Enemy Reaction 2018: Dallas Cowboys

The Seattle Seahawks got their first win of the 2018 NFL season by defeating the same team they defeated for their final victory of last season, Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys. It was 21-12 at JerryWorld on Christmas Eve 2017, and it was 24-13 at CenturyLink Field on Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

As most Field Gulls readers know by now, when the Seahawks prevail, everyone gets treated to Enemy Reaction, which reviews highlights of the game through fan reactions from both ourselves and the opposition. Needless to say, Dallas fans have delivered the goods, and I guarantee you’ll enjoy their wire-to-wire meltdown this week.

Cowboys game thread comments are courtesy of Blogging the Boys.

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Michael Gallup can’t hold onto the ball, Earl Thomas gets interception after replay overturns calls (0-0)

Russell Wilson finds Jaron Brown for the game’s first points (7-0 SEA)

Ezekiel Elliott touchdown called back because of illegal touching, Cowboys kick a FG (7-3 SEA)

Russell Wilson goes deep to Tyler Lockett for a touchdown (14-3 SEA)

Randy Gregory shoves Joey Hunt like an idiot, gifting the Seahawks a field goal (17-3 SEA)

Chris Carson gets Seattle’s first rushing touchdown of the season (24-6 SEA)

Bradley McDougald forces Ezekiel Elliott to fumble, Seahawks recover (24-6 SEA)

Tavon Austin finally gets the Cowboys in the end zone (24-13 SEA)

Earl Thomas intercepts Dak Prescott again, Cowboys should be the ones bowing to his superiority (24-13 SEA)

Chris Carson converts on 3rd and 12 (24-13 SEA)

Cowboys don’t come close to consolation points on final drive, Seahawks WIN! (24-13 SEA Final)

Post-Game: Fire Scott Linehan (Gillia Baattai, The Landry Hat)

Dak did not have a zone read look until the latter half of the fourth quarter. Linehan did not take any aggressive shots down the field. He lived in two tight end sets and even refused to run Ezekiel Elliott consistently against a defensive line that was starting to give.

But the most insulting thing about all of this that occurred yesterday and the last few weeks is that Linehan and Jason Garrett have completely refused to give any explanations as to why they won’t use successful plays. It’s as if they think the fans of the team have no football intelligence.

We all saw how the zone read opened up the offense and allowed Prescott to gain confidence. We all saw how wide receiver Tavon Austin spreads the field and opens up the front seven of the defense. Linehan completely abandoned everything that worked the week before even though every defense does the same thing to stop the offense.

This game was the last straw for many fans and I feel as though this is Linehan’s last season. Hopefully, this means Garrett will be out as well.

Post-Game: Someone needs to rescue Dak Prescott (Matt Mosley, Dallas Morning News)

I can’t for the life of me understand how the Cowboys could watch quarterback Dak Prescott lead the team to a win over the Giants by using the zone read and then abandon those concepts the following week. We didn’t see anything resembling the zone read until the game was out of reach, which for the record was when the Seahawks made the score 7-0 in the second quarter. This offense is certainly compromised by the loss of center Travis Frederick and having to break in rookie left guard Connor Williams, who badly needs some time in the weight room. This isn’t all on Linehan, but he’ll be thrown overboard if this trend continues. Jones will put on a brave face in public, but he knows someone needs to rescue Prescott. For all the criticism he took, Tony Romo had the Houdini-like skills to overcome poor play on the offensive line. Prescott needs things around him to be in better order, and on Sunday his greatest weapon, Ezekiel Elliott, kept getting in his own way.

If Garrett takes over the playcalling and the team sees marginal improvement, it will give Jones something to think about. The owner came into this season convinced that Prescott would be the team’s quarterback for many years to come. He can’t help but have doubts at this point. Garrett would need to play to Prescott’s strengths and help him be more decisive. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had been sacked 12 times in two games heading into Sunday’s game. Seattle responded by pounding the ball on the ground and getting the ball out of Wilson’s hands quickly. The Cowboys appear to have a couple gadget plays for speedster Tavon Austin ... and that’s about it. They don’t have a single wide receiver who consistently wins on routes, outside of Cole Beasley. Meanwhile, a receiver the Cowboys could’ve selected at No. 19 overall, Calvin Ridley, had seven catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns for the Falcons on Sunday. I have nothing against Leighton “Wolf Hunter” Vander Esch, but it’s unreal the Cowboys weren’t able to do more for Prescott in the offseason. The only way to have any shot with this current cast is to get extremely creative, and it doesn’t appear that Linehan’s up to the task. Look for Garrett to relieve him of playcalling duties if this continues.

Post-Game Video: Cowboys problems are so much bigger than Dak Prescott (thedallascowboyshow)

Enemy Preaction: Arizona Cardinals (Revenge of the Birds)

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With a W in the bag, sights are now set on the winless Arizona Cardinals, who have scored all of 20 points through three games. Another way to look at it is they’re currently paying Sam Bradford $1 million per point scored. He was benched in the final quarter against the Chicago Bears, and Steve Wilks essentially sent Josh Rosen out there to fail in crunch time. Rosen is starting this weekend, and you have to feel confident about Seattle’s chances to get themselves to .500, especially when you consider that Glendale has become the Seahawks’ second home field.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!