Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas Cowboys

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The Seattle Seahawks travel to AT&T Stadium to take on the Dallas Cowboys on wild card weekend.  These two teams played each other earlier this season, but the teams are much different now - I would say they're both clearly gotten better as the season as gone on.  The Cowboys fans will be fired up Saturday night, but I don't believe that will have that big of an impact on the Seahawks.  Russell Wilson has been in football games much bigger than this one and he will keep the troops calm under pressure.  One of the biggest keys to this game is going to be the rushing attack on both sides.  The team that can best establish the run will open a lot of things up on the outside and down the field.

The Cowboys come into this game ranked 10th in rushing yards per game, while the Seahawks rush defense is ranked 13th in the league.

Seahawks rank 1st in rushing yards per game, while the Cowboys run defense is ranked 5th in the league.

While Chris Carson went over 100 yards rushing against the Cowboys in their week three matchup, he was held to his lowest rushing yards per attempt that game at only 3.2 yards per carry.  On the season Carson averaged 4.7 yards per carry.  In the matchup earlier in the season, Russell Wilson had a really solid game, but most importantly, he avoided making back breaking mistakes.  On the other hand, Dak Prescott committed two turnovers in that contest and those were really costly.

Speaking of Prescott, he has played much better as the season has gone on - most notably after the team acquired Amari Cooper.  With Cooper's arrival, the Cowboys have a legitimate #1 receiving threat and that helps to balance out the entire offense.  Prescott and Cooper also have awesome chemistry for being together for such a short period of time.  Defending Cooper and Beasley will be a tough task for the Seahawks secondary that has looked shaky this season.  The Seahawks defensive line is going to have to pressure and contain Prescott, so extra defenders can be dropped into coverage.  Dak Prescott definitely has flaws in his game and this is a big stage game, so maybe he will feel the pressure a bit.

I'm taking the Seahawks to win this game 16-13.

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https://www.fieldgulls.com/2018/12/30/18162060/russell-wilson-sets-seahawks-franchise-record-for-touchdown-passes-seattle-history-stats

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, his 35th of the year. That set a new franchise record, surpassing his own mark of 34, which he hit in 2015 and 2017.

Wilson has the highest passer rating of any QB through seven seasons with a minimum of 70 starts. He is third all-time in TD passes through seven seasons, behind Dan Marino and Manning.

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Something to continue to keep an eye on in the playoffs.

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Tough loss

 

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@animaltested @evilpimp972 @Meeker @Tatupu_64 @brazilianguy @Sacks98 @Zman724

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@ThirtyOne-EightyNine @ZenoRazon @NFL_Announcer

[evilpimp972 130]

Ughh Hill is down, he had done a great job covering tight end, let's hope that Jarwin dude is just a one hit wonder.

Anyway we didn't have Dougie for the first match up, with the loss of ET, it's a toss up to me.

Let's goooo

But that run defense...I'm scared 

[animaltested 186]

12 hours ago, evilpimp972 said:

Ughh Hill is down, he had done a great job covering tight end, let's hope that Jarwin dude is just a one hit wonder.

Anyway we didn't have Dougie for the first match up, with the loss of ET, it's a toss up to me.

Let's goooo

But that run defense...I'm scared 

Yep. 

That's the key. Seattle has been better the last couple of weeks, but the game starts and ends with Zeke. 

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14 hours ago, evilpimp972 said:

Ughh Hill is down, he had done a great job covering tight end, let's hope that Jarwin dude is just a one hit wonder.

Anyway we didn't have Dougie for the first match up, with the loss of ET, it's a toss up to me.

Let's goooo

But that run defense...I'm scared 

Just as Hill is going to IR, Tedric Thompson is returning, so that will hopefully be a help.  Dallas' defense, heck their team, is composed of young and inexperienced players all-around.  I think that's probably one of the main reasons you see inconsistency by them throughout the season.

[evilpimp972 130]

1 minute ago, showtime said:

Just as Hill is going to IR, Tedric Thompson is returning, so that will hopefully be a help.  Dallas' defense, heck their team, is composed of young and inexperienced players all-around.  I think that's probably one of the main reasons you see inconsistency by them throughout the season.

Their weak link is probably the safety position. LB duo is pretty good and they tackle well, the can stop the run but lately they have struggled to do so. They are 26th in 3rd down defense (thanks Richards ! lol ) it's kinda weird.

Their offense are really bad in the redzone, which has been a strenght of our D this year, and Dak turns the ball over way too much, again the strenght of our D.

Should be really close.

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On 1/2/2019 at 11:37 AM, evilpimp972 said:

Their weak link is probably the safety position. LB duo is pretty good and they tackle well, the can stop the run but lately they have struggled to do so. They are 26th in 3rd down defense (thanks Richards ! lol ) it's kinda weird.

Their offense are really bad in the redzone, which has been a strenght of our D this year, and Dak turns the ball over way too much, again the strenght of our D.

Should be really close.

Yea, their defense is kind of inconsistent.  They might have a game like they did against the Saints where they completely dominate and shut down a high powered offense and then they'll have a game like they did against the Colts where they lost 23-0 and gave up like 170+ yards rushing.  The player I'm really concerned with on their defense is Demarcus Lawrence.  The Seahawks have shown flashes of having trouble letting a dominant pass rusher have a big impact on games (Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, etc) and Lawrence is one of the elite defensive linemen in the league.

Also, Byron Jones has been a top flight CB this year.  Will be interesting to see how much production Baldwin, Lockett and crew can get when they're matched up on him.

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Keep the momentum going

 

[Seachickens 0]

So, I know Amari cooper playing is a big deal for the Cowboys. But I haven’t heard anyone bring up the fact, that we’ll have both Doug Baldwin and KJ Wright for this game. They both missed the first game vs the Cowboys. This game is a toss up for me. But feel  good that those two are back, and as healthy as they’ve been this season.

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22 hours ago, Seachickens said:

So, I know Amari cooper playing is a big deal for the Cowboys. But I haven’t heard anyone bring up the fact, that we’ll have both Doug Baldwin and KJ Wright for this game. They both missed the first game vs the Cowboys. This game is a toss up for me. But feel  good that those two are back, and as healthy as they’ve been this season.

That game was so long ago.  I believe week three?  Earl Thomas was huge in that game with two interceptions, but he obviously won't be there this time.  A lot of things have changed since then.  IMO, both teams are significantly better right now than they were then.  Really good point about Wright, though.  Having him back is really big in general.