Team Grades: Offense Falls Flat As Cowboys Lose To Seahawks

By Shawn S. Lealos

The Dallas Cowboys lost four straight games since losing Tony Romo for the first half of the season to a broken collarbone. Analysts on ESPN predicted that the Seattle Seahawks would win this week in a blowout, but that isn't what happened. After a big defensive battle, it was the Seahawks defense that held strong and won a close fought game, 13-12 over the Cowboys. With such a hard fought contest in the books, here is a look a the Dallas Cowboys team grades for this week's game.

Offense: F

While the Seattle Seahawks defense played well, as they do every year, the Cowboys offense did nothing outside of their first drive of the game. On that first drive, Darren McFadden ran for 32 yards and caught one pass for nine yards. After that 41 yard output on the first drive, which resulted in a field goal, McFadden finished with a total of 64 yards on 20 carries and six total receptions for 49 yards. McFadden's 113 totals yards accounted for 51 percent of the Cowboys' total offense. Matt Cassel ran for 43 yards on quarterback keepers and the rest of the team combined for the remaining 64 yards.

Cassel, who earned the starting quarterback job after Brandon Weeden proved that he couldn't throw the ball down the field, only completed 13 of 25 passes for a total of 97 yards. He also threw one interception and the Cowboys didn't score a touchdown in the game. That also completely spoiled Dez Bryant's return to the lineup. Bryant, who had not played since he broke his foot in the opening game of the season, only caught two balls for 12 yards while Richard Sherman shadowed him the entire game.

Terrance Williams had two receptions for 20 yards, Jason Witten picked up two for 16 yards and Cole Beasley was only targeted once and didn't catch that ball. Overall, the Cowboys offense was anemic and couldn't do anything, even when turnovers gave them good field position. If the Cowboys could have just moved the ball in the Red Zone a little better, they could have won this game.

Defense: B

On the other end of the spectrum, the Dallas Cowboys defense continues to be one of the best in the NFL. They held the Seattle Seahawks offense to just one touchdown and two field goals in the loss. Dallas did not record a sack in the game, the first time since Greg Hardy joined the team that they have not recorded one, but Russell Wilson is a special quarterback who can make plays with his legs. One of the big problems with that is that Wilson was able to stretch out drives and Dallas couldn't stop him.

However, Greg Hardy was still a difference maker. He swatted a Wilson pass and intercepted it from the air. It gave the Dallas Cowboys the ball inside the Seahawks 20, but the offense was not able to do anything but kick a field goal. Dallas lost the game, but they only gave up the one touchdown, limited Russell Wilson to 210 passing yards, and limited Marshawn Lynch to 71 rushing yards. They did enough to win, but had no offensive help. If the defense plays like this when Tony Romo returns, this could be a very strong team over the last half of the season.

Special Teams: B

Dan Bailey was automatic as usual, one of the best kickers in the NFL, and arguably the greatest kicker in Dallas Cowboys' history. He hit all four of his field goals, with the longest coming from 52 yards. The special teams defense also played well, limiting the Seahawks from getting in too good of field position during the game. Chris Jones averaged 47 yards a punt. Sadly, the return team still hasn't done anything this year, not returning a single kickoff and only averaging 4 yards a return on punts. 

Coaching: B

It's was hard to coach the offense in this game because the Seahawks defense wasn't allowing anything. Matt Cassel couldn't complete his deep passes with accuracy and the running game stalled after Seattle made adjustments. Dallas tried to get the ball to Dez Bryant, but Richard Sherman was healthy and dominant. However, the defensive game plan was fantastic and Dallas couldn't overcome a smothering defense. 

Next week, the Dallas Cowboys have a rematch against their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. Luckily for Dallas, the New York Giants lost this week as well; so the Cowboys are still only two games out of first place in the NFC East. If the Cowboys can pull out a win over the Eagles next week, Tony Romo returns two games later and Dallas has a great chance to still somehow get back into the playoff race. However, they can't afford to lose many more games.

Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.