After an impressive Week 1 victory over the Super Bowl Champion Giants, the Dallas Cowboys look to stay hot against rookie quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. Against the Giants, the Cowboys offense was as explosive and clutch as ever. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo silenced his critics with a 22-29, 307 yard, 3 TD performance. Romo’s top target Wednesday nights was Kevin Ogletree… yes, Kevin Ogletree, not Dez Bryant, Miles Austin or Jason Witten. Romo found Ogletree 8 times for 114 yards and 2 TDs. In addition, Ogletree and Romo hooked up for a 13 yard completion to ice the game late in the 4th quarter. Ogletree looks to have cemented himself as the Cowboys 3rd wide receiver.
On the defensive side of the ball, Rob Ryan’s squad played tenaciously and aggressively . The Cowboys defensive line sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning 3 times. Demarcus Ware led the Cowboys with 2 sacks. However, Wednesday night’s Defensive MVP award had to be given to both Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. The two corners were able to hold Giants wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks to just 9 catches and 96 yards.
Despite the win, Jason Garrett and the Cowboys know they have work to do. When asked about the win, Garrett told ESPN Dallas:
“They’ve heard me say this a lot: when you lose a game it doesn’t mean everything is horrendous and when you win a game it doesn’t mean everything is right…. So, we’ve got to go back and take a critical look at this ballgame and see the things that we did well, build on those, see the things we didn’t do so well and make sure we improve those things. There were plenty of them in the ballgame.”
One of those “things” the Cowboys need to improve on is pre-snap penalties. Against the Giants, the Cowboys had 5 false start penalties. One way the team is going to prepare for the hostile Centurylink Field crowd is by practicing with lots of noise. Jason Garrett told ESPN Dallas.com:
“All week long there will be sound at practice…. This is a very difficult place to play. It’s loud, almost a college-type atmosphere, so we have t make sure we handle it better this week than we did last week.”
The Cowboys will face a tough test this week despite the Seahawks Week 1 loss to the Cardinals. The Seahawks lost in the final minutes after surrendering a late TD and failing to score on 4th and goal from the 6 with only seconds remaining. Seattle is led by rookie signal caller Russell Wilson and seasoned veteran running back Marshawn Lynch. In his first career start, Wilson completed 18 of 34 passes for 1 TD and 1 INT. He also possesses the running ability that could give the Cowboys defense fits. On the other hand, Lynch dialed up 85 yards on 21 carries. He is a power runner known for delivering punishing blows at the end of his runs.
Overall, look for the Cowboys and Seahawks to play a tough, physical game. The Cowboys look to keep their momentum going and move to (2-0) while the Seahawks look to fight and get back to .500.
