Haven't we seen this before? A lot in fact. Seattle has lost 11 of its last 13 regular-season games on the road. Not only that, the last time Seattle beat a winning team on the road was September 2007 when the 2-1 Seahawks beat the 2-1 49ers. That was the last time Seattle on won the road against a team with a winning record at the time of the game.

You could use a lot of words to describe Deion Branch in his four seasons as a Seahawk. Injured. Inconsistent. Maddening. But outspoken was not something you could call him. He's taken all the criticism that's come with being injured and never once been surly or sullen. He is a very upbeat member of the locker room. But after his 23-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter Sunday -- his first TD catch from Matt Hasselbeck since December 2007 -- he ran to the television camera where the mics picked up him saying, "Y'all come find me. Anybody who want me, come find me." Perhaps he intended that to mean something other than what it sounded like, which was essentially a nationally televised classified ad for his receiving services.

Update: Coach Jim Mora had not heard about the incident, but when asked on Monday afternoon, he said it sounded like Branch being a competitor, challenging a defensive back that if they wanted him, they could come and get him.

"Sounds like a challenge to me," Mora said. "Sounds like he's competing and challenging people to come cover him. Especially if it was after a touchdown."

When Ken Hamlin's career is summarized terms such as heady, smart and composed will probably not be used. He is a 15-yard march backward waiting to happen, and he took a needless shot at tight end John Carlson, who was lowering his arms after the ball had gone past. Hamlin hit Carlson with his shoulder and then did the stupid little dance where he pretends to swing a big sledgehammer and then had a teammate point out the flag his action had just drawn. Now give Hamlin credit, he hit the receiver with his shoulder pads, not his helmet, which was the difference between a felonious play and the penny-ante cheapshot that it was.

Small wonders do in fact occur. Seattle was relatively healthy as the Seahawks had only had one starting player who was announced as being injured during the game, and that was right cornerback Ken Lucas, who was run over by Dallas' Felix Jones and left with what was described as a neck stinger.

This was to be expected. Dallas is a team with proven pass-rushing chops. The Cowboys were first in the league in sacks last year and had 14 in the previous four games. Starting its fourth different left tackle in seven games, Seattle needed to do something from keeping the Cowboys from pinning their ears back. Establishing the threat of running the ball was imperative to keep Dallas from rushing Hasselbeck with total abandon.

Even by the dropping standards of Seattle's recent performance, that was lousy. You can't question the coach's commitment to running the ball or the need to run the ball. It was the ability to run the ball that was the problem. Seattle was abysmal on first downs to start its 13 possessions. It couldn't run in those situations: eight carries for 11 yards. It couldn't really pass, either. Hasselbeck was 1-for-5 passing on first down to begin a drive, his only completion gained six yards.