Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks: Breaking Down Seattle's Game Plan

When the NFL released its scheduled back in April, no one could have predicted the Seattle Seahawks' Week 6 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys would pit a 4-1 road team against a 3-1 team. The Seahawks are coming off a sloppy Monday night win over the Washington Redskins while the Cowboys eked out a win over the Houston Texans.

The biggest cause of the Cowboys' improved play this season has been their defense. The Cowboys defense is now playing well enough that the offense doesn't always have to carry the team week in and week out.

Both teams enter the game tied for first place in their respective divisions. Though it's too early for either to be in a must-win situation, there is plenty of incentive for both sides to play a little harder. According to Odds Shark, the opening line for this week's action has the Seahawks as favorites by as much as 9.5 and as low as eight points.

Dallas Cowboys	Category	Seattle Seahawks
398.2 (5th)	Total Offense	368.3 (12th)
27.0 (6th)	Scoring Offense	27.5 (5th)
238.2 (16th)	Passing Offense	201 (30th)
7.9 (6th)	Yards Per Attempt	7.8 (9th)
160.0 (2nd)	Rushing Offense	167.3 (1st)
4.9 (6th)	Yards Per Attempt	5.4 (1st)
369.8 (21st)	Total Defense	317.8 (5th)
20.6 (8th)	Scoring Defense	20.8 (9th)
247.8 (18th)	Passing Defense	255.5 (22nd)
7.5 (18th)	Yards Per Attempt	6.8 (10th)
122.0 (20th)	Rushing Defense	62.3 (1st)
5.2 (31st)	Yards Per Attempt	2.6 (1st)

On Defense ...

Through their first four games, the Seahawks have faced the fourth-, seventh-, eighth- and 19th-ranked scoring offenses in the league. The Dallas Cowboys boast the league's sixth-best scoring offense through five weeks of action.

DeMarco Murray has been far and away the best running back in the league—despite his four lost fumbles—rushing for 670 yards on 130 carries for an average of 5.2 yards per tote. The running back with the second most yards is a whopping 210 yards behind Murray.

The Cowboys offensive line has been dominant in its run blocking, but the play of tight ends Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar has helped the unit significantly. Pro Football Focus has rated Witten as the team's
top run blocker and the league's top run-blocking tight end.

USA TODAY Sports

However, Seattle is No. 1 in the league in run defense for total yardage and yards per attempt, as seen in the above graphic. The Seahawks have held Eddie Lacy to 34 yards, Ryan Mathews to 31, Montee Ball to 38 and Alfred Morris to 29.

Seattle won't be able to stack the box with defenders the way they did against the Redskins, but they still have to worry about Tony Romo getting the ball to Dez Bryant and Witten. Bryant has a touchdown catch in each of the Cowboys' last four games and has the 10th most receiving yards this season.

There is a weak point on Dallas' offensive line at right tackle. Doug Free has allowed three sacks this season, along with six quarterback hurries. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril move around a lot, but Seattle can pressure Romo into throwing an interception.

If the Seattle defense can stifle Dallas' potent running game and make the Cowboys one-dimensional, it will be much easier for defenders to force Romo into making mistakes. Seattle's defenders will try to strip Murray and force him to lose his fifth fumble, all while pressuring Romo, who has thrown five interceptions on the year.

On Offense ...

The Seahawks have averaged about 200 passing yards per game since Russell Wilson became the team's starting quarterback, so it has not been a point of strength with the team in some time. As usual, Seattle will rely on their rushing attack to move the ball and wear down their opponents.

Marshawn Lynch had been huge for the Seahawks over three weeks, chipping in with 126 yards receiving, 306 yards on the ground and six combined touchdowns. Lynch's work with catching passes out of the backfield in the red zone has helped the team immensely.

Russell Wilson set a career high in rushing yards on Monday night, rushing for 122 yards to help carry his team's offense. However, that's not necessarily a good thing. The majority of Wilson's 11 runs weren't on designed plays, which means the offensive line isn't giving him enough time to throw and receivers aren't getting open.

Dallas has worked to improve on a near non-existent pass defense in 2013, but its run defense remains an area the Seahawks should be able to exploit. Look for the Seahawks to continue to utilize their decoy offense with plenty of fakes to Harvin and read-options by Wilson. They will be especially effective against the Cowboys defense.