Cowboys keep offensive machine rolling in win over Seahawks

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Seattle Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football” to open NFL Week 13.

Before the game, quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb had the Cowboys offense humming, while cornerback DaRon Bland had become a pick-six machine. Meanwhile, Seattle’s offense was struggling, as quarterback Geno Smith and receiver DK Metcalf connected for a touchdown since Week 4.

On Thursday, the two offenses faced off in a back-and-forth battle that ended with the Cowboys beating the Seahawks 41-35, pushing Dallas to 9-3 and dropping Seattle to 6-6 on the season.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys knew their reputation was on the line Thursday.

Were they leading, beating bad teams, or were they a team capable of making the playoffs?

The 41-35 win over Seattle may not have answered all the questions, but when it mattered most, the Cowboys delivered, as they began their toughest stretch of the season with five games against undefeated teams.

A defense that was lit up for most of the game came up with a fourth down stop (DeMarcus Lawrence) with 7:04 left and Prescott went to work, completing 4 of 5 passes for 35 yards, including the final touchdown . pass to Jake Ferguson from 12 yards out with 4:37 left. Prescott also ran for 9 yards on the drive.

Prescott finished with three touchdown passes and no interceptions, throwing for 299 yards. And now it sets up what the Cowboys were hoping for when they left Philadelphia on Nov. 5 with a 28-23 loss to the Eagles: a chance to make the NFC East a contest.

At 9-3 after their fourth straight victory, the Cowboys still need help. They could benefit from an Eagles loss to the Niners on Sunday, but when Philadelphia comes to AT&T Stadium in 10 days, the Cowboys can still send a message by beating their rival. A message that would be bigger than beating the Seahawks.

Describe the game in two words: Penalty party. Penalties haven’t been that big for the Cowboys for much of the season, but through three quarters on Thursday, they were flagged eight times for 122 yards. The season-high for yards before Thursday was 107 (on 13 flags) in a Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It wasn’t just a Cowboys thing. Clete Blakeman’s crew was just as unofficial against the Seahawks.

Disturbing trend: Yes, Bland made history with his fifth pick of the season on Thanksgiving against Washington, but he was targeted more by the Commanders than in any other game. Thursday was a continuation. In the first half, Seattle completed 6 of 7 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns when Bland was the closest defender, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His previous best in this category this season was 120 yards – achieved last week against Washington. However, Bland came up with a key pick of Smith in the third quarter to balance it all out, perhaps.

Promising trend: It may be beyond a trend at this point, but Prescott has thrown at least two touchdown passes in six straight games, which matches a career high. He did the same in 2021. Tony Romo played in two or more games in seven consecutive games during the 2006-07 seasons and Don Meredith holds the team mark with 12 consecutive games during the 1965-66 seasons. Prescott entered Thursday with 18 touchdown passes in his last six games, the most he has had in six games in his career. -Todd Archer

Next game: vs. Philadelphia Eagles (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 10)

Seattle Seahawks

With back-to-back Thursday night games upending their weekly schedule, Seahawks players and coaches couldn’t figure out what day they were leading up to their game against the Cowboys. But everyone was clear on one thing: they needed this one.

With two straight losses and two tough games against the 49ers and Eagles, this was perhaps their best chance to avoid a five-game skid that would seriously jeopardize their playoff hopes.

The sense of urgency was there against Dallas. So did the Seahawks offense, which broke out of its rut ​​thanks to a huge night from Smith and Metcalf. But the defense wasn’t, and neither was the end result.

The Seahawks are now 6-6 and only halfway through the toughest stretch of their schedule. They’ll give themselves a chance in the final month of the regular season if Smith and their offense perform like they did for most of the night, going 9 of 14 on third down, 4 of 5 in the red zone and accumulating 406 total yards.

But the defense could have supplanted that unit as the biggest concern after Prescott & Co. did what they wanted en route to scores on eight of nine possessions, excluding the final two layups.

Disturbing trend: It’s not a new trend but nonetheless troubling: the Seahawks continue to commit suicide with penalties. They had been flagged 100 times entering Week 13, the most in the NFL, even though they had their bye. They committed nine more for 127 yards against Dallas, including five on a Cowboys touchdown. The Seahawks have often been among the most penalized teams in the league under coach Pete Carroll, which could be seen as somewhat of a compromise on how aggressively he wants them to play. But this version is not good enough to overcome so many errors.

Mind-blowing NFL Next Gen Stats: Metcalf reached a top speed of 22.23 mph on his 73-yard touchdown run. This is the fastest top speed by a running back since Raheem Mostert hit 23.09 mph in Week 2 of the 2020 season. The connection between Smith and Metcalf has been broken this season – Metcalf entered Week 13 with a 53.1% catch rate, which ranks 73rd among wide receivers – but they turned that around on Thursday night. Metcalf caught 6 of 8 targets for 134 yards and three touchdowns.

Promising trend: The Seahawks finally have a screen game — and maybe a good one. This part of their offense has been inexplicably missing for a long time, dating back to previous coordinators and running backs, but coordinator Shane Waldron has brought it to life. They ran arguably their best screen of the season when running back Zach Charbonnet caught one in the third quarter and gained 39 yards, setting up Metcalf’s third touchdown two plays later. Charbonnet, starting again with Kenneth Walker III out due to his oblique strain, carried 19 times for 60 yards and his first career touchdown. The Seahawks have also got receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba involved in the screen game, and they need to continue to rely on him to quickly get the ball out of Smith’s hands and counter the strong passing units they’ll face on the run. of the next three weeks. (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Tennessee).

Crucial game: One of the Seahawks’ penalties may not have been their doing. Late in the first quarter, they lined up for a 37-yard field goal, but were flagged for delay of game. With the try rejected, Jason Myers then missed wide to the right from 42 yards. Replays showed Pete Carroll yelling at the officials for not resetting the game clock after spotting the ball. Myers, to no avail, gave the hand signal for a reset just before time expired.

QB breakdown: Smith played one of his best games in a while, especially considering the difficult circumstances against a great Dallas pass rush and with little running game to rely on. He threw three touchdown passes to Metcalf — matching the number of times Seattle’s offense had found the end zone in the previous four games — and added a rushing score. Smith’s first touchdown was a laser over two defenders on a post route on the first drive, the type of aggressive throw that showed confidence despite everything that hasn’t worked in recent weeks. He went after Bland several times during the first half and was able to do so before Bland pushed him away in the third quarter. Smith finished 23 of 41 for 334 yards and became the first starting quarterback not to take a sack against the Cowboys this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information, although he was pushed into an errant throw during ‘a fourth and second game. to end the game. -Brady Henderson

Next game: at San Francisco 49ers (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 10)