Dallas 18, Seattle 10
SEATTLE (AP) -- Dallas Cowboys rookie Demarcus Ware looks ready
to be an NFL linebacker.
In one half, Ware forced two fumbles, recovered one, had an
interception, a sack and three tackles in Dallas' 18-10 preseason
victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.
"I was a little more comfortable with the defense and what the
guys are doing," Ware said. "On a scale of one to 10 I'd say it
was an eight."
Jose Cortez was 3-for-3 on field goals, connecting from 44, 37
and 46 yards for Dallas (1-1).
A defensive end at Troy, Ware was the 11th pick in the draft and
is making the switch to outside linebacker with the Cowboys, who
are moving from a 4-3 to 3-4 defense.
He had two tackles last week against Arizona, but made an impact
in just two minutes against Seattle (1-1). Still, he received
little praise from his coach.
"He got a sack and got an interception. Let me look at the
film," Dallas coach Bill Parcells said. "I didn't think he was
great, if that's what you want."
On Seattle's first possession, Ware beat Pro Bowl guard Steve
Hutchinson, stripped quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and fell on the
fumble at the Seattle 33. Cortez then made his first field goal.
Late in the first quarter, Ware showed his ability in pass
coverage. After Hasselbeck had connected with tight end Jerramy
Stevens on consecutive plays, Ware dived in front of Stevens,
corralling the interception. Ware said it was his first
interception ever.
"He played hard, played fast, really came off the ball,"
Hutchinson said of Ware. "I think he's going to be a good player
in this league."
Hasselbeck's interception broke a string of 10 straight
completions to start the game. Hasselbeck was 12-of-15 for 135
yards, but coach Mike Holmgren found fault with the first half.
"While we did some good things with our first group in the
first quarter, we were careless," Holmgren said.
Late in the first half, Ware made perhaps his most athletic
play. With reserve quarterback Seneca Wallace scrambling out of the
pocket toward open field, Ware dived and jarred the ball from
Wallace's right hand, knocking the fumble out of bounds.
"He picked the right time ... to have his best combination of
what he can do pressuring the quarterback, but also what he has
gained in camp," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "It shows that
he's catching on."
Hasselbeck led one scoring drive for Seattle, completing six
passes on the 80-yard march. He found second-year receiver D.J.
Hackett in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that gave
Seattle a 7-3 lead.
"It didn't really feel like we started out well. Most of our
drives, by the second play of the drive, it was first-and-15 or
first-and-20," Hasselbeck said. "We put ourselves at a
disadvantage that way."
Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe was 7-of-11 for 56 yards,
playing into the second quarter. Julius Jones had 12 carries for 58
yards, 44 coming on Dallas' lone touchdown drive of the half.
Bledsoe threw an 11-yard TD pass to fullback Lousaka Polite with
5:45 left in the second quarter.
Bledsoe was given a little more freedom with the offense this
week, and Parcells was pleased with his progress learning the
Cowboys' system.
"I thought he did a pretty good job tonight doing what we asked
him to do," Parcells said. "We gave him a little more latitude.
... There's a lot of lessons there and hopefully we can go
forward."
Dallas played without defensive end Jason Ferguson (ankle) and
guard Marco Rivera (hamstring), both free agent signings.
Seattle's sloppy play continued into the second half. The
Cowboys added a safety with 5:40 left, after Seattle quarterback
David Greene was pressured by safety Justin Beriault and linebacker
Eric Obogu, and ran past the end line at the back of the end zone.
Seattle also had a fumble return for a touchdown by cornerback
Jordan Babineaux called back on a penalty. Seattle finished with 12
penalties for 105 yards.
"As clean as we were against New Orleans, we were that sloppy
against Dallas tonight," Holmgren said. "We were just careless.
That was kind of how it went."
A week after shining against New Orleans in a 34-15 win, Wallace
was constantly pressured by Dallas and was 8-of-20 for 69 yards.
Last week, he was 12-of-20 for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas backup Drew Henson didn't fare better, finishing 4-of-10
for 38 yards and an interception.
Rookie running back Marion Barber had 62 yards on 18 carries for
Dallas.
Josh Brown had a 36-yard field goal with 12:47 left that pulled
Seattle within 16-10.
Game Information
2023 NFC East Standings
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 509 | 315 |
Philadelphia | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 433 | 428 |
New York | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 266 | 407 |
Washington | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 329 | 518 |
2023 NFC West Standings
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 491 | 298 |
Los Angeles | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 404 | 377 |
Seattle | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 364 | 402 |
Arizona | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 330 | 455 |