Cowboys scouting report: Seattle’s Legion of Boom back on track

The Seattle Seahawks appear to have found their midseason stride.

The two-time defending NFC champions are looking more and more like a team ready to reach its third consecutive Super Bowl. Last Thursday against San Francisco, Seattle proved that it can still be a dominant force.

Marshawn Lynch posted his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. The defense got pressure up front and held the 49ers to just one field goal. The only blemish was quarterback Russell Wilson, who was intercepted twice and sacked five times in a 20-3 victory.

The story of the game, though, was a rejuvenated Seahawks defense that completely shut down the 49ers. San Francisco finished with just 142 yards of offense — 81 through the air, 61 on the ground.

Yes, Seattle’s Legion of Boom has returned, a scary thought for the Dallas Cowboys heading into Sunday’s game at AT&T Stadium.

“We’re just playing our style of football,” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said, via The Seattle Times. “I don’t think it’s anything incredible or incredibly specific.”

Well, it was an incredible performance considering how poorly the Seahawks defense played the previous two weeks, allowing 27 points each game in losses to Cincinnati and Carolina.

On Thursday, though, the defense came to play, particularly up front. They sacked 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick six times, including 3.5 by Texas A&M product Michael Bennett.

Offensively, the Seahawks had an impressive performance on the ground. Lynch, who missed two games earlier this season with a hamstring injury, had his best game of the season.

And Lynch will certainly be looking to take advantage of a Cowboys run defense that has struggled in recent weeks. Over their four-game skid, Dallas has allowed teams to rush for 158 (Atlanta Falcons), 103 (New Orleans Saints), 109 (New England Patriots) and 132 (New York Giants) yards.

“That is Seahawks football,” receiver Doug Baldwin said after the 49ers game, via The Seattle Times. “We go with Marshawn. He leads the way. The style in which he runs, and the style in which he leads in the huddle, that’s what’s important to us. And that’s what helps us get where we want to be. We’re going to go as far as he takes us.”

Briefly

▪ Receiver Paul Richardson, the Seahawks’ first pick in the 2014 draft who has been sidelined with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, could return to action this week. Said Richardson, according to The Seattle Times: “I feel good. Blessed to say I feel good.”

▪ The Seahawks have had an inconsistent season thus far. They opened with two losses, won two straight, then lost two straight before Thursday’s win at San Francisco.

Telling number

206 Yards gained by the Seahawks last season at home in a 30-23 Cowboys victory. It was Seattle’s worst offensive performance of the season, by 84 yards.

He said it

“We certainly will. I have no idea what’s going to happen with that, but we kind of always go that way. If a guy’s got a chance to play, we’re going to think he’s going to play.” – Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, on if Seattle will be prepared for Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant, who hasn’t played since the season opener

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Cowboys scouting report: Seattle’s Legion of Boom back on track."