This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Seattle • On his sixth snap of the game, Tony Romo took a direct blow to his ribs and spent nearly a minute trying to get back to his feet.
Seconds later, when Chris Jones' punt was smothered by Seattle and returned for a touchdown, Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were facing a 10-0 deficit on the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' home field.
Romo and his teammates rebounded from the terrible start, validating the strong start to the season with a resounding answer.
"I think our team now understands that we do a lot of things pretty well and I think we have the ability to kind of impose yourself on other teams," Romo said.
Rallying from the early deficit, the Cowboys relied on running back DeMarco Murray and a defense that confused Russell Wilson in a 30-23 victory Sunday.
Murray, who ran for 115 yards, scored on a 15-yard run with 3:16 left to give Dallas the lead and the Cowboys' defense held twice in the final 3 minutes to cap a miserable day by Seattle's offense. Rolando McClain intercepted Wilson's pass with less than a minute remaining to clinch the victory.
"Guys aren't going to back down," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. "We have the right kind of guys on this team,"
The result wasn't stunning. It was the way Dallas won. The Cowboys outhit, out-ran and bullied the Seahawks, showing no intimidation toward Seattle's top defense or the noisy environment created by the 12th Man.
And now the Cowboys are 5-1 for the first time since 2007. —
Monday night
P San Francisco at St. Louis, 6:30 p.m, TV • ESPN Cowboys 30,
Seahawks 23
Dallas 7 10 3 10 — 30
Seattle 10 0 10 3 — 23
First Quarter
Sea • FG Hauschka 33, 10:06.
Sea • Morgan 25 blocked punt return (Hauschka kick), 7:13.
Dal • Escobar 2 pass from Romo (Bailey kick), 2:34.
Second Quarter
Dal • FG Bailey 42, 5:15.
Dal • Witten 3 pass from Romo (Bailey kick), :16.
Third Quarter
Sea • Wilson 9 run (Hauschka kick), 6:19.
Sea • FG Hauschka 33, 3:20.
Dal • FG Bailey 56, 1:04.
Fourth Quarter
Sea • FG Hauschka 48, 8:16.
Dal • Murray 15 run (Bailey kick), 3:16.
Dal • FG Bailey 31, 1:09.
Attendance • 68,432.
Dal Sea
First downs 23 9
Total Net Yards 401 206
Rushes-yards 37-162 18-80
Passing 239 126
Punt Returns 2-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns 3-70 5-142
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 21-32-0 14-28-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-11 2-0
Punts 3-21.7 4-41.8
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 6-46 9-58
Time of Possession 37:39 22:21
Individual Statistics
Rushing • Dallas, Murray 29-115, Randle 5-52, Romo 2-(minus 1), Dunbar 1-(minus 4). Seattle, Lynch 10-61, Wilson 2-12, Turbin 2-10, Harvin 3-(minus 1), Walters 1-(minus 2).
Passing • Dallas, Romo 21-32-0-250. Seattle, Wilson 14-28-1-126.
Receiving • Dallas, Murray 6-31, Bryant 4-63, Dunbar 4-48, Williams 2-70, Witten 2-24, Beasley 1-11, Escobar 1-2, Clutts 1-1. Seattle, Kearse 3-62, Harvin 3-0, Baldwin 2-32, Willson 2-11, Lockette 1-8, Helfet 1-7, Walters 1-5, Lynch 1-1.
Missed Field Goals • None.