Week 9: Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS @ DALLAS COWBOYS
Vegas Line: Seahawks + 11.5

Rob’s Line: Seahawks + 10.5

I liked Philadelphia’s chances before they played host to Dallas last week and had them to cover the spread, but I didn’t expect anything like the 34-7 scoreline the Cowboys found themselves on the wrong end of. Seattle, on the other hand, welcomed Cincinnati and that fearsome defense and lost nearly as badly, 34-12. Both results were shockers for their own reasons and it begs the question of which team will bounce back the strongest.

The Cowboys have the most to play for as they’re still in the playoff hunt and with the Redskins in freefall, they, along with Philly, are chasing the New York Giants who hold a somewhat surprising two game lead in the NFC East. I’ve seen a lot of Seattle this season and I’m of the opinion that their 36-25 stunner against those Giants in New York is the shock result of the season. How they can follow that with a combined 15 points against the Browns and Bengals baffles me. Yes, Cincy’s D at work is something to behold, but the ‘Hawks have a fearsome reputation when playing at home, something that may not be feared so much for the remainder of the season.
What is clear this week is that Seattle’s quarterbacks are going to be in the firing line. Tarvaris Jackson looks likely to start and that may actually be good news as Charlie Whitehurst has struggled badly as the starter since Jackson went down in NY. However, any help he may have hoped for from the running game and the bruising style of Marshawn Lynch in particular, looks to be non-existent as the Seahwaks bring their 31st ranked rushing attack to face the Cowboys’ 4th ranked run defense. This means Jackson (or Whitehurst) being charged with winning the game and that puts them bang in the sights of outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, whose 12 sacks so far this season ranks second in the league. He had four last week in Philly and he could do the same this week as which team do you suppose has allowed the most sacks so far this season? Yep, you guessed it. This game could get ugly for ‘Hawks fans like myself and I think it’s one I’ll be avoiding.
Running back Felix Jones will once again be missing for the Cowboys, but DeMarco Murray has been a more than able replacement and he even gained 74 yards on just 8 carries in last week’s mauling. However, about the only strength Seattle has as a team is stopping the run so he may find the going a little more difficult this week, but this shouldn’t be a huge worry overall for the Cowboys.
Quarterback Tony Romo has a plethora of receivers to throw to, most of whom should have too much for the Seahawks secondary and this game should see them back at .500 before they host Buffalo next week. In fact, the Bills are their most difficult opponent in what is a relatively soft mid-season schedule that sees them up against the Redskins, Dolphins and Cardinals and including what should be a W this week, Dalas could find themselves 7-5 before a tough four game stretch to finish the season.
I fear this game does little for the neutrals out there and while I don’t normally favour tipping the non-elite teams to cover a two touchdown spread, knowing how bad the Seahawks are, I can’t see anything other than the Cowboys winning this one very comfortably and have to objectively say that I’d be amazed if Seattle were able to score ten points and I see Dallas scoring at least twenty so there you have it. Heck, I’ll even give you my first ever score prediction: Dallas 27, Seattle 6.