Dallas Cowboys defense comes up clutch in team’s victory over the Seattle Seahawks
After struggling throughout much of Thursday’s 41-35 win over Seattle at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas’ defense came up huge, stopping the Seahawks from scoring on their last three drives.
Seattle had 406 offensive yards in the game, but only 78 yards on their last three drives as Dallas forced the Seahawks to turn the ball over on downs on each of those possessions.
Micah Parsons spoke postgame about the Cowboys defense bouncing back when it mattered most.
“They [Seahawks] just came off with shots and, big explosive plays, [pass interference],” Parsons said. “We just got to keep everything in front of us and make them earn it we made up some big stops.”
Parson’s didn’t register a sack in the game, but came up with a pressure that forced Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith to throw away the ball on fourth down on their final possession. The play allowed Dallas to run the clock out to win the game.
Defensive back DaRon Bland said the Seahawks did a great job with their scheme early in the game and their players made big plays.
Early in the game the Cowboys defense struggled, especially the star cornerback who had problems slowing Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf.
Metcalf finished the game with six catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
In the first half of the game, Bland gave up five catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns on six targets with both touchdowns coming against Metcalf. On the day he was named the league’s top defensive player for the month of November, he gave up more yards in a half than any other NFL cornerback has in a half this season.
Bland also had an additional touchdown scored against him by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but it was called back due to a penalty.
Smith-Nijgba said the Seahawks weren’t going to shy away from throwing at Bland.
“With the talent we have at receiver, we are not afraid to go against anybody. They have good players over there, we have good players. Kudos to him, he made a good pick. We made our plays too. I wish we had a couple more back, but it was their day today. They won and congrats to them,” said Smith-Njigba.
However, Bland came up huge later in the game when he got his league-high eighth interception in the second half. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said he liked his team’s approach disregarding Bland’s interception.
“I thought we played very well against him. We didn’t want to throw the ball to him that one time. We shouldn’t have done it. Our mistake. He’s having an incredible year. Total hats off to the dude. He’s a terrific football player,” said Carroll
It was one of the key plays as the Cowboys overcame a 28-20 deficit in the third quarter. Seattle scored just one touchdown in the final 25 minutes of the game as they were outscored 21-7 during that span.
“They had a great first half and we tried to make it up in the second half,” said Bland, “When we stick together we do amazing things which we showed in the second half we stuck together and we made the plays.”
Smith complimented Bland after the game for his coverage skills.
“Like I said, we’ve faced some of the best corners in the league and we have some really great receivers. We love our matchups. Obviously, we want to keep the ball away from guys like that. He made a great play there in the third quarter. That’s why he’s having the year he’s having. We don’t shy away from any of those matchups. We trust our guys to make plays. He got one on me today. Hat’s off to him. He made a great play,” said Smith.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones praised Bland for his resilience after the game.
“Certainly in the NFL, you gonna get beat, especially at corner and you got to have a mentality to take that,” said Jones, “I don’t know of any quality that I admire more than somebody that has a rough outing, rough time and they come back and overcome that and make some key plays.”
Parsons said after Prescott scored a two-point conversion to put the Cowboys ahead 38-35 with 4:37 remaining, that the quarterback told the defense it was their turn.
“As soon as he got that two-point conversion he [Prescott] came on the sideline... y’all get a (expletive) now, it’s y’alls turn,” said Parsons.
Parsons and the defense did just what Prescott requested with Seattle failing to score another point in the game.
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 12:16 AM.
