Seahawks Halftime Observations: Explosive Plays Help Build Lead vs. Cowboys

Scoring touchdowns on their final two possessions of the half, the Seattle Seahawks rolled into intermission holding a 17-7 advantage over the Dallas Cowboys in Saturday's second preseason game at Lumen Field.

Playing more starters than their first exhibition game a week ago, including quarterback Geno Smith, Seattle fell behind 7-3 late in a competitive first quarter. Once Drew Lock checked into the lineup on the third offensive drive, the veteran backup steered his team to back-to-back touchdowns with 119 passing yards on just five completions with running backs DeeJay Dallas and SaRodorick Thompson each scoring from a yard out.

Here are three quick observations from the first two quarters at Lumen Field:

1. Smith and a (mostly) starting Seahawks offense find moderate success on a pair of drives.

Bucking trends from previous seasons where Russell Wilson didn't play at all in the preseason, Smith received the opportunity to get his feet wet before the regular season by conducting a pair of drives. Though his overall stat line wasn't anything spectacular with five completions on six attempts for 46 yards, he completed two first down passes to Will Dissly and undrafted rookie Jake Bobo, who was on the receiving end of a 23-yard catch on a vertical route that helped set up a 57-yard Jason Myers field goal.

In the run game, rookie Zach Charbonnet couldn't find much room to operate on Seattle's first drive with Dallas stuffing him twice for two yards. But immediately after Bobo recovered his own fumble after his long reception, the second-round pick exploded through a huge running lane created by center Evan Brown and right tackle Abraham Lucas for a 29-yard carry into opposing territory. A sack on Smith nearly derailed the promising drive, only for Myers to boot his field goal through the uprights from nearly 60 yards out.

2. With several starters not playing, Seattle's defense played well up front, but the back six struggled mightily.

Unlike the offense which featured Smith and the majority of the team's expected starters, Seattle only played a handful of starters on defense. In the trenches, edge rushers Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe as well as defensive tackles Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed played the first drive together and as a unit, that group proved disruptive across the board. Mafe swatted away a pair of passes while constantly harassing quarterback Cooper Rush, while Reed thwarted the first drive with a third down sack to knock Dallas out of field goal range.

But while the defensive line played well throughout the first half, including a second quarter sack by Myles Adams and a third down quarterback hit by Jacob Sykes, cornerbacks Mike Jackson and Tre Brown were picked on by Rush. Jackson had major issues covering receiver Jalen Tolbert, allowing a 36-yard completion on a deep ball on the Seahawks' first defensive drive and giving up two other first down catches on the ensuing drive, including on a fourth down conversion. Brown didn't fare much better, allowing two first down catches and getting caught in no man's land on a touchdown pass from Rush to running back Rico Dowdle.

3. Lock continues to put his best foot forward embracing a backup role guiding multiple touchdown drives.

With the Seahawks trailing by four early in the second quarter, Lock subbed in for Smith and came out with his gun out of the holster ready to fire. With his first drive aided by a taunting penalty, he capitalized on the mishap two players later dropping a perfect corner route to Jaxon Smith-Njigba over the shoulder of the defender for a 48-yard completion, setting up Dallas' one-yard plunge into the end zone to retake the lead on the next play.

After Seattle's defense forced a punt moments later, Lock continued to air it out with great efficiency, rolling out on a play action pass to find tight end Noah Fant for a 21-yard completion. On the very next snap, once again off of play action, he connected with a wide open Cody Thompson down the left sideline for a 32-yard hook up. Three plays later, SaRoderick Thompson capped off the drive running behind edge rusher-turned-fullback Levin Bell to expand the lead to 10 points. For the half, Lock averaged nearly 20 yards per attempt completing five of six passes for 119 yards before ceding duties to third-stringer Holton Ahlers.

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