Seattle Seahawks: 3 Big takeaways from win vs. Cowboys in Week 3
By Samuel Teets
The Seattle Seahawks have never started 0-3 during the Pete Carroll-Russell Wilson era, and that didn’t change on Sunday.
The Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys, 24-13, in Week 3. The Cowboys did manage to run the ball well but their air attack was highly ineffective. The story of the game was the Seahawks finally asserting themselves and they did it in their home opener in front of the 12th man fans.
Russell Wilson didn’t put up a ton of yards but he was efficient. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett also put up big numbers, filling in for Doug Baldwin. But the run game was what won the game for the Seahawks, along with the defense’s stout play.
Coming off a big win to move to 1-2 on the season, here are the big takeaways for the Seahawks after Week 3.
The run game is alive
On Sunday the Seahawks ran the ball 39 times, which is by far the most they’ve handed the ball off this season. The Seahawks had the Dallas Cowboys on their heels and kept them that way with timely run plays.
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The run game was almost nonexistent until this week. In fact it was totally unimpressive and the offensive line looked largely overwhelmed. The roles were switched this week though, and the Seahawks ran all over the Cowboys.
While the rushing averages weren’t that impressive, Pete Carroll used the run game to blow the Cowboys off the line of scrimmage and keep the offense moving. That’s usually what all teams want out of their run game, but this is the first time it has worked for Seattle this year.
Chris Carson carried the ball 32 times for 102 yards. Carroll really displayed his commitment to the run game, sticking with it for the first time all season. Rookie Rashaad Penny only ran the ball three times for five yards. He really wasn’t involved in the game plan, but he didn’t need to be because Carson carried the load so well.