ARLINGTON, Texas -- This was a butt-kicking, a complete destruction. And it was accompanied by the sweet taste of vengeance.

This was about the closest the Dallas Cowboys could get to experiencing elation during the regular season after humbling the New Orleans Saints and thousands of their black-and-gold clad fans Sunday night at AT&T Stadium before a national television audience.

That’s why Orlando Scandrick playfully cursed as he entered the locker room. And why running backs coach Gary Brown was telling anyone and everyone that he didn’t want to hear any more disparaging comments about the Cowboys’ defense.

Then there was Dez Bryant gleefully shouting, “Who dat? We dat! Who Dat? We dat!” as he ran into the locker room, a game ball tucked under his arm.

Dallas 38, New Orleans 17.

Anyone who tells you they saw this coming is lying, unless they sent you a text before the game.

Most folks expected New Orleans to win. And some people could have reasoned for a Dallas victory.

A Cowboys’ blowout? Nobody predicted that.

The Cowboys built a 24-point halftime lead and never let their advantage slip under 14 points.

The Saints, as you knew they would, made it interesting in the fourth quarter. But instead of blowing a 27-3 third-quarter lead, like they did against Detroit in 2011, or relinquishing a 26-3 halftime margin versus Green Bay last season, the Cowboys made several big plays in the final eight minutes to win their third consecutive game.

The 21-point win was the fourth largest in the Jason Garrett era. The Cowboys blew out the Buffalo Bills (44-7) and St. Louis Rams (34-7) in 2011, and the Rams again in 2013 (31-7), but few here respect those teams. Each has been sorry for more than a decade.

The Saints are always considered contenders. And just look what they did to the Cowboys last season with a 49-17 drubbing in New Orleans to the tune of 625 yards gained to Dallas’ 193 yards.

The Saints are respected throughout the NFL, because coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees have won a Super Bowl together and they’re one of the teams any NFC contender must eventually confront.

Well, Garrett’s Cowboys attacked the Saints from the start, beginning the game with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took more than seven minutes and ended when Terrance Williams caught a 6-yard touchdown pass.

DeMarco Murray did much of the work, gaining 149 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns. It marked the fourth consecutive game he has gained 100 yards and scored a touchdown.

The Cowboys finished with 445 yards -- 255 passing and 190 rushing -- and 24 first downs in keeping the ball for nearly 35 minutes.

This is exactly the kind of offensive team Garrett envisioned the day he became the eighth coach in franchise history midway through the 2010 season.

“We believe in what we do,” Garrett said. “We’re convicted about how we put this team together, the kind of guys we want on this team and the physical nature that we want to play with.

“We have strong convictions about all of that. You just have to keep going about it the right way. Get the right guys together, go to work every day and do things the right way. We believe the results will come.”

Garrett has built this team around the offensive line, persuading Jerry Jones to use first-round picks on linemen in three of the past four drafts. Guard Zack Martin was the final piece.

Even though the Cowboys ran the ball well last season, Garrett never really trusted the offensive line or the running game. And because he didn’t, he opted to put the ball in Romo’s hands too many times.

That’s no longer the case.

Adding Martin to first-round picks Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick -- along with the development of Ronald Leary and veteran Doug Free’s solid play -- gave Garrett the confidence the Cowboys could run the ball when they wanted to run it and, more important, when they needed to run it and close out games.

Then Garrett hired his friend and mentor Scott Linehan to call plays.

Murray had heard claims during each of his first three years with the Cowboys that this was the year Dallas would commit to running the ball, but it never happened. After all, he had never carried the ball more than 217 times in a season.

But when he heard Linehan addressing the team -- instead of offensive line coach Bill Callahan or Brown -- about the importance of running the ball at minicamps and training camp, Murray figured this might be the year.

Well, he leads the NFL in carries (99) and yards (534).

With teams focusing on Murray, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, Romo is giving other dudes opportunities to make plays. Ten different offensive players touched the ball against New Orleans.

“We’re staying true to who we are and who we want to be,” Witten said. “That was a good football team we beat.”

And there was nothing fluky about it. Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate these Cowboys and their possibilities.