i've never seen that before. what's the strategy behind that? isn't onside a desperation play when they're losing?

They wanted to make sure that they kept that ball away from Dallas. I think it was a pretty smart move, since it worked. If it failed than they would've been really stupid.

You always want to make sure that you have the ball the most. The more you have the ball, the less the other guys'll have it, and the better chance you've got of getting touchdowns. I think that Patton knows what Romo has up his sleeve, and he wants to keep that sleeve sitting right on the bench with the rest of the Dallas offense.

Great call by Patton. Just great.

I guess they wanted to clinch their score even tighter.

It's useful for crushing the hopes of your opponent also.

It's a hopeful "nail in the coffin" for Dallas.

Always keep the other team guessing. Next kickoff, Dallas will have to be prepared for the onsides....which leaves them less options for a run offense.

kick them when theyre down. dont ever let the other team up for air. also, who would have expected that.

the way i look at it the saints were making a statement, everyone was speculating that the cowboys were the best team in the nfc, so the saints took the opportunity to show everyone otherwise, i loved it

I'll paraphrase the movie Conan, the Barbarian:
"What are the greatest things in life Conan?"

"To kill your enemies. To drive them before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women!"

In short, an enemy that still has hope, can still win. The Saints did the on-side kick to crush any hopes the Ranch Hands may have had about making a comeback! Its a simple concept to beat a foe down until he can't get up anymore.

Geaux Saints!!!

the niners did that same play against them last week. the niners have been doing that play ever since last year however most of the times it was when the niners was behind. i think i remember one onside kick like that when the niners were winning, but they were playing a really high powered offense. (they did it twice in that game infact)
i think it's just a way to try to keep momentem in the favor of the Saints, when the niners used it, i guess it made the Saints players feel discouraged maybe, like they were ready to go out on the field to play, but suddenly they can't. so i guess Sean Payton might have been trying to replicate that same feeling

they did it to entertain the spectators. everybody likes to see a few tricks in the game.