ARLINGTON, Texas – He’s remained stoic for the most part on the sideline, but Seahawks head coach Jim Mora is increasingly losing patience after seeing the same mistakes from his team week in and week out.
“They’re professionals,” Mora said about his players. “And they’re paid a lot of money to compete at the highest level. And it will not be tolerated if somebody’s not doing that. It absolutely will not be tolerated. It will not be a part of our program, ever.”
With 14 days to prepare for the Cowboys, the Seahawks looked like they could have used another week to get ready.
The Seahawks got behind early, sputtered and stammered offensively, and ultimately stumbled to a 38-17 defeat in the Cowboys’ sparkling new, $1 billion facility on Sunday.
It was Seattle’s second trip to Dallas (5-2) in just less than a year, and it turned out to be very similar to its lopsided loss on Thanksgiving 2008.
Seattle’s faint playoff hopes are on life support, as the Seahawks (2-5) have lost five of their past six games, including all three on the road, failing to score more than 17 points in a road game all season.
Even with the return of veteran cornerbacks Marcus Trufant and Leroy Hill on defense and guard Rob Sims on offense, the Seahawks again failed to compete on the road. They’ve lost all of their road games by an average of 17 points, and are 2-9 away from home since the 2008 season.
Just as this team developed a penchant for winning during Mike Holmgren’s tenure as head coach, the Seahawks during Mora’s first season have struggled to consistently put forth a winning effort.
Asked what the differences were between Holmgren’s tenure and Mora’s first season, receiver Nate Burleson couldn’t point to something specific.
“Obviously there is a personnel change,” Burleson said. “I mean I could give you a whole bunch of reasons. But coming out of my mouth, all I’m going to hear is the word ‘excuse.’ ”
Starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said the team’s soul searching has to start with a look in the mirror.
“I think No. 1, you’ve got to do your job with excellence,” Hasselbeck said. “That’s the first thing. And if you’re not doing that, no one wants to hear what you have to say.”
Things looked good early. Seattle took a 3-0 lead after forcing the Cowboys to punt on their first possession and then marched 69 yards in 14 plays before settling for a 43-yard Olindo Mare field goal.
But the Cowboys scored on consecutive drives after that – a Sam Hurd 36-yard reception where he outran the Seattle defense to the end zone and a Marion Barber 2-yard run – to take a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
A Justin Forsett fumble led to the second score.
The Seahawks answered on their next drive, marching 80 yards on nine plays, with Hasseleck passing to Deon Branch, who scored his first touchdown of the season on a 23-yard seam route to close the gap to 14-10.
But the Cowboys created some distance again by driving 65 yards on 10 plays, ending with a Roy Williams 7-yard touchdown catch over the middle just before the end of the half. Dallas went to the locker room up 21-10.
That score was part of the 24 unanswered points the Cowboys put up in the second and third quarters, running out to a 38-10 advantage to put the game away.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo was efficient, throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-36 accuracy. His favorite target for a third consecutive game was fourth-year product Miles Austin, who finished with five receptions for 61 yards and a score.
The Seahawks head home to face a 1-6 Detroit team before traveling for their next three straight, at Arizona, at Minnesota and at St. Louis in November.
Mora remained resolute that his team can get things turned around.
Even with the loss to Dallas, the Seahawks sit only two games behind NFC West division leader Arizona, a 34-21 loser to Carolina at home on Sunday.
“We know what the challenges are,” Mora said. “We knew what they were going to be coming into this season, and we know what we’ve had to overcome. It’s very frustrating right now. We are going to get it done, I promise you.”
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