper, the Saints have the decided advantage, as it possesses one of the most explosive offenses in football and an underrated defense, which has only allowed 38 points in the last three games combined. However, there is a decent chance the Cowboys can upset Drew Brees and company if a few bounces go their way.

With that in mind, it's time to get bold, so let's make a few predictions for Cowboys-Saints:

Dak Prescott completes at least three passes of 20-or-more yards

For the Cowboys to have a shot at winning this game, Dak Prescott has to have one of the best performances of his season.

The Saints haven't scored less than 30 since Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens and have only been held under 30 points twice this entire season. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have only scored 30 twice this season. Therefore, even if the Cowboys defense plays well and holds the Saints offense under 30 points, Dallas' offense will still likely need to score 25-plus points to get the victory.

While the running game will likely be the focal point of the Cowboys offense in hopes of slowing down the game and keeping the Saints offense off the field, Prescott will need to make some big plays in the passing game to keep the Saints defense honest. Otherwise, the Saints, who have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, will be able to stack the box and bottle of Ezekiel Elliott without penalty.

Luckily for Prescott, this Saints defense can be had through the air, as it ranks 30th in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) to opposing teams' No. 1 wide receiver and 32nd in DVOA to No. 2 WRs, per Football Outsiders. Furthermore, the Saints rank 29th in DVOA against deep pass (passes that travel 16-or-more yards in the air).

Dak Prescott can't miss opportunities like this against NO. pic.twitter.com/1aFhHYrz84 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 27, 2018

This bodes well for Dallas' primary deep targets - Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper. Prescott has played well in recent weeks, but he has also missed a couple big-play opportunities that he can't afford to miss this week.

Prescott will need to stay mindful of his base and footwork when he looks to pass, as he tends to get sloppy with his lower-body mechanics, forcing him to rely on his arm to generate force and be accurate, which leads to variance. This is a large reason why Prescott's accuracy percentage on throws of 20-or-more yards has dropped from 46.5 percent in 2017 (fifth among QBs) to 36.4 percent this season (26th), per Pro Football Focus.

However, when Prescott's lower-body mechanics are good, he actually throws a nice deep ball - something he will need to do Thursday. Prescott will undoubtedly get a few big-play opportunities against New Orleans. He just has to take advantage.

Randy Gregory records at least 1 sack

The biggest beneficiary of Terron Armstead missing Thursday night's game is Randy Gregory.

With two sacks and 10 total pressures in the last three games (second on the team in both categories in that time span behind DeMarcus Lawrence), Gregory looks healthy after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery earlier in the season.

Impressive bull rush by Randy Gregory on Nsekhe to record the QB hit. Sets it up with a stutter step. RG does well to win the leverage & hand placement battles, which allows him to maximize his force output. RG has been effective with power rushes in recent weeks. #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/KY6lCtCmA1 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 24, 2018

The Nebraska product looks explosive and agile in recent weeks. On top of that, Gregory has added a strength component to his game, making his speed-to-power pass rush game much more effective.

Armstead has been one of the top offensive tackles in football this season, and with Armstead out, Jermon Bushrod will likely get the start at left tackle for the Saints. Cowboys fans should remember Bushrod for his exploits against the team in 2009, where DeMarcus Ware beat Bushrod twice for sacks - the last of which ended the game.

Jermon Bushrod will likely get the start at LT for NO this week with Terron Armstead out. #DallasCowboys fans should remember Bushrod from 2009. He was the guy @DeMarcusWare beat for both his sacks - the last of which effectively ended the game. pic.twitter.com/h2W74TJR0X — John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 27, 2018

Though Gregory is not on the same level as Ware, he could see similar success against New Orleans this week. Bushrod typically struggles most against the speedier edge defenders who can stress his pass set. Once Bushrod's set is stressed, he starts to lunge to compensate, which opens a wide variety of counter opportunities.

Nice footwork from #DallasCowboys DE Randy Gregory to set up his inside swim move here. He got Peters to take one extra step to the outside, giving himself the room he needed to get free for the sack. Great rush. pic.twitter.com/FlIoqLrX1g — John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 12, 2018

This is where Gregory's lethal inside move comes into play, as it's a perfect counter move off his speed rush. When Gregory gets a good jump on the snap and leverages his speed up the edge to stress an offensive tackle's pass set, it forces the offensive tackle to turn his shoulders perpendicular to the line of scrimmage in hopes of pushing Gregory beyond the pocket; however, it also opens the inside move.

The biggest impediment to Gregory recording a sack Thursday will be Drew Brees, who gets the ball out of his hands extremely quick. In fact, Brees, on average, gets the ball out in 2.41 seconds (fourth fastest among quarterbacks), which means that Gregory is going to have to beat Bushrod quick if he wants to record a sack or affect Brees' throw.

Not only does the matchup look favorable to Gregory on paper, but the Cowboys defensive end is currently playing his best football of the year. It's time for a Gregory break out game, and a matchup against a subpar left tackle and an offense that loves to pass with high frequency seems like as good of a time as any for it to finally happen.

Cowboys Force 2 Turnovers

For the Cowboys defense to be successful slowing down the Saints offense, it's going to have to force turnovers. The Saints offense only averages 2.2 punts per game (least in the NFL).

The Cowboys have forced five turnovers in the last three games, their best stretch of the season, and it's going to need at least two more against New Orleans. Don't expect those turnovers to come through the air, however, as Brees has the lowest interception percentage among NFL QBs this year and the Cowboys defense ranks 23rd in interceptions.

Nevertheless, for as good as the Saints have been limiting interceptions, they have had fumbling issues this season, which plays right into the Cowboys' hand. The Saints rank sixth in fumbles lost (seven) and the Cowboys defense ranks 11th (six) in fumble takeaways.

One of the easiest ways to force fumbles is by way of the sack. Because of the nature of the throwing motion in football, quarterbacks must take one hand off the ball at some point in there wind up before letting the ball loose. This is when the quarterback is most vulnerable to fumble, as any contact made by a defender on the ball during this time will cause a fumble nine times out of 10.

This is why you see teams work with their pass rushers on chopping with one of their arms when bringing down the quarterback, as it can create a lot of turnover opportunities for the defense.

Whether it's a sack fumble or just knock the ball loose from a ball-carrier, the Cowboys have to take advantage of any turnover opportunities that may arise.

If the offense takes care of the ball and the defense creates a couple of turnovers, the Cowboys will have a great opportunity to win Thursday night.

Twitter: @JohnOwning