In what was possibly the most entertaining Thursday Night Football matchup of the season, the Cowboys successful dispatched their second winning team, beating Seattle 41-35 and moving to 9-3 on the season. It kept Dallas fresh on the heels of the NFC East leading Eagles and pushed Dak Prescott front and center into the MVP conversation.
While the high-scoring and puntless affair was a rousing success for TNF and truly fun to watch by most entertainment standards, entertaining football isn’t always good football. From the perspective of the Dallas defense, the Week 13 shootout with the Seahawks was anything but.
Passing for 334 yards with an EPA/play of +0.50, Geno Smith not only played his best game of the season, but arguably of his career. He carved up the Cowboys defense with relative ease and did so without the benefit of a running game.
Opponents with a winning record are now averaging over 35 points against Dallas in 2023. For perspective, Washington, the NFL’s worst defense in 2023, is averaging 29.2 points against them this season. The Cowboys are essentially playing like one of the worst defenses in the league when they match up against a winning team.