ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys had their chances Sunday at AT&T Stadium, holding a two-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but their losing streak extended to five games with a 13-12 loss to Seattle on a late Seahawks field goal.
On Saturday, the staff writers gave their gut feeling for Sunday's game. Check out the instant reactions from the staff of DallasCowboys.com.
Nick Eatman: Two things I missed on. For starters, the win. Had the Cowboys taking this game because I just thought they were good enough defensively to force some turnovers. Apparently, one wasn't enough. And if you think about it, the defense – as a whole – didn't create any turnovers. Just one player, one outstanding player, made an outstanding play. And it resulted in a big three points. Overall, the Cowboys were just average across the board and that certainly doesn't get it done against the defending NFC champs. Yeah, Seattle isn't the same Seattle, but they haven't fallen off that far. Yeah, the Cowboys did a nice job holding them to 13 points, but it wasn't good enough if you can't even score a single touchdown. Two more games to go before Tony's eligible to return, but who knows what this record will look like when he's back.
Rob Phillips: I hesitantly predicted the law of averages would tilt in the Cowboys' direction Sunday, and it halfway came to fruition. The four-game takeaway drought ended with a Greg Hardy tip-interception that'll wind up being one of the best defensive plays we see all year. In the end, though, the Cowboys couldn't hold onto a late lead. The game was decided on the Seahawks' 24-yard field goal, but the turning point was the Cowboys' offense kicking a field goal to make the score 12-10 after Hardy's play gave them the ball at the Seattle 16-yard line – their best field position all year and only the fourth time they've started a drive inside opponent's territory. They just didn't make enough plays offensively, and some of that is a credit to Seattle's defense for forcing Matt Cassel to direct long drives. For two straight weeks now, the team must feel they let a game slip away – and at 2-5, there's simply no room for error anymore.
Bryan Broaddus:My gut feeling was that the Seahawks were going to pound the ball at this Dallas defense in order to protect Russell Wilson and keep from exposing their offensive line. Seattle did try and run the football with Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls but they did not have near the success that I thought they might have. Lynch and Rawls were never able to really get going and that was in large part because the Dallas front seven playing square and getting bodies to the ball quickly. There were several snaps where Lawrence and Hardy were able to slide down inside and make the play from the backside. They had to play the Seahawks physically and they were able to do that, which I felt like kept them in the game.
David Helman: I didn't hit it 100 percent, but my prediction was more or less in line with the way this thing played out. Most notably is the fact that I didn't trust Matt Cassel to exploit this Seattle secondary, and there's no denying that he couldn't. You figured the Cowboys would try to be cautious going against All-Pros like the Legion of Boom, but 97 passing yards is just horrifically bad for any NFL quarterback. With no semblance of a passing game, the Cowboys were one-dimensional, and it showed in their failure to score a touchdown. What really hurts is that it negated a solid day from the Dallas defense. They didn't manage to sack Russell Wilson, like I thought they would, but they were largely effective and they finally broke their takeaway drought with a timely interception. To a man, every defender will tell you they didn't do enough to keep the Seahawks from scoring at the end of the game. But the blunt truth is that the offense didn't meet their challenge today, and this fifth-straight loss has Dallas facing a hell of a challenge to remain in contention this season.
For the initial gut feeling predictions of the staff writers posted on Saturday, click here:
