10 thoughts on the Cowboys 41-35 comeback victory over the Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys won on Thursday night and we have a lot of thoughts on everything that happened.

The Dallas Cowboys finally beat a winning team, however, it wasn’t easy. Under the lights of a Thursday night game on Amazon Prime, the Cowboys decided to go the comeback route, beating the Seattle Seahawks 41-35 and remaining a perfect 6-0 at home. The Cowboys also put up their fifth 40+ point game, four of which have come after their bye week. This one was a weird one, and here are 10 thoughts on this high-scoring Cowboys victory.

1. IT WASN’T PRETTY, BUT THEY GOT IT DONE

Once we realized this game wasn’t going to be the usual home blowout we were accustomed to, the game became quite frustrating. This game featured four lead changes in the first half alone, capped off by a Seahawks touchdown in the final seconds of the first half to go up 21-20. Dallas played from behind throughout most of the second half before finally taking the lead for good with less than five minutes to go in the game. It was sloppy, they didn’t play well most of the night, but in the end, they got it done. Basically, an Eagles game.

2. DEFENSE WAS DREADFUL, MOSTLY

It was a pathetic display for the Cowboys’ defense as they gave up their second-most points and yard totals of the season, trailing only the disastrous Week 5 performance against the San Francisco 49ers. Particularly disturbing was how vulnerable they were against the pass. They allowed 334 yards in the air, their highest total of the season. The Seahawks offense converted 9/14 on third down. The Cowboys’ defense struggled to get off the field.

3. BUT THEY SHOWED UP WHEN IT COUNTED

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were up by five points and had a chance to tack on more points. The defense kept coming up just short of stopping them on third-down the first couple of times on that drive, but then they finally came through on the third one, forcing them into a 4th-and-1 at the Cowboys’ 46-yard line. DeMarcus Lawrence snuck through the middle and stuffed Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet in the backfield. Then, late in the game after the Cowboys had re-taken the lead, the defense came through again with another fourth-down stop. It wasn’t great early, but it was great late.

4. BLAND GETTING LIT UP

It was a rough night for the Cowboys’ second-year cornerback as DaRon Bland allowed six catches for 137 yards in the first half alone. It was the most yards a corner has given up in a half this season. It was frustrating to watch him struggle under the lights after just winning Defensive Player of the Month.

5. BLAND GETS HIS REDEMPTION

While the game as a whole was his worst showing of the year, Bland made good by coming up with a huge play in the second half. As he so often likes to do, Bland jumped the corner route and got in front of Tyler Locket for his eighth interception of the season. Quarterbacks continue to challenge him, and Bland continues to get his picks.

6. JLEW COMES UP BIG

The idea of Jourdan Lewis following Seahawks rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba around for four quarters didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. But lo and behold, it was Lewis who, not once, but twice made key third-down stops in the fourth quarter. Lewis is the team’s “weakest link” starting corner because the other guys are so good, but he was the one making big plays on this day.

7. CEEDEE’S BACK

After putting up four straight games with over 100 yards receiving, the Cowboys star receiver has been relatively quiet with just 38 yards against Carolina and 53 yards on Thanksgiving against Washington. On Thursday, Lamb was back to his old ways with a 12-catch, 112-yard effort, including a touchdown. He also added another 30 yards rushing. Lamb now has four straight games with a receiving touchdown

8. ZERO PUNTS

It’s weird, but I don’t think I can ever recall watching a football game that didn’t have at least one punt, that is, until tonight. In a game that featured a lot of scoring with 17 third-down conversions and another five fourth-down attempts, the Cowboys and Seahawks never trotted their punters on the field.

9. MCCARTHY’S WEIRD COACHING DECISIONS

It’s always moot when the Cowboys win, but there were a handful of head-scratchers from Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy in this one. Early in the game, he chose to decline a holding penalty that would’ve resulted in a 2nd-and-19, but instead made it 3rd-and-7, which Seattle converted. McCarthy also passed on going for two after the Cowboys scored late in the third quarter and still trailed 28-27. And then with the Seahawks out of timeouts with less than two minutes to go and the offense facing 3rd-and-3, he calls a fade route to CeeDee Lamb? It’s fine to try to end the game there and get the first down, but it should’ve included a play that burned another 40 seconds off the clock.

10. FLAG FEST

The Cowboys and Seahawks entered this game as two of the worst penalty-committing teams in the NFL, and after this performance, we can see why. The Cowboys committed nine penalties for 127 yards while Seattle, not to be outdone, got tagged 10 times for 130 yards. It was just terrible to watch. And it wasn’t like the referees with out there being flag happy. These were mostly legit penalties. It was just a sloppy showing by both teams.