There’s no time for rest for the Cowboys, or their opponent this week as they both are coming off Thanksgiving Day games.
But it appears the Cowboys and Seahawks are headed in opposite directions. The Cowboys have won three straight games, including a 35-point win last Thursday over Washington. Seattle (6-5) has lost three of its last four games, including a Thanksgiving Day loss to the 49ers at home.
Here are the 10 big storylines for the week, with five for the Seahawks and five for the Cowboys.
Seahawks
- Just a few weeks ago, Seattle was considered one of the favorites in the NFC, even winning its division over the 49ers with a 5-2 record. Since then, they’ve lost three out of four games, including a 31-13 loss to San Francisco on Thursday at home. While they’re still right in the middle of the playoff picture, the schedule doesn’t get easier for the Seahawks, whose next three games are at Dallas and at San Francisco, followed by a home game with the Eagles.
- Seattle’s Geno Smith has been banged up here in the last few weeks and it’s probably a product of the amount of hits he’s been taking. When looking at the Seahawks’ record, it seems to have a direct correlation with the sacks allowed. In Seattle’s six wins, the team has allowed a total of nine sacks. In the five losses, they’ve been sacked 18 times, including six last week against the 49ers.
- The Seahawks have quite the trio of wide receivers, starting with D.K. Metcalf, along with veteran Tyler Lockett and rookie Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Seattle is one of just four teams in the NFL this year with three different wide receivers with at least 400 receiving yards, led by Metcalf, who has 678 yards.
- The Seahawks have signed a familiar face of the Cowboys in cornerback Kelvin Joseph, a second-round pick of the team in 2021. Joseph was recently traded by Dallas to Miami just before the start of the season. The Dolphins released Joseph earlier this month but he’s now on the Seattle practice squad.
- Seattle has a few names on the roster and practice squad that have spent time in Dallas, including veteran offensive linemen Jason Peters, who played for the Cowboys at guard and tackle last year. Peters is a 20-year veteran and is currently on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Seattle also has cornerback Michael Jackson, a 2019 draft fifth-round pick of the Cowboys.
Cowboys
- The Cowboys have won five of their last six games to improve to 8-3 after a 42-10 win over the Commanders on Thanksgiving Day. The Cowboys led just 20-10 late in the third quarter before an explosion on both offense and defense helped them pull away from their NFC East rivals.
- The Cowboys are in the middle of a three-game span over a 11-day period after playing at Carolina on Nov. 19, followed by the Commanders game on Nov. 23 and now a week to rest before hosting Seattle at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 30. The Cowboys are looking to extend their home winning streak to 14 games with a win over the Seahawks on Thursday.
- The DaRon Bland Story keeping getting better and better. Four days after he tied the NFL record with his fourth pick-six of the season, he broke the record outright against Washington, returning an interception 63 yards to the end zone to become the first player in league history to have five in one season. Bland also leads the NFL with seven overall interceptions.
- While Bland is making a huge case for NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, Dak Prescott is doing the same on the offensive side. He’s been on another level here of late, including another four-touchdown performance against Washington. His 10th career 4-TD game ties him for the franchise record with Tony Romo. This month alone, Dak has 13 touchdown passes, 1,298 yards and just one interception.
- The headliners for this Cowboys team in the last few weeks have been Dak, Bland, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb, but the offensive line might be playing its best football as well. Left tackle Tyron Smith has missed a day of practice each week in the last month, but it’s not affecting him on game day. Smith is playing his best football of the season, along with left guard Tyler Smith. The offensive line hasn’t allowed a sack in each of the last three games.
