SEATTLE — Doug Baldwin’s frustration first boiled on the sideline and percolated again in the Seattle Seahawks’ locker room.
Angry was the perfect way to describe Baldwin.
“We’re frustrated. The offense can’t … move the ball. We’ve got too much … talent over here not to be moving the ball,” Baldwin said.
“It’s not on (Russell Wilson), I’m just saying in general, our offense, we’re just too … good not to be moving the ball down the field. I’m not mad at Russ at all. It’s a collaborative thing. We all got to pitch in and do our part. We’ve all got to be better.”
Baldwin became the spokesman after the Seahawks were left questioning all that went wrong in a 30-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The result wasn’t stunning. It was the way Dallas won. The Cowboys outhit, out-ran and bullied the Seahawks, showing no intimidation toward Seattle’s top defense or the noisy environment created by the 12th Man.
It looked very familiar to the way Seattle won last year on its way to the title, except this time it was the Seahawks left confused by what just happened.
“We didn’t run the ball the way we want to, we didn’t protect as well as we like, we didn’t throw the ball very well, and on defense we didn’t stop the run,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
What seemed so surprising was Seattle giving way a 10-0 lead after Mike Morgan’s 25-yard touchdown return after Baldwin blocked Chris Jones’ punt. Seattle lacked an offensive identity, shying away from leaning on Marshawn Lynch and the run game that’s been so successful.
After being lauded for his Monday night performance, Wilson was part of a miserable day for Seattle’s offense. He finished 14 of 28 for 126 yards, 53 of those coming on one completion to Jermaine Kearse in the first quarter. Seattle was outgained 401-206 and had just nine first downs.
Lynch finished with only 10 carries for 61 yards and most of Percy Harvin’s plays went backward. Harvin’s three receptions equaled zero yards. After the opening drive of the game, Seattle didn’t have a possession that started in its own territory and crossed the 50.
“I think everybody was a little frustrated. It’s not just one guy or two guys or three guys or whatever,” Wilson said. “We’re so competitive, and we all want to win. When things aren’t going the way that you practice them all the time, or the way that you’re used to, or the way that you expect, sometimes you get a little frustrated. More than anything, I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated that we didn’t play our best game.”
While Seattle failed to find an offensive rhythm, the Cowboys continually turned to DeMarco Murray. He became just the sixth player to top 100 yards rushing against the Seahawks in Seattle during Carroll’s tenure. Murray finished with 115 yards and his 15-yard touchdown with 3:16 left gave Dallas the lead for good.
Murray joined Jim Brown (1958) as the only running backs in NFL history to start a season with six straight 100-yard rushing games. And Murray did it against the league’s best run defense, which had not allowed a running back more than 38 yards in a game this season.
Dallas’ improved offensive line opened enough space for Murray to run and for the most part kept quarterback Tony Romo protected. Romo was sacked only once, and bounced up off the turf from the one hard hit he took from Bobby Wagner on the Cowboys’ first drive.
And when Romo got pressured on Dallas’ late TD drive, Terrance Williams made a stunning toe-dragging catch along the sideline for 23 yards to convert a third-and-20. Romo moved away from pressure by Bruce Irvin and found Williams along the sideline in front of the Dallas bench for 23 yards.
Murray then broke free for 25 yards and added a 6-yard run to the Seattle 15. He then capped his record day by cutting back and rolling into the end zone.
“We thought it was going to be tough sledding to run the football but we had to be persistent with it,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “Our guys did an excellent job.”
Seattle was fortunate to be leading when Murray scored. Dallas’ special teams handed the Seahawks 14 points thanks to Baldwin’s blocked punt and Dwayne Harris muffing a punt deep in his own territory in the third quarter. Two plays later, Wilson kept on a zone-read and sprinted 9 yards to pull Seattle even at 17.
“We just left so many plays out there on the field,” Baldwin said. “It’s just all over the board. We’ve just got to get better.”
NOTES: Seattle CB Byron Maxwell left in the second quarter with what Carroll thinks is a high ankle sprain. … Murray led Dallas with six receptions. … Seattle lost at home to a team outside of the NFC West for the first time since Week 12 of the 2011 season.
