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| ATL at NO | CAR at ARI | CLE at CHI | DEN at BAL | HOU at BUF | JAX at TEN | MIA at NYJ | MIN at GB |
| NYG at PHI | OAK at SD | SEA at DAL | SF at IND | STL at DET | |||
Week 8 Game Recap: Seattle Seahawks 17, Dallas Cowboys 38
Seattle Seahawks
| QB Matt Hasselbeck, Pass: 22 - 39 - 249 - 2 TD / 0 INT |
Hasselbeck was harassed all day by the Cowboy defense but still managed a respectable 22 completions in 39 attempts for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hassselbeck's biggest problem is the lack of consistent protection by his ever-rotating offensive line. When given time to the throw, as on both touchdowns, Hasselbeck and the Seahawks have a fairly potent passing game. But more often then not, Hasselbeck is under fire, particularly to the outside of the tackles. He continues to throw the ball down field and the Seahawks are trying to work the ball all over the field, but a lack of protection makes 7-step drops and deep balls a rarity for Hasselbeck. On a handful of plays, Seneca Wallace entered the game as quarterback and Hasselbeck lined up as a receiver. However, he did not catch a pass.
| QB Seneca Wallace (1 targets) |
Wallace entered the game on a handful of snaps for Seattle's version of the "Wildcat". However, he handed off each time and did not attempt a pass.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 15 - 56 - 0, Rec: 2 - 32 - 0 (2 targets) |
Julius Jones ran well against the Cowboys, gaining 88 total yards on 17 touches. Most of his positive yardage came on sweeps or delayed runs and draws. The Seahawk line simply isn't powerful enough right now for a power rushing game. Jones also was kept in to help block on a number of passing downs (including a few third and longs), although he did manage 2 receptions including a nice 23 yard catch on a swing pass.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 6 - 17 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
James received 6 carries, all between the tackles, for 17 yards against the Cowboys. He also caught a dump-off pass for a modest 6 yard gain. James is working his way in to the rotation with Julius Jones, but with a lack of consistency and power up front, yards between the tackles are hard to come by. Edge does not appear to have the burst he had as a younger man, but he has a veteran's savvy and does not dance behind the hole like his much younger teammate Justin Forsett.
| RB Justin Forsett, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Forsett had 1 carry for 6 yards and one reception for 14 yards against Dallas. Both times, Forsett was in the game in place of Julius Jones as Jones caught a brief breather on the sidelines.
| WR Nate Burleson, Rec: 6 - 89 - 0 (12 targets) |
Nate Burleson was the beneficiary of teammate TJ Houshmandzadeh being in tight coverage all game. Burleson caught 6 passes for 89 yards including a 36 yard reception in the open field where Matt Hasselbeck found him on a deep out. Burleson's other receptions were all on crossing patterns, slants, and quick outs between 5 and 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. Outside of his 36 yard catch, the Cowboys quickly wrapped up the Seahawks receivers, Burleson included, making yards after the catch a rarity on Sunday for Seattle.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (6 targets) |
TJ Houshmandzadeh was covered by Terrence Newman on Sunday, making success a little difficult to come by. The Cowboys seemed determined to keep TJ from creating and space off the line of scrimmage as well, presumably with the hope that he and Matt Hasselbeck wouldn't be able to find a rhythm in the passing game. The plan worked as Houshmandzadeh finished the day with 4 receptions but none were more then a few yards down the field.
| WR Deion Branch, Rec: 3 - 36 - 1 (4 targets) |
Branch had 3 receptions on Sunday including a 23 yard touchdown. Currently, he is serving as the Seahawks third receiver in three-wide sets out of the slot and is being used primarily on slants and crossing patterns as TJ Housmandzadeh and Nate Burleson work deeper patterns. Of his three catches on Sunday, only the touchdown reception was made with any space; like the other Seahawks receivers, Branch was wrapped up as soon as he caught the ball the other two times.
| TE John Carlson, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (7 targets) |
Like Jason Witten on the other side of the ball, tight end Jon Carlson was kept in to help block on a high percentage of passing downs. He did catch 3 balls for 36 yards including an 18 yard reception down the middle of the field. His other two receptions were on quick-hooks where Carlson was the 2nd or 3rd option and Hasselbeck, under pressure, had no choice but to dump it off to him.
