The Dallas Cowboys came up short Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks for their third “dress rehearsal” preseason game. The Seahawks outscored the Cowboys 27-17, but it was tied up at 10 apiece at half time when the Cowboys still had the majority of their starters still playing.
The Cowboys went into a hostile environment and came away defeated, but not discouraged. Of course, there were plenty of ups and downs, but overall I thought they performed better than expected, especially after the scare to quarterback Tony Romo.
I decided it would be fun to share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the game against the Seattle Seahawks, and then see if you agree with me or not. By the way, that is a Clint Eastwood movie reference in case you missed it.
The Good
Ezekiel Elliott:
Ezekiel Elliott finally made his NFL debut for the Dallas Cowboys and although it was a small sample size, he was everything that was advertised. Elliott just played 15 snaps but finished with seven carries for 48 rushing yards and an impressive 6.9 yards per carry.
Zeke showed his speed, elusiveness, decisiveness, and power. He even had a tremendous block in pass protection against a blitzing linebacker on the play that Romo was injured.
Overall, Elliott had an impressive debut against a tough Seahawks defense. If this is any indication of the type of player he will be in 2016, the running game for the Dallas Cowboys should be outstanding.
Dak Prescott:
Dak Prescott might not have put up the jaw-dropping numbers that he did in the first two preseason games, but I thought that the outing he had against the Seahawks was even more impressive.
The Seahawks have had one of the top defenses over the past several seasons and even though Prescott was forced into the game earlier than expected, he handled himself extremely well.
He was able to stay poised in the pocket against the Seahawks pass rush and complete passes downfield against one of the better secondaries in the NFL. He ended the night completing 17 of 23 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown.
The Bad
Pass Rush:
If Thursday night was any indication of what the Dallas Cowboys pass rush will look like, then the 2016 season will be extremely tough for the rest of defense.
Russell Wilson and Trevone Boykin had forever and a day to scan the field and find the open receiver thanks to the nonexistent pass rush for the Dallas Cowboys. The defense didn’t sack any of the Seahawks QB’s the entire night, which is really depressing considering the Minnesota Vikings had four sacks last week against the same Seahawks team.
This is one of the biggest concerns heading into the Week 1 match up against the New York Giants and the Cowboys organization has to find some sort of solution to put more pressure on the opposing QB. Otherwise, the rest of the defense will suffer as a result.
The pass rush for the Dallas Cowboys is just bad. Plain and simple.
The Ugly
Tony Romo:
Tony Romo:Just three plays into the game it looked as if our worst nightmares had come true and Tony Romo would once again put the Dallas Cowboys in between a rock and a hard place due to an injury. Fortunately, it looks to be a relatively mild injury and shouldn’t put his Week 1 availability in jeopardy.
I don’t know what your reaction was to seeing Romo immediately reach for his back and lay on the ground in agony, but I for one was muttering words under my breath that cannot and should not be mentioned here.
Unfortunately, it’s just another reminder of Romo’s importance to the team and the frailty of an NFL player’s body who is heading toward the end of their career. We don’t know as of yet if that is the worst hit he will take throughout the season, but it was definitely scary nonetheless.
Tony Romo almost landed in the bad category, but ultimately found his place in the ugly category because it was just that. From the hit, to seeing Romo laying on the ground, and eventually seeing him walk off the field. Everything about this situation was just UGLY!
Do you Agree or Disagree?
Please feel free to use the comment section below to share with us your thoughts and opinions on this topic.
Ugly was the referee missing major penalties all night… most all Russell Wilson last touchdown with an obvious holding penalty directly in front of the scramble. Why the defense could have used the morale boost of stopping them on that drive
Thanks for commenting Michael. I’ve never been one to be too critical of the calls that referees make. I think of it as just being part of the game.