Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin (19) runs for a touchdown during Saturday's (Dec. 19) game against the New Orleans. Saints (Photo: AP)

The New Orleans Saints were served their first loss on Saturday night (December 19), when the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a huge upset to give the NFL their first "L" on their undefeated record.

In the loss, Tony Romo's Cowboys held off a rally by Drew Brees' Saints to win 24-17. Now, the Indianapolis Colts -- with a 14-0 record -- remains the league's only unbeaten team this season.

"We'll digest this. It'll sting a little bit going down," Saints coach Sean Payton said after the game. "Nonetheless, it is what it is and we've got to get back to work next week. We have two important games in front of us and we'll take that approach."

The Saints had a bad night. They trailed 24-3 going into the fourth quarter, but the team, lead by quarterback Drew Brees, rallied, scoring two fast touchdowns.

The Cowboys came back into field goal range right before the two-minute warning, but missed, giving Brees one last chance to tie things up.

Things were going well on the Saints final drive, but on second down, Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware sacked Brees, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Cowboys with 6 seconds left.

"As poorly as we played, we were fortunate just to have that chance on the final drive," Payton said. "But we couldn't get anything going, really."

According to Brees, things weren't going well from the very beginning. Following the game, he admitted that his team "couldn't get into rhythm."

"We just felt like we couldn't get into rhythm. We're down 14-0 after the first quarter, and we've run (seven) plays offensively. That's not what we do," the quarterback told the Sporting News.

While the team will now prepare for the final two games of the season, Brees says the loss is disappointing, not only to the Saints, but the city who he feels deserved a perfect season.

"We fought so hard, won games in so many different ways. So many players contributed," Brees explained. "We feel like we deserved it, the city deserved it, the organization deserved it. We wanted to make it happen for all of them. That's what's most disappointing about it."

The Saints take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday (December 27) on their home turf, followed by their final game of the season against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

The Indianapolis Colts will take on the New York Jets next Sunday on their home turf, and then take on the Buffalo Bills after the New Year. With two more wins, the Colts will have a perfect record this season.