Coming into the season, you would have had a hard time finding too many people who would have thought that the Cowboys would have the more effective defense when they squared off against the Seahawks.
That’s just what’s happened through the first two quarters, however. The Cowboys have limited the Seahawks to 83 yards in the first half while the Cowboys have rolled up 234 to rally from an early 10-0 hole and take a 17-10 lead before halftime. They grabbed the lead on Jason Witten’s first touchdown catch of the season (and 900th catch of his career) and set up the score with a big completion to Dez Bryant, who got free from Richard Sherman to take the ball into the red zone.
Dallas has gotten a nice contribution from Joseph Randle in support of DeMarco Murray in the running game thus far. Randle has picked up 52 yards on four carries to go with Murray’s 46 yards as the Cowboys have dominated time of possession through the first 30 minutes. Lance Dunbar has also pitched in four catches as the Cowboys have again devoted themselves to moving the ball with their backs.
Seattle’s defense is missing linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Byron Maxwell, both of whom are questionable to return to the contest. Wagner’s absence could be particularly painful against the Dallas ground game as the Cowboys try to protect their lead over the final 30 minutes.
That puts some pressure on the offense, which will need to do much better after failing to get a first down in the second quarter.
UPDATE 6:01 p.m. ET: Wagner is back in the game in the second half.
