FRISCO – Since losing to the Seattle Seahawks, 23-14, up in the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 23 in the third week of the NFL season, a lot has changed for the Dallas Cowboys.
Most noticeably, the Cowboys had not yet made the trade with Oakland to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper, who has been extremely key to the team’s run to the playoffs. And the Seahawks?
Well, a week after upending the Cowboys, Seattle lost its best defensive back when Earl Thomas sustained a season-ending fractured left leg during a win over the Arizona Cardinals. Thomas was extremely key to Seattle’s win over the Cowboys when he intercepted two Dak Prescott passes and then took an impromptu bow towards the Dallas bench following his second interception.
But the stakes are now much higher for both teams when the Cowboys (10-6) host a wild-card playoff game against the Seahawks (10-6) on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Still, the Cowboys haven’t forgotten that Seattle held Prescott to just 168 yards passing and sacked him five times in addition to changing the game with those pair of costly interceptions.
Elliot confident and rested
“We both are a different team, and there’s been a lot of football since then,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “A lot has changed for us, but just go out there and play our style of ball.”
The Cowboys’ style of ball mostly hinges on the play of Elliott, who rushed for 1,434 yards this year while winning his second NFL rushing title in the past three seasons. And Elliott was able to accomplish this feat despite resting and sitting out Sunday’s wild 36-35 victory over the New York Giants in the regular season finale.
The rest for Elliott and some of his teammates will enable the Cowboys to be a fresh group by the time they host the Seahawks. And in all, after starting the season with a woeful 3-5 record, the Cowboys went 7-1 down the stretch and are ecstatic they were able to earn their postseason papers by winning the NFC East.
“It’s hard to make the playoffs in the NFL, so that makes the moment that much more important, but I live for these moments,” said Elliott, who rushed for 127 yards on just 16 carries back in September against Seattle. “I can’t wait to go out there and compete Saturday night.
“I believe we have the best defense in football and a pretty darn good offense – a lot of weapons. I think we have the right recipe to make some noise.”
Crawford grateful for answered prayers
The Cowboys’ recipe for winning this season can mostly be credited to the play of their stout defense. That’s why they’re celebrating the return of defensive end Tyrone Crawford, who sat out the game against the Giants after he was carted off the field and rushed to a hospital with a neck injury during the Dec. 23 victory against Tampa Bay.
Crawford’s injury, diagnosed as a stinger, occurred on the second play of the game.
“At first I was scared because I heard a sound, and obviously when something happens in your body you can hear it loud,” Crawford said. “I was scared until I moved my fingers and my legs, then I thought I was alright.
“But then they told me about moving your neck you could possibly break it, so I got a little worried back in the ambulance again. But as soon as they told me everything was good, I just prayed and said thank you.”
The Cowboys are thankful they’re playing the Seahawks this time in Arlington. They’re also thankful for Crawford, who they desperately need so he can help them put some pressure on Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson.
In their earlier Cowboys-Seahawks matchup this year, Wilson was 16-of-26 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and also was sacked twice.
“He’s explosive,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “He makes explosive plays, he gets out of the pocket, he’s a great quarterback.
“He commands that offense and he’s been commanding that offense for a while. So, when you think of him you can only think of a winner.”
Prescott seeking his first playoff victory
Of course, on the flip side, Prescott surprised everyone when he not only played in Sunday’s meaningless game against the Giants, but he played the entire game and completed 27 of 44 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns.
That includes scrambling and throwing a picture-perfect pass that Cole Beasley leaped and hauled in for a 32-yard touchdown on fourth down which got the Cowboys within 35-34 of the Giants with 1:12 remaining in the game. Prescott then tossed the winning two-point conversion to Michael Gallup.
“I thought it was a pretty remarkable play by our quarterback and our receiver,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Obviously, they put some pressure on (Prescott) and he had to get out of the pocket.
“Dak does such a great job moving in the pocket, he does such a great job keeping his eyes up and making those throws on the run. But one thing you have to understand when you have a movement quarterback like that, there are a lot of good plays that he makes too, and certainly that was as good a play as I’ve ever seen him make, and (Beasley) made a big-time catch on the other end of it.”
For Prescott, the game against the Giants was more about maintaining his rhythm with the playoffs just around the corner.
“I wasn’t coming out there saying I needed to prove people something,” Prescott said. “I was coming out there to try to get a win, simple as that. Get a win for our teammates and keep this momentum going.
“If anything, just show the guys how much winning means to me no matter the circumstances, meaningless or not. That’s the only thing that was important to me.”
The next thing on his calendar that is important to Prescott? Getting his first-ever playoff win with a victory over the Seahawks.
