Cowboys shock Seahawks, dominate them at CenturyLink Field

The Seattle Seahawks were dominated on all sides of the ball and lost at CenturyLink Field for just the second time in two and a half seasons, falling to the Dallas Cowboys 30-23 on Sunday afternoon.

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It was Dallas’ first win in Seattle since 2004.

DeMarco Murray led the Cowboys with 115 rushing yards, Tony Romo threw for 250 more and the Cowboys looked like a team primed to make a run in the NFC while the Seahawks looked nothing like the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Seahawks started the game on a good foot and started the scoring on the foot of Steven Hauschka, who nailed a 33-yard field goal on Seattle’s first possession to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead.

After Seattle’s defense stuffed the Cowboys offense, Doug Baldwin blocked a Chris Jones punt attempt and Mike Morgan returned it to the house to give Seattle an early 10-0 advantage.

Things looked to be going the Seahawks way, but the Cowboys offense muscled together three consecutive scoring drives of at least 71 yards and scored two touchdowns and a field goal to take a 17-10 lead into the half.

The Seahawks were dominated on both sides of the ball, allowing Tony Romo to throw two touchdowns in the first half while picking apart the Seahawks secondary, which lost Byron Maxwell in the second quarter to an ankle injury.

In the third quarter, down by a touchdown in their own house, the Seahawks found rhythm, momentum and heart.

They stopped the Cowboys offense, and though Seattle’s own offense got stopped too, the Seahawks special teams stepped up in another huge way.

After Dwayne Harris fumbled a Cowboys punt return deep in Dallas territory, the Seahawks recovered, allowing Russell Wilson and company back on the field, where Wilson rushed for an easy game-tying touchdown.

Outplayed in most aspects of the game, the Seahawks were back in it tied 17-17. The defense jumped around to get the crowd pumped, and on the Cowboys next possession, Romo fumbled the snap and the Seahawks recovered again.

Oct 12, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) rushes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

This time, Seattle was forced to kick a field goal but their 20-17 lead was their first since the first quarter.

The Cowboys tied the game at 20-20 on Dan Bailey‘s career-long 56-yard field goal and that’s where the third quarter ended.

In the fourth, Hauschka hit a season-long 48-yard field goal to give Seattle a 23-20 lead.

But the Cowboys countered again, showing poise on a five-minute, 80-yard drive that included converting a 3rd & 20 and the drive ended in a 15-yard TD run from Murray.

The run put Murray at over 100 rushing yards, the sixth-straight time he has done that this season. He is only the second player in NFL history to do that after Jim Brown did it with the Cleveland Browns in 1958.

The score gave the Cowboys a 27-23 lead and forced the Seahawks to try to put together a game-winning drive with fewer than three minutes left in the contest.

But Seattle went four-and-out to give the Cowboys the ball again, which they converted into three more points to take a 30-23 lead with only a minute left.

Wilson tried to rally the team with no timeouts, but he threw an interception to essentially end the game. He finished with only 12 rushing yards and 126 passing yards with no touchdowns and the interception.

Marshawn Lynch and Percy Harvin were non-factors for Seattle. Lynch had only 61 rushing yards while Harvin had -3 on the ground and 0 yards receiving.

Marcus Burley, Richard Sherman and K.J. Wright led the team with eight tackles each.

Sunday’s loss was just the second time since the start of the 2012 season that the Seahawks lost at CenturyLink Field.

The Seahawks were outplayed on both sides of the ball and truly didn’t deserve to win the game.

The Cowboys had more first downs (23-9), more total plays (70-48), more total yards (401-206), and greater time of possession (37:29-22:21).

The Seahawks also had nine penalties count 58 yards against them. The Cowboys had six penalties for 46 yards.

Seattle didn’t look like a team in the conversation to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They didn’t even look like a team that could win their division.

The loss put them at 3-2 on the year, a game behind the 4-1 Arizona Cardinals in the West.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, moved to 5-1 for the first time since 2007.

Seattle will need to regroup and prepare to visit the St. Louis Rams (1-3) in Week 7.