NFC Wild Card: Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks (Qwest Field), the bracket opens here. Kickoff time: 8:09pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Qwest Field shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Dallas Cowboys versus Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Dallas Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 12-4 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 10-6 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7-9 | L2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6-10 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 13-3 | W4 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | L3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-12 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-8 | L3 |
| Tennessee Titans | 8-8 | L1 |
| Houston Texans | 6-10 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Chargers | 14-2 | W10 |
| Denver Broncos | 9-7 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | W2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 2-14 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 9-7 | W1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 8-8 | W3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7-9 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9-7 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 8-8 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 5-11 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 13-3 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8-8 | W4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-10 | L3 |
| Detroit Lions | 3-13 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 10-6 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 8-8 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-12 | L1 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 310172020 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 36132121 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | Josh Brown 23 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Cowboys | Martin Gramatica 50 yard field goal | 3-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | Josh Brown 30 yard field goal | 3-6 |
| Cowboys | Patrick Crayton 13 yard pass from Tony Romo ( Martin Gramatica kick) | 10-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | Jerramy Stevens 15 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck ( Josh Brown kick) | 10-13 |
| Cowboys | Miles Austin 93 yard kickoff return ( Martin Gramatica kick) | 17-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Martin Gramatica 29 yard field goal | 20-13 |
| Seahawks | Safety, | 20-15 |
| Seahawks | Jerramy Stevens 37 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (pass failed) | 20-21 |
| Cowboys | Seahawks | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 14 | 19 |
| Total Yards | 284 | 332 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 17/29 | 18/36 |
| Pass yards | 189 | 240 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 21 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 168 | 240 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 26 | 32 |
| Rush yards | 116 | 92 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 0 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 4 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 8 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 74 | 15 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | |||||
| Tony Romo | 17/29 | 189 | 1 | 0 | |
| SEA | |||||
| Matt Hasselbeck | 18/36 | 240 | 2 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | ||||
| Julius Jones | 22 | 112 | 0 | 35 |
| Marion Barber III | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Tony Romo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEA | ||||
| Shaun Alexander | 24 | 69 | 0 | 20 |
| Maurice Morris | 3 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Mack Strong | 3 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Matt Hasselbeck | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | ||||
| Jason Witten | 3 | 57 | 0 | 32 |
| Patrick Crayton | 3 | 42 | 1 | 18 |
| Terry Glenn | 4 | 41 | 0 | 18 |
| Terrell Owens | 2 | 26 | 0 | 14 |
| Marion Barber III | 3 | 23 | 0 | 9 |
| Julius Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| SEA | ||||
| Bobby Engram | 4 | 88 | 0 | 36 |
| Jerramy Stevens | 5 | 77 | 2 | 37 |
| Deion Branch | 4 | 48 | 0 | 27 |
| Mack Strong | 2 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| D.J. Hackett | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Seneca Wallace | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Seattle Seahawks defeated Dallas Cowboys 21-20 at Qwest Field in the NFC Wild Card. The final scoring play was Seahawks: Jerramy Stevens 37 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (pass failed). The result came down to the final possession; Seattle Seahawks won by 1. Top line of the day: Matt Hasselbeck: 240 pass yards on 18-of-36, 2 TD, 2 INT. Seattle Seahawks advance to the divisional round.
Seattle Seahawks walked out of Qwest Field as the team that survived an NFC Wild Card Dallas Cowboys will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 21-20. The game stayed within 1 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Seahawks: Jerramy Stevens 37 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (pass failed). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Seattle Seahawks advance to the divisional round.
Seattle Seahawks 21, Dallas Cowboys 20. Round: NFC Wild Card. Attendance: 68058. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers: - Matt Hasselbeck: 240 pass yards on 18-of-36, 2 TD, 2 INT - Julius Jones: 112 rush yards on 22 carries - Bobby Engram: 4 catches for 88 yards
NFC Wild Card, played at Qwest Field. Final: Dallas Cowboys 20, Seattle Seahawks 21, with Seattle Seahawks taking the result by 1. **First quarter**
- Seahawks: Josh Brown 23 yard field goal - Cowboys: Martin Gramatica 50 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Seahawks: Josh Brown 30 yard field goal - Cowboys: Patrick Crayton 13 yard pass from Tony Romo ( Martin Gramatica kick)
**Third quarter**
- Seahawks: Jerramy Stevens 15 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck ( Josh Brown kick) - Cowboys: Miles Austin 93 yard kickoff return ( Martin Gramatica kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- Cowboys: Martin Gramatica 29 yard field goal - Seahawks: Safety, - Seahawks: Jerramy Stevens 37 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (pass failed)
**Top performers**
- Matt Hasselbeck: 240 pass yards on 18-of-36, 2 TD, 2 INT - Julius Jones: 112 rush yards on 22 carries - Bobby Engram: 4 catches for 88 yards
A 1-point margin in NFC Wild Card is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.