4 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks wicked loss to Cowboys in Week 13

The Seattle Seahawks season is slipping away. The team was once 3-1, but they have gone 3-5 since and have lost four of five. That is not the way you want to go.

Every week seems to be a different struggle than the previous week. The defense is fine for two weeks and then horrible for three. The offense is dormant for several games in a row and then explodes against a good Cowboys defense. Weirdly and aggressively frustrating.

One can assume with two straight games forthcoming where the Seahawks face the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles that the team will be 6-8 soon. A tough game against the Pittsburgh Steelers might have the team 7-9. But let's hope for an early Christmas miracle and a finish of 11-6.

Seattle Seahawks winner No. 1 - Quarterback Geno Smith

I know some fans jumped all over Geno Smith after he threw an interception in the second half against the Cowboys, one of his few mistakes in the game, but even the pick wasn't completely his fault. Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland made a great play on the ball and used perfect technique to get in front of Tyler Lockett and outmuscle him for the ball. Lockett does appear to be slowing a bit and he has never been a physical receiver, but he needed to help Smith on the play a lot better.

But besides the pick, Geno Smith threw enough dimes in the game to get several candy bars from the machine. DK Metcalf had a 73-yard catch and run on Seattle's first series but a big reason was that Smith threaded the two Cowboys defenders and his pass led Metcalf into a sprint. Smith threw another perfect pass to Metcalf down the sidelines in the first half that wasn't a touchdown but simply a long gain.

To be sure, Smith has had his issues with consistency and decision-making in 2023. He has not progressed over how he performed in 2022. But he certainly was not the reason the Seahawks lost in Week 13. In fact, he may have been the reason the Seahawks won had the defense done anything at all. Smith finished 23 of 41 for 334 yards with 3 touchdowns and the one pick. He also ran for a touchdown. He did all that though he only had about 2.5 seconds to throw on his dropbacks.