Cowboys Upset Seattle

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SEATTLE — Running back DeMarco Murray made history, and the Dallas Cowboys made a statement to the rest of the NFL on Sunday afternoon.

Murray’s 15-yard touchdown run with 3:16 remaining gave him 100 yards for the game and stood up as the game-winning score in the Cowboys’ 30-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Murray ended the game with 115 rushing yards on 29 carries to become the second running back in NFL history to open a season with six consecutive 100-yard games. He matched a feat accomplished by Jim Brown in 1958.

The Cowboys (5-1) earned their fifth consecutive victory despite setting up 17 Seattle points with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, a muffed punt that led to a touchdown and a lost fumble that set up a field goal. Considering the venue and the opponent, this was Dallas’ most impressive win of the streak.

“We can’t get beside ourselves,” wide receiver Dez Bryant said. “We’ve got to keep moving. We can’t get comfortable.”

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo completed 21 of 32 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.

His biggest completion came on a third-and-20 with 4:45 remaining in a game the Cowboys trailed 23-20. Romo scrambled out of trouble and heaved a ball toward the sideline, where receiver Terrance Williams made a

remarkable catch while dragging his toes just inside the stripe for a 22-yard reception to keep the drive alive.

Three plays later, Murray ran in for the go-ahead score from 15 yards out, giving Dallas a 27-23 lead.

“It was one of those things where if (Romo) throws it up, I want to earn his trust, so I’m going to try to get it,” Williams said of the big third-down catch.

The Cowboys, who trailed 10-0 eight minutes into the game, rallied behind 162 team rushing yards, three Dan Bailey field goals and a defense that held Seattle to 206 yards of total offense.

Murray scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:16 remaining for a 27-23 lead. Bailey added his third field goal with 1:05 remaining after the Seahawks failed on a fourth-down conversion from their own 23-yard line.

Bailey also connected from 56 yards out, tying the score 20-20 with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Seattle (3-2) managed just 206 yards of offense for the game and had just four first downs in the second half. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completed 14 of 28 passes for 126 yards and was sacked twice. His final pass of the game, a heave over the middle with Seattle deep in its own territory and trailing by seven points, was intercepted by Dallas linebacker Rolando McClain to clinch the Cowboys’ victory.

“For whatever reason, we were off just by a little bit,” Wilson said. “I’ll take the blame for it.”

Said wide receiver Doug Baldwin of the performance: “I’m not mad at Russ at all. It’s a collaborative thing. We’ve all got to be better. We’ve all got to be on point.”

The loss came on a day when the Cowboys gave Seattle plenty of opportunities.

Dallas punt returner Dwayne Harris mishandled a punt midway through the third quarter. Two plays later, Wilson ran for a 9-yard touchdown that knotted the score 17-17.

Less than two minutes later, Romo had a low snap bounce off his knee for another turnover. That led to kicker Steven Hauschka’s second field goal of the game, which gave Seattle a 20-17 lead.

The Cowboys escaped their early hole and took a 17-10 halftime lead after tight end Jason Witten caught a 3-yard pass from Romo with 16 seconds left in the first half.

A field goal and a linebacker Mike Morgan’s return of a blocked punt gave the Seattle a 10-0 advantage.

Dallas pulled within 10-7 on a Romo touchdown pass to tight end Gavin Escobar with 2:34 left in the first quarter. The Cowboys tied the score when kicker Dan Bailey capped off a 15-play, 71-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal with 5:15 remaining in the first half.

The Cowboys scored on their final three drives of the first half, piling up 231 of their 234 first-half yards on the way.

The Cowboys ended up with 401 total yards to the Seahawks’ 206.

“We just didn’t do enough,” Seattle safety Earl Thomas said. “Even when our offense is not clicking, we still have to stand up. We have to be the defense we claim to be.”

Said Wilson: “I felt like we let some people down, but you just have to keep moving.”

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