Seahawks
Hawks lose seesaw battle with Cowboys, 43-39

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter

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This time it was someone else's turn to collapse. Or so everyone at Qwest Field thought. And hoped.

To give up a big lead in the second half, the way the Seahawks had in losses to Baltimore in 2003 and St. Louis this season.

The Dallas Cowboys fell apart. The Seahawks rallied from a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter behind quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's best game of the season and then watched it all come crashing down with another fourth-quarter collapse of their own.

Two Dallas touchdowns in the last two minutes of the game were the difference in the Cowboys' 43-39 win. It came before the largest crowd in Qwest Field history and millions watching "Monday Night Football" to see if the Seahawks could still be considered a playoff contender.

At 6-6, the Seahawks still are. Somehow. They now must find a way to pull themselves together over the final four games.

The Seahawks rallied from a 29-14, third-quarter deficit with 25 unanswered points.

They seemed to have the win in hand after Shaun Alexander's 32-yard touchdown run put them up 39-29 with 2:46 to play.

But the Cowboys responded with a four-play, 64-yard drive in just over a minute that was finished with Vinny Testaverde's 34-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson.

The Cowboys recovered an onside kick with 1:45 left and moved 57 yards in eight plays. Rookie running back Julius Jones ripped off a 17-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left.
 
The Seahawks' last-ditch effort, a Hail Mary pass from Hasselbeck into the end zone on the final play of the game, fell incomplete.

The Seahawks' offense led the way in this one. Even though Alexander was held to eight first-quarter rushing yards. Even though young receiver Jerheme Urban was stripped of the ball after a big gain. Even though Hasselbeck spent the night trying to escape from the Cowboys' quick pass rush, and fumbled a snap on fourth-and-inches.

All three players atoned for those mistakes. To no avail.

Seattle dominated the opening quarter by making good things happen in their biggest problem areas leading up to the game.

The game began with something the Seahawks had not done well in several weeks: a quick special-teams tackle by Isaiah Kacyvenski for a short kickoff return by the Cowboys. On came the Seahawks' defense, which gave up a touchdown on the opening drive of the game against Buffalo the previous week.

This time, Seattle forced a three-and-out. Then Maurice Morris broke off a 22-yard punt return, the longest of the season for the Seahawks.

That set up a five-play drive for a touchdown, with Hasselbeck rolling out on third-and-one and throwing the ball into the end zone. Mr. Monday Night himself, Jerry Rice, hauled in the touchdown from 27 yards despite being interfered with on the play.

The score was Rice's 34th touchdown in 45 career Monday night games.

The Cowboys responded, led by a 53-yard burst off the left side by Jones. A 39-yard Billy Cundiff field goal put Dallas on the board.

The Seahawks, who had been struggling to convert on third down, picked up three on their next possession. One was a 35-yard pass to Darrell Jackson to set up the Seahawks at the Dallas 2.

Jackson caught the next pass from Hasselbeck, a 2-yard bullet over the middle in the back of the end zone. The Seahawks grabbed a 14-3 lead.

As quickly as it had come together, it unraveled. And the game was almost lost with 26 unanswered points by Dallas.

The Cowboys' fortunes turned for the better when Cundiff's 49-yard field goal bounced off the left upright and over the crossbar to make the score 14-6.

When the Seahawks got the ball back, Hasselbeck hit Urban for 17 yards. But the Cowboys' Terence Newman stripped the ball out of Urban's hands, and teammate Nathan Jones returned the fumble 26 yards.

The Cowboys needed to go just 39 yards, which they did with ease. Testaverde hit Terrance Cooper for a 10-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed. Seattle led 14-12.

After that, the Seahawks had a good drive going, but it ended when Hasselbeck botched a snap on fourth-and-inches. The Cowboys took over possession and went to the hurry-up offense.

The befuddled Seahawks, who couldn't get the right personnel on the field as the Cowboys lined up for snaps, fell victim to Jones. He led a 59-yard drive that ended with his 8-yard scoring run.

Dallas led 19-14 at halftime.

Alexander fumbled on the second play of the second half. The Cowboys recovered, and two plays later, Jones ran into the end zone from 10 yards.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com