Notebook | Seahawks running back Julius Jones struggles against his former team

IRVING, Texas — This wasn't the return to Dallas that Julius Jones had imagined.

It was more like a bad dream in the first quarter when he fumbled after Seattle had reached the Dallas 35 on its first possession, then tried unsuccessfully to chase down the ball.

"It was right there; I could see it bouncing," Jones said. "It was kind of like it was in slow motion."

People have nightmares that follow that same plotline. Instead, it was how Jones began his first game against his former team.

Starting Thursday against the team for which he had played the past four seasons he gained 37 yards on 11 carries and fumbled twice, but lost only one of those fumbles. The second one bounced out of bounds in the second half, so the Seahawks retained possession.

Jones has lost two fumbles in the past three games, which is not typical for him. He has never been a back prone to losing the ball. He didn't lose a single fumble last season and only one the year before that.

"That's very uncharacteristic," Jones said of the recent string. "So I have to focus on that and make sure it doesn't happen anymore."

Seattle never found traction on the ground against Dallas. The Seahawks rushed 11 times in the first half, but just two of those plays gained more than 3 yards. Seattle finished the game with 80 yards rushing.

Under pressure

The blitz has burned Seattle this season, with the Seahawks secondary being left vulnerable to big plays when the team has committed to rushing the quarterback.

But on Thursday, an early reluctance to bring pressure may have cost the Seahawks.

The Cowboys scored 24 points on their first four possessions and didn't punt until there were just over 3 minutes left in the first half. Seattle gave up just 10 points in the second half as it increasingly blitzed. And while the Seahawks were never able to sack Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the pressure did affect Dallas.

"A lot of times they weren't able to handle it," linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "But Romo did a nice job of avoiding some sacks."

So should the Seahawks have started blitzing earlier?

"Particularly with the way they started, it might have been better than whatever we did," coach Mike Holmgren said. "They pretty much had their way with us. The problem with that is, you do single up their big, good receivers on our guys man-for-man. And who's to say that that wouldn't have been a bad thing early?"

It was the first game this season in which the Seahawks failed to get a sack.

Rookie review

Rookie tight end John Carlson had caught six passes from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for 105 yards, the first triple-digit receiving performance of his career.

"The country perhaps might have gotten a glimpse of a pretty good tight end in the future," Holmgren said.

Carlson showed some recognition that belied his lack of experience with a first-quarter reception on which Dallas came with a blitz that left the tight end unguarded. Carlson gained 33 yards on the play.

"That's a great job by him being alert," Hasselbeck said. "That's kind of how our offense is supposed to run."

It was the third 100-yard receiving game the Seahawks have had this season. Fullback Leonard Weaver finished with 116 yards receiving in San Francisco on Oct. 28, and Koren Robinson had 105 yards receiving against Philadelphia on Nov. 2.

A big boom

Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware suffered a hyperextended knee after he was blocked by Weaver. Ware then fell into left tackle Walter Jones, who landed on top of him. He left the game in the third quarter.

"Big boy — Walter Jones — fell on him, but he'll be fine," Dallas linebacker Bradie James said. "Of course, we were concerned, though."

Ware had three of Dallas' seven sacks in the game. James had two.

Ware, who will have an MRI today, didn't believe the injury was serious, and he was able to walk on his own.

"I wanted to go back out there, but they told me no," said Ware, who had his knee iced and propped on the bench after he left the game.

Familiar sights

Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin also faced his former team for the first time Thursday.

"It's a good win," he said.

Hamlin, who was criticized after leaving Seattle as a free agent following the 2006 season, said he was not emotional about facing his old team, which still includes many close friends. He finished with two tackles.

Notes

• Center Chris Spencer was not active for Thursday's game because of a back injury that flared up on Nov. 22 and kept him from practicing this week. Steve Vallos started at center.

• LB Leroy Hill suffered a stinger in his shoulder in a first-quarter, goal-line stop of RB Marion Barber that kept him out the rest of the game.

• T Kyle Williams was signed to Seattle's active roster Wednesday and was active for Thursday's game. He helped deepen the offensive line with Spencer's absence.

Rick Herrin of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram contributed to this story.