Cowboys send sloppy Hawks to 3rd loss in row
ARLINGTON, Texas — Everything is supposed to be bigger in this state.
Even the shortcomings. No, especially the shortcomings. Because Seattle’s imperfections became warts and their warts became sores in a 23-13 loss to Dallas on Sunday.
Yes, it was that ugly, a game that Seattle lost every bit as much as the Cowboys won. The Seahawks were flagged for 10 penalties, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was intercepted three times an the defense completely neglected to cover Cowboys tight end Jason Witten on the touchdown that gave Dallas a second-half lead it never lost.
“It started with the penalties,” coach Pete Carroll said, “and the turnovers will be the story.”
To be fair, Dallas did move the ball up and down the field with relative impunity. The Cowboys had the ball inside the Seattle 20 three times and racked up more than 300 yards in the first half, yet had just six points to show for it.
The score was 6-6 at halftime, which constituted progress for Seattle. But after spending the first half dodging bullets in the red zone, the Seahawks became preoccupied with shooting themselves in the foot in the second half.
Down 13-6, Jackson was intercepted on a pass he was trying to throw away . The Cowboys turned that pick into a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Laurent Robinson. Jackson’s next throw was picked off, too. Jackson was moving to his right when he threw off his back foot, the ball way short of Sidney Rice. Dallas turned that one into a field goal.
The Cowboys came into this game still stinging from a blowout loss to Philadelphia. Dallas found a get-well pill in Seattle.
“We really needed to get back on track and start going here,” Romo said.
Seattle turned out to be the perfect kind of houseguest.
“Just made some stupid mistakes,” Jackson said. “We’ve been staying away from those mistakes the whole season.”
The Seahawks lost their third consecutive game, and any promise that was summoned from that Week 5 victory at the New York Giants has evaporated in the midst of sustained offensive struggles. Seattle has scored two touchdowns in its last 12 quarters.
There’s a common thread to these defeats, one that starts with sustained difficulty in finding the end zone, but Carroll said he saw differences Sunday.
“It feels different,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like the same formula. We made a huge deal to move this thing protection-wise and (in the) running game this week, and it happened. We did those things. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn into the points that we needed, but it doesn’t feel the same thing.”
Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch rushed for 135 yards, his most in any regular-season start since joining the Seahawks. Jackson was sacked only once, the second-lowest total in any Seahawks game this season.
“We can compete,” Rice said. “We’ve just got to do the small things. Stay disciplined. We protected the quarterback well today. We ran the ball well.”
But in the end, Seattle couldn’t get out of its own way.
“This was a game where efficiency would have won the game for us,” Carroll said.
Instead, it wasn’t all that close.
| Seattle | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | — | 13 |
| Dallas | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | — | 23 |
Dal—FG Bailey 20
Sea—FG Hauschka 45
Dal—FG Bailey 20
Sea—FG Hauschka 32
Dal—Witten 33 pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
Dal—Robinson 6 pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
Dal—FG Bailey 42
Sea—Lynch 4 run (Hauschka kick)
A—81,510.
| Sea | Dal | |
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Total Net Yards | 381 | 442 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-162 | 29-163 |
| Passing | 219 | 279 |
| Punt Returns | 0-0 | 2-8 |
| Kickoff Returns | 3-50 | 2-39 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 3-33 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 17-30-3 | 19-31-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 1-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 3-61.0 | 4-43.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 10-88 | 7-82 |
| Time of Possession | 30:33 | 29:27 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Seattle, Lynch 23-135, Washington 3-16, Forsett 2-8, Jackson 2-3. Dallas, Murray 22-139, Romo 3-13, Tanner 4-11.
PASSING—Seattle, Jackson 17-30-3-221. Dallas, Romo 19-31-0-279.
RECEIVING—Seattle, Rice 3-69, Williams 3-41, Baldwin 3-31, A.McCoy 2-44, Forsett 2-14, Obomanu 2-6, Lynch 1-8, Tate 1-8. Dallas, Robinson 5-32, Bryant 4-76, Witten 4-71, Murray 4-47, Austin 2-53.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Seattle, Hauschka 41 (BK).