Seahawks And Cowboys Should See Offensive Fireworks

Seahawks vs. Cowboys, 8:15 ET

Football returns to primetime with a pretty decent matchup this week. After we were subjected to the painful Bears vs. Vikings game on Monday night, this is a welcome sight in my opinion. Tonight we get the Seahawks, a team with a capable defense and occasionally explosive offense, against the Dallas Cowboys, a great regular season team that will undoubtedly choke once again in the playoffs. Don't kill me Cowboys fans, you know it is the truth.

The Seahawks come into tonight's game with a 6-5 record and a fringe chance at making the playoffs. A win here could certainly go a long way, because their schedule isn't exactly easy with the 49ers and Eagles on the horizon. If things play out the way you'd probably expect, they will end the season either 8-8 or 8-9. I'm not sure that will be good enough to make the playoffs this season. Either way, their best chance tonight might be to just hope they can contain the Dallas offense, and put up some sort of points every time they touch the ball. One thing Dallas has been very good at is turnovers, and making people pay by turning those turnovers into points. Seattle's quarterback, Geno Smith, has thrown eight interceptions on the year. He can't afford to do that tonight and expect the team to win. Looking strictly at his numbers it is a bit surprising to me that he can't rack up more yards. He has two very good receivers on his team, and has only surpassed 250 passing yards in five of the 11 games this year. It really can't be understated, Smith needs to have a good game in order for Seattle to win.

DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 17: Quarterback Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks looks to pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on September 17, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)

Dallas at home has been as good as any team in the league. They are not just winning, but they are crushing their competition. 20, 35, 23, 32, 35 - that's the margin of victory for them this season at home. All three of their losses have come on the road and two of the three were against the cream of the crop in the NFC. Dak Prescott has looked solid this season and is effectively marching the troops downfield in games. He has thrown for over 250 yards in each of his home starts, and is finding ways to spread the ball all over the field. For example, the Cowboys have had four different receivers lead their team in yardage over the 11 games. They've also been doing this without having a great running game. Tony Pollard is fine, but he's only produced one 100-yard rushing game this season and is closer to 70 yards per game than he is the 100 mark. Brandin Cooks has been a welcome addition for the Cowboys this year as well and has led the team in receiving yards the last three games. I like what the offense is doing, but the Dallas defense is really what is shining this year. Are pick-6 plays sustainable, not really, but somehow DaRon Bland has seven interceptions this year and has returned five of them for touchdowns. He is technically second on the squad in receptions that resulted in touchdowns and he is a cornerback.

I actually think Seattle has a solid enough defense. They aren't going to stop the Cowboys, and Dallas will win the game. However, the line is giving me a bit of pause here as I do think the Seahawks are good enough to remain in the running. Going back to how good Dallas is at home, though... do you really want to bet against them here? All those thoughts led to me looking at the total and I think that's how we play it. Seattle has shown they are capable of playing in just about any type of game, and I think Dallas probably racks up points and Seattle tries to keep up. I'll take the over in this game and hope we get some excitement from this primetime matchup.

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