Seahawks rookie DeeJay Dallas finds end zone twice in first career start
There was a fleeting moment in the second quarter Sunday afternoon when DeeJay Dallas thought he had his first career touchdown.
The rookie running back, who was named the starter in the backfield for the Seahawks not long before kickoff against the 49ers, took a pitch from Russell Wilson, ripped to the edge and dove at the pylon.
It was signaled a touchdown. Dallas celebrated briefly with his teammates. Then the ruling was overturned — his foot had touched out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
Dallas carried again on the next play, but was stuffed for a loss. DK Metcalf then muscled a quick pass from Wilson away from a defender for the 2-yard score that gave the Seahawks a lead they never lost in the 37-27 win at CenturyLink Field.
But, considering how the rest of his afternoon eventually played out, Dallas could smile later when asked about the touchdown that didn’t count.
“I was sick. I was sick about the first one,” he said on a postgame Zoom call with reporters. “But, I had guys like DK and Russ telling me, ‘It’ll come back. It’s going to come back.’
“And then it came back two-fold, so you know, that’s how that happened.”
Dallas was indeed rewarded later on, finding the end zone twice in his first career start.
Midway through the third quarter, the Seahawks’ fourth-round pick last spring capped their first drive of the half with a 2-yard touchdown catch from Wilson.
He scampered out of the backfield and toward the sideline, this time with plenty of room as he hauled in the pass and crossed the goal line to push the lead to two possessions. This time the touchdown stuck, and he spun the ball in the end zone as teammates congratulated him.
But, there was still more to come.
Dallas eventually picked up his first rushing touchdown, too, punching in a 1-yard score late in the fourth quarter that gave the Seahawks a 17-point lead and ended any musings of a 49ers comeback in the closing minutes.
He also got to leave the stadium with a pair of souvenirs.
“I have both of them,” he said of the two footballs he carried across the goal line. “They’re both in the bag.”
Dallas opened the week as the only healthy tailback in practice, and it became clearer as game day approached that the rookie — who had been in on only 23 offensive snaps in his first four games played — would see his workload increase against San Francisco.
Chris Carson (sprained foot) and Carlos Hyde (strained hamstring) were both inactive Sunday, and Travis Homers (bruised knee) was limited, and ended up playing only seven snaps.
The Seahawks sent out fullback Nick Bellore on four offensive plays, and twice tried wide receiver David Moore on fly sweeps.
But, most of the time it was Dallas in the backfield. He played 53 of Seattle’s 67 offensive snaps, finishing with a team-high 18 carries for 41 yards, and he caught all five targets from Wilson for another 17 yards.
“It felt good,” he said. “I feel like I belong here.”
Wilson said he talked to Dallas pregame and told him, “Great players, they always have to start somewhere. … It doesn’t matter who you are. Greatness starts somewhere, and it’s going to be today.”
“And sure enough, he played an unbelievable game,” Wilson said. “I thought he was lights out. I thought he was very calm in the huddle. He was on top of his protections. He was very efficient in the running game, caught the ball well. He’s a special player, and I’m glad he’s on our team and stepped up.”
Dallas said he felt comfortable taking on such a heavy load in the backfield having tallied only two carries in previous weeks, and said this was the most physically and mentally prepared he’s felt this season.
The preparation paid off with the two touchdowns.
“I just want to be productive, honestly,” he said. “That’s me being productive. That’s me helping the team. That’s the o-line executing and that’s Russ delivering how he always does.”
