Seahawks Undone By Fourth Down Execution, Questionable Play Calls in Loss to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Tex. – With the game on the line and the Seattle Seahawks down to their final strike facing 4th and 2 with under two minutes left to play, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron expected the Dallas Cowboys to turn up the heat and bring extra pressure.

Following an incompletion from Geno Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the ensuing third down, Waldron hoped to make the Cowboys pay for their aggressiveness by sending running back DeeJay Dallas into the flats as a quick dump off option. As the play clock trickled down under five seconds, Smith read Cover 0 with no deep safeties and a bevy of extra rushers set to come after him, anticipating the Seahawks would be able to execute the play call.

In theory, the idea to slip Dallas out of the backfield to provide Smith with an immediate safety valve made sense given the situation with only two yards needed to move the chains and Waldron correctly anticipated the blitz. But there was only one problem, and a rather significant one at that. Mystifyingly, his play call and the corresponding protection inexplicably left star pass rusher Micah Parsons unaccounted for, allowing him to come off the line of scrimmage untouched.

Before Smith could even gather the snap from center Evan Brown and cry “uncle,” Parsons came flying into the backfield off the edge without a fingertip laid on him. With no chance of escaping the pocket, the quarterback uncorked a rushed throw under pressure that fell well short of the intended target and bounced off of turf, allowing Dallas to escape with a 41-35 win.

"The right tackle had a squeeze right there versus zero. So, he did the right thing," Smith explained. "Micah coming free, we knew that would possibility happen. We tried to get the ball around him. I just wasn’t able to.”

On a night where Waldron deserved to be praised for a fantastic game plan against one of the NFL’s best defenses that netted over 400 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, the coordinator’s final call unfortunately will be the only story line discussed in coming days. And, in all fairness, based on Smith’s comments after the game, he earned the dose of scrutiny and criticism coming his way.

It would have been one thing if Parsons whipped Abraham Lucas or Charles Cross off the line of scrimmage and quickly made his way to Smith in the pocket for a game-clinching pressure. The two-time All-Pro has been torturing tackles off the edge since breaking into the league in 2021 and while the result still would have stung, the Seahawks could have just tipped the cap to one of the premier defenders in the sport for delivering in a clutch moment.

But with everyone with a pulse watching the game in the stadium or on television understanding Parsons’ immense talent and game-wrecking ability, the decision to purposely design a play – especially a non-screen concept – that allows the dynamic pass rusher a free path to the quarterback belongs on the Mount Rushmore of ill-conceived play calls. There’s trying to catch an opponent off guard and there’s outsmarting yourself to a mind-numbing level, which choosing not to block Parsons would fall under on any down, let alone a desperation fourth down.

Further guaranteeing the play would be unsuccessful, Dallas started on Smith’s left side in shotgun, meaning he had to work across the formation to leak out into the flats. Knowing the Cowboys were bringing pressure, asking the running back to take a longer path before breaking into his route increased the odds he would get caught up in traffic and knock him out of the play, which is exactly what ended up happening.

Between poor execution and questionable scheming, the Seahawks ultimately missed on not one, not two, but three fourth down conversion chances in the closing quarter, failing to seize a prime opportunity for a signature road win.

When the Seahawks were still nursing a 35-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter, coach Pete Carroll stayed aggressive on 4th and 1 at the Cowboys 46-yard line. But a handoff to Zach Charbonnet off the left side was blown up by Demarcus Lawrence, who tripped up the back at the line of scrimmage for no gain, setting up the home team with outstanding field position near midfield.

Moments later, quarterback Dak Prescott took advantage by connecting with tight end Jake Ferguson on a back shoulder fade against safety Jamal Adams in coverage for a 15-yard touchdown to move back in front, taking a lead they would not relinquish.

On the following possession, with the clock now becoming a factor inside four minutes to play, Seattle went for it again on 4th and 4 at their own 49-yard line. Under immediate duress against a blitz, Smith launched a deep ball to Smith-Njigba off his back foot and the throw sailed well beyond the receiver, handing the ball right back to Dallas for a chance to seal the game.

“It was kind of similar to the last one," Smith said. "It was all out pressure. Really, I just have to get the ball up to someone. That’s something we’ve got to get better and learn