Seattle Showdown

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The CowboysNation and the world have been painfully watching and waiting for the real Dallas Cowboys to please #StandUp. 

For once, it appears that the 2014 Cowboys have taken notice and are doing something about it on the field.

  The result of today's NFC mega-tilt,  will be a defining factor on whether or not the 2014 Dallas Cowboys (4-1) have arrived to NFL - ELITE status or not.
They will go into one of the loudest stadiums in the country looking to silent the raucous Century Link field home crowd best known as the #12.  They will face the league's top ranked defense against the run known as the Legion of Boom. 

When these teams last faced off in 2012, the contest (if you can call it that), got out of hand early thanks in large part to miscues and mistakes made in all phases of the game by a floundering Dallas team that had yet to mature under their then second year head coach, Jason Garrett.  Dallas would never recover losing 27-7, enroute to their second consecutive 8-8 season of the Garrett-era. 
Seattle would go on to finish the season 11-5 winning a wildcard playoff game against the Redskins before losing in the final seconds against the Falcons in the divisional round.

But, have the Dallas Cowboys really turned the corner yet? 
Well, we're not going to know for sure one way or the other regardless of the outcome today but, the defending Superbowl champion Seahawks (3-1) will surely be the Cowboys toughest test of the young season.  Remember, it's only week 6.


Here's what I expect from both teams coming off big wins last week. 
After,  dispatching the woeful Washington Redskins (1-4) on the road last Monday night, Seattle will be amped and energetic returning home driven by their noisy home faithful and still riding the wave of their phenomenal playoff success last year. 

Dallas, who needed overtime  at home to defeat the Houston Texans (3-3) will be more disciplined this time around with a keen eye towards continuing to build on their early season success both offensively and defensively.  "This game is about us.", said Dallas head coach Jason Garrett.  
He's right. 


Keys to victory: 

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Dallas- If the Dallas Cowboys can continue their balanced offensive attack, make manageable third down conversions and control the clock they will be victorious.  
Seattle -  In Russ they trust. Rely on the steady play of QB Russell Wilson and make turnovers on defense. 
Hopefully, the real Dallas Cowboys come to play and treat the fans to an early season playoff level matchup.
Prediction: Dallas wins 31-20.

Dallas & Houston battle in Big D

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With nothing to lose and everything to gain the resurgent Dallas Cowboys (3-1) enter a high noon affair with their instate rivals the Houston Texans (3-1) today at AT&T Stadium for the "battle for Texas." 
The relatively upstart Houston franchise comes in with a stout defense that is hungry and intense. After early wins against lesser opponents (Redskins and Raiders) they stumbled against the Giants and had to fight hard to defeat a scrappy Buffalo team at home 24-17 last week. Riding the stellar efforts of defensive standout JJ Watt, the Texans are more than confident coming into the Cowboys backyard looking for a road victory. 
But, which Dallas Cowboys team will they see?  
Will they see the error prone and confused team that we saw give away game 1 against San Francisco? Or will the resilient Cowboys team we saw rise above the early road adversity against the Rams to comeback, then totally dominate the once mighty Saints from start to finish last weekend at home show up?
To the casual fans and many media pundits, the 2014 Dallas Cowboys are in many ways just beginning to mature as an offense and surprisingly through four games are coming together quite nicely as a patchwork "no name defense." 
However, the #CowboysNation knows all to well the roller coaster ride that has been the Dallas Cowboys team under Jason Garrett so, excuse our tempered excitement as we collectively apply the "wait & see" approach to the offensive commitment to running the ball and a revamped defensive secondary that plays to win and not to lose. But most importantly, we're hopeful for improved game management in the winning moments of the 4th quarter.   
Yet after four games, the Dallas Cowboys have the league's top rusher so it wouldn't surprise most that they would continue lean on that ravenous offensive line and ride the legs of DeMarco Murray again.   
If they are successful running the ball and can allow the Tony Romo rehab experience to continue its week to week improvements this Dallas team will have everyone remembering and making comparisons to those championship teams the '90s.
The Houston Texans however,  are not just another fluffed up AFC paperweight team by any stretch.  Although,  they are still finding their way on offense behind Pro-bowl running back Arian Foster,  their young defense is ranked 19th against the run. (allowing just over 100 yards a game) And don't forget that they have one of most terrifying pass rushers in the game today in defensive end JJ Watt. Watt will be matched up at times against Doug Free so the Cowboys will have to be creative in their protection of Romo.
 The Cowboys and Texans have only matched up three times with Dallas holding a 2-1 advantage winning the last two games in '06 & '10.  I expect a better than average game with Dallas taking the home win 30-24.
This is the first time that Dallas has been 3-1 to start a season since '08 when they finished 9-7 and failed to make the playoffs under the head coach Wade Phillips.