Cowboys Emerge With Shootout Win
The Dallas Cowboys (9-3) got two fourth down stops late, so as not to waste another spectacular performance from quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, to beat the Seattle Seahawks (6-6) 41-35 on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
PRESCOTT SIZZLES ON PRIMETIME
It was evident early on that the Cowboys were going to need another big game from quarterback Dak Prescott to beat the Seahawks.
And like he has for most of the season, Prescott delivered with another spectacular performance.
Prescott completed 29 of 41 passes for 299 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished with a quarterback rating of 115.8, while leading the offense to 410 total yards, four touchdowns, four field goals and one two-point conversion throw to Brandin Cooks.
He completed passes to eight different players – wide receivers CeeDee Lamb, Cooks, Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin, running backs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle, and tight ends Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker.
Prescott opened the game ready to go, leading the Cowboys to a field goal on the opening drive. He finished the first quarter by completing nine of 13 passes for 115 yards, one touchdown to CeeDee Lamb and a quarterback rating of 122.3.
His second quarter was just as good, completing nine of 11 passes for 91 yards, one touchdown to Brandin Cooks and a 128.1 rating at the end of the first half.
Prescott was sizzling over that first 30 minutes, finishing with 18 completions and only six misses for 206 yards and two scores. He completed passes to seven different receivers and led the Cowboys to scores on all four drives of the first half.
DEFENSE COMES UP BIG LATE
The Cowboys got Seattle’s best shot and when it mattered most, they came up big.
Cornerback DaRon Bland, who was having the worst game of his career, came up with a second-half interception and the defense came up big with a trio of fourth down stops late in the game.
But it wasn’t looking good for the first 50 minutes of the game, as the Cowboys trailed 35-27 in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks pounded the Cowboys to the tune of 406 total yards, while putting up 35 points against a defense that hadn’t given up 20 points at home this season.
The defense was penalized repeatedly – multiple offsides, multiple pass interferences, a facemask, while Seattle moved the ball at will.
The Cowboys allowed the Seahawks run game to average just 3.24 yards per carry, while getting no pressure on quarterback Geno Smith on obvious passing situations until late in the game.
Smith completed 23 of 41 passes for 334 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a 97.0 quarterback rating for his efforts.
The first half was not good for Dallas. It was as poor a performance by the defense as they have had all season, including the debacle in San Francisco.
The defense allowed 21 points, and it could have been more if Seattle kicker Jason Myers doesn’t miss a 42-yard field goal, and 195 total yards to a Seattle offense that has struggled to get anything going for several weeks. It’s a Dallas defense that had not given up 20 points to an opponent at home this season.
Smith finished the opening half with a 137.6 quarterback rating after completing 11 of 17 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland gave up both touchdown passes, while being picked on repeatedly by Seattle wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Bland gave up five catches on six throws his way for 137 yards and two touchdowns, the worst half by any corner in the NFL this season. He did grab his eighth interception of the season on Seattle’s second drive of the second half.
OFFENSIVE LINE STRUGGLES
Despite the production on offensive, the Cowboys offensive line struggled with the Seattle defensive front.
The Cowboys could only manage 3.32 yards per carry on 25 runs by the running backs, while giving up four sacks on passing downs and committing five penalties.
In the first half, the line could not get the running game going, as they gained 17 for 51 yards, with their only big runs coming on the outside.
The passing game was no different, giving up three sacks and having two crucial penalties called against them – ineligible man downfield by Tyler Smith and holding against Terence Steele that wiped a touchdown off the scoreboard and forced Dallas to settle for a field goal.
It was a struggle all night, but quarterback Dak Prescott bailed them out on several scrambles that should have resulted in at least two more sacks.
SEAHAWKS GASH COWBOYS PASS COVERAGE
If the Cowboys were going to win, they were going to have to stop the wide receiver duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and that didn’t happen.
The duo, along with fellow wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njgba and tight end Noah Fant, seemed to be open for quarterback Geno Smith most of the night.
But it was Metcalf and Smith-Njgba that did the most damage.
Metcalf had a career night, hauling in three touchdown passes – of 73 yards, 1 yard and 3 yards, while racking up 134 total yards on six catches.
Smith-Njgba had the best game of his rookie season, making seven grabs on 10 targets for 62 yards.
Lockett was held in check, hauling in five passes for 47 yards, but Metcalf was doing consistent damage.
Metcalf got it going early with his 73-yard TD catch coming on the Seahawks opening possession. He finished the first half with three catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
ANOTHER BIG DAY FOR LAMB
If you throw it his way, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is going to catch it.
Lamb finished with 116 yards on 12 catches, the fifth time this season that he has had at least 12 grabs and 115 yards in a game.
In the opening half, Lamb caught seven of the nine passes thrown his way for 82 yards and a touchdown. He caught three of four passes for 46 yards on the Cowboys opening drive, including a 15-yard touchdown to give them a 10-7 lead.
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BIG HUGE GIANT MONSTER Play of the Game
After the Cowboys kicked a field goal to go up by six with just over 90 seconds to go in the game, the Seahawks took over knowing that a touchdown and an extra-point sends them home with a victory. After a 17-yard pass to Tyler Lockett, an 8-yard pass to Noah Fant and two incompletions it came down to another fourth down. This time, the Seattle offensive front left Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons unblocked, and he was in quickly on quarterback Geno Smith, who avoided a sack by throwing the ball at the feet of running back Deejay Dallas for an incompletion that turned the ball over on downs. Two kneel downs later and the Cowboys escaped with the victory.
UNSUNG Play of the Game
With the Cowboys trailing 35-30 with just over seven minutes to play in the game, the defense made their first big play of the game. On fourth and one from the Cowboys 46, the Seahawks went for it and put the ball in rookie running back Zach Charbonnet’s hands. He was stuffed for no gain when Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence squeezed through the Seahawks guard-tackle gap and blasted Charbonnet for the stop. The Cowboys paid it off when Dak Prescott hit Jake Ferguson on a 12-yard touchdown strike with 4:37 to play in the game.