Dallas Cowboys
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 21 - 36 - 256 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 10 - 0 |
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had another good game against the Seahawks. For the third week in a row (and 5th time this season) Romo did not throw an interception (although he did lose a fumble). Romo's passing the last few weeks has been much improved and the reasons are clear: instead of forcing the ball to Jason Witten or Roy Williams, the Cowboys offense is now spreading the ball around. That, combined with the emergence of Miles Austin as a true downfield threat, has made the Cowboys passing attack potent once again. Romo favors Austin on deep balls and routes outside the hash-marks while turning to Witten, and receivers Roy Williams, Sam Hurd, and Patrick Crayton in the middle of the field. Romo was very efficient in completing 21 of 36 passes, most of which only traveled 6 to 8 yards down field. Romo completed passes to 10 different Cowboys and seemed patient enough in the pocket to find the open man. It certainly helped that the Seattle pass-rush was relatively unsuccessful in rushing Romo and on the rare occasion he was forced from the pocket, he often still found the open man downfield. Just as impressive, Romo's passes are not sailing on his as they have in the past; none of his incompletions were clear overthrows. Romo finished the day with 3 touchdown throws and 15 passing first downs.
| RB Marion Barber, Rush: 14 - 53 - 1, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Marion Barber is now splitting the workload with Felix Jones in a 2 to 1 split favoring Barber. Barber is most often used as a battering ram between the tackles and despite his recent hamstring injury, he still shows the "one cut and go" ability that has made him a successful runner in traffic. On Barber's first carry of the day, a 16 yard run, Barber took the handoff to the right side off-tackle and with a quick step up field managed to get in to the Seattle secondary before being brought down by Ken Lucas. Barber also scored on a two yard run up the middle in the first half to give the Cowboys a 14-3 lead. Of Barber's 15 carries, 11 went for positive yardage. The biggest change in Barber's game in recent weeks has been that he isn't used as often as a receiver now that Felix Jones is back to good health. Wherein Barber once excelled as a pass-catcher, he is now only getting targets on screen passes and short swing passes.
| RB Felix Jones, Rush: 8 - 39 - 0, Rec: 1 - 30 - 0 (1 targets) |
Felix Jones had a nice game as a complement to Marion Barber. Jones started the game as a kick returner. However, he replaced Marion Barber on the Cowboys 3rd drive. It would appear that the rotation is for Barber to play 2 series and then for Jones to play one. However, when Jones is in the game, the Cowboys spend more time in the shotgun and pass more often down-field. Jones finished the day with 39 yards on 8 carries (the first 19 yards came on his first two carries) and one thirty yard reception on a wheel route to the left side of the field. Jones took the pass in stride and used his speed to get to the Seattle 8 yard line.
| RB Tashard Choice, Rush: 4 - 11 - 0 |
Choice was used sparingly as Felix Jones and Marion Barber were both healthy. He finished the day with 4 carries between the tackles for 11 yards. Choice only entered the game to spell Barber or Jones for a play or two before returning to the sidelines.
| WR Miles Austin, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 5 - 61 - 1 (7 targets) |
Austin continued to add to his new resume as "go to receiver" by catching 5 passes for 61 yards, including a 3 yard touchdown on a pass play that previously would have gone to Roy Williams. Austin is doing an excellent job getting off the line of scrimmage and has developed a rapport with Tony Romo in just a few weeks time as a starter. Romo and Austin excel when Austin is running hitch and go routes and deep slants. Austin's route running in the last three weeks has been the key to his production; he is finding ways to get open with his feet long before the ball gets to him. Once again on Sunday, most of his catches were made without a defender draped on him. Austin was also targeted twice more downfield on plays that were whistled for defensive interference.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rush: 1 - -11 - 0, Rec: 3 - 39 - 0 (5 targets) |
Crayton returned kicks for the Cowboys on Sunday and managed to run back one Olinda Mare kick for 82 yards and a touchdown, all but icing the game for the Cowboys. Crayton worked as the third receiver in three-wide sets and was surprisingly effective in catching 3 balls for 39 yards. Crayton was able to take advantage of a soft "middle" of the field as the Seahawks tried to rush the passer. Most of his routes were crosses and slants between the hash marks.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 2 - 19 - 1 (7 targets) |
At this point, its pretty clear that Roy Williams is neither playing like nor being treated like a number one receiver. Tony Romo clearly favors Miles Austin on deeper routes and falls back on Jason Witten when he needs a clutch catch made between the tackles. Williams did catch a short touchdown on Sunday against Seattle but otherwise had very little impact on the Cowboys potent passing game. Once again, he dropped a catchable ball in the 4th quarter and was seen grinning afterwards on the sidelines. Williams mostly ran intermediate routes outside of the hashmarks and even the Seahawks realized his role would be minimal; they only shifted double-coverage to his side three times all day.
| WR Sam Hurd, Rec: 1 - 36 - 1 (1 targets) |
Hurd caught one pass for a touchdown on Sunday against Seattle. His 36 yard pass came with the defense trying to blitz Tony Romo and slant double-coverage towards Miles Austin. Hurd was able to get off the line of scrimmage easily and haul in the pass for a score.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 4 - 36 - 0 (8 targets) |
Witten was held in to block more often then normal against the Seahawks as the Seattle front seven tried to show a number of blitzes (largely ineffective) against the Cowboys. Nonetheless, Witten was still used on dump-off routes (3 of his 4 catches were less than 9 yards in length) and button-hooks between the hashmarks. The emergence of Miles Austin has helped the Cowboys pass protection as Witten isn't the only downfield threat in the passing game.