Seahawks Rapid Reaction: Dallas Cowboys Outlast Geno Smith, Seattle in Thrilling Shootout
Failing to convert on three different fourth down opportunities in the closing moments, the Seattle Seahawks squandered a prime opportunity for a prime time win, losing a 41-35 heartbreaker to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
Playing one of his finest games in defeat, Geno Smith threw a trio of touchdown passes to DK Metcalf and passed for 334 yards against Dallas' top-five defense, while Zach Charbonnet contributed 99 all-purpose yards and his first career touchdown. Performing well in defeat, Jarran Reed registered a sack and two tackles for loss in the trenches and Riq Woolen had two pass breakups in the secondary.
Here are five quick takeaways from a difficult loss at AT&T Stadium in prime time:
1. Led by a confident and poised Smith, Seattle's aerial attack finally came to life.
Scoring just three touchdowns in their past 16 quarters of play, the Seahawks had been reeling on offense for the better part of a month. But with Smith healthier after a full week for his sore elbow to heal, the veteran quarterback came out guns blazing, hitting Metcalf in stride on his first pass attempt for a 73-yard touchdown with potential Defensive Player of the Year DaRon Bland in coverage. Keying two additional touchdown drives to take a one-point lead into the half, Smith coaxed a defensive pass interference penalty out of linebacker Rashaan Evans against Tyler Lockett in coverage for a 40-yard gain to move into the red zone to set up a Zach Charbonnet touchdown run and also benefited from a pass interference call in the end zone against Jaxon Smith-Njigba before finding Metcalf for a second score before half.
Staying hot out of the break, Smith kept wheeling and dealing from the pocket, hooking up with Noah Fant on a 25-yard reception to kick start another touchdown drive that culminated with the quarterback scrambling for a five-yard score. He later would add a third touchdown pass to Metcalf on a crossing route, which put Seattle ahead 35-27. Unfortunately, that marked the end of the offensive explosion, but the veteran signal caller still played a hell of a game throwing for 334 yards and three scores while orchestrating five touchdown drives.
2. Complementary weapons, offensive line buoyed best offensive performance of the season.
Leaning on their ground game more than they have at any point earlier in the season, the Seahawks turned to Charbonnet early and often to help neutralize a feisty Cowboys pass rush led by Micah Parsons. Though his final stat line wasn't overly impressive averaging 3.2 yards per carry, the rookie runner provided enough punch to keep the rush away from Smith, who only took six quarterback hits all night long. He also added a 39-yard catch and run on a screen in the third quarter, which set up Smith's own rushing touchdown a few plays later to extend the lead to eight points.
Protected well most of the evening, Geno Smith carved up Dallas for 334 passing yards and three touchdowns to DK Metcalf.
© Tim Heitman, USA TODAY
Away from Metcalf's dominant performance with six catches for 134 yards and three scores, the Seahawks got a solid performance from Smith-Njigba, who hauled in seven catches for 62 yards. Fant also enjoyed his best game of the year with three receptions for 43 yards and scored a touchdown late in the first half that unfortunately was negated by a timeout awarded to the Cowboys. Up front, the team received a major boost by the return of a healthy Abraham Lucas, who stone-walled Parsons on Smith's 73-yard touchdown pass and brought some much-needed nastiness as a run blocker in the trenches. With him back in the lineup, the quarterback only was sacked one time by one of the NFL's top pass rushing teams.
3. Constantly giving up big plays on third down, the Seahawks continued to struggle getting off the field on defense.
While Seattle's offense did more than enough to earn an upset win in prime time, the same cannot be said for a defense that didn't force a single punt all night long. Tying a team record by allowing a whopping 33 first downs, they allowed Dak Prescott and the Cowboys to be on the field for more than 36 minutes, regularly extending drives on third downs with ease. In the first half, after Smith's first touchdown gave the visitors a 7-3 lead and a Darrell Taylor sack knocked Dallas back to 3rd and 16, cornerback Devon Witherspoon missed a tackle on tight end Jake Ferguson, allowing him to rumble past the marker for a back-breaking first down. Moments later, Prescott cashed in with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lamb, taking back the lead.
Aside from giving up chunk plays on several third downs, penalties also played a key role in Seattle's struggles, though several second half penalties were questionable. Cornerback Riq Woolen got nailed for defensive pass interference on deep balls on two different occasions for 47 and 35-yard penalties, setting up two scoring drives that netted 10 points for Dallas. Tre Brown also got nailed for two ticky-tack holding penalties on the Cowboys' first offensive possession of the third quarter, extending the drive on both occasions before Tony Pollard punched it in from six yards out to trim the lead to 28-27. Overall, the Seahawks were penalized 10 times for 130 yards and six of those penalties led to first downs.
4. If there was a positive on defense, Seattle did find a way to ratchet up pressure on Prescott behind a great offensive line.
During the opening drive of the game, Prescott seemed to have years to scan the field in the pocket, picking apart the Seahawks with several explosive plays, including a 23-yard connection to Lamb down the seam. But while the Cowboys quick passing game neutralized the pass rush much of the night, when Taylor and company had chances to get after him, they did generate consistent pressure and found some success getting him to the ground. Starting with Jordyn Brooks' sack on a blitz to stall the opening drive in the red zone, the defense sacked Prescott four times after he didn't get sacked once in the previous three games combined.
Along with Taylor and Brooks each getting a sack, Leonard Williams battled through a hold for his second sack as a Seahawk and Jarran Reed also got home for his fifth sack of the season. In addition, Witherspoon nearly intercepted Prescott on a blitz on the first possession of the game and created Taylor's sack with pressure from the slot. Finishing with seven quarterback hits as a team, there were unfortunately some missed opportunities, including Prescott turning a sack into a 12-yard gain to Pollard on a shovel pass as he went to the ground in the second quarter. But overall, considering the opponent, the pressure numbers were encouraging despite being on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
5. A pair of missed fourth down opportunities allowed Cowboys to slam the door after trailing most of the second half.
Even with Seattle's defense allowing four scoring drives of 10 or more plays and seemingly competing against more than 11 players at times, the unit did hold Dallas to field goals on four of its eight red zone trips. This included in the closing moments after the two minute warning when Prescott's third down incompletion to Lamb stopped the clock and allowed the opposition to have more than 1:40 on the clock to score. On three different occasions in the final quarter, Smith and company went for it on fourth down near midfield, first trying to ice the game on the first opportunity and then come from behind in the other two chances. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize on any of those chances.
Facing a 4th and 1 at the Cowboys 46-yard line with just over seven minutes to play, Smith handed off to Charbonnet on a run to the left, but Demarcus Lawrence slipped past Charles Cross to make a play at the line of scrimmage for a turnover. Moments later, after being gifted short field, Prescott hit Ferguson for a 12-yard touchdown on a back shoulder fade to re-take the lead with 4:41 to go. On the ensuing possession, Smith found himself under immediate pressure on another fourth down conversion opportunity, fluttering an incompletion over the head of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Then, with the game on the line inside two minutes to play, Parsons blew through the B-gap untouched - apparently by design - and instantly was in Smith's face to force an incompletion and end the game with another turnover on downs.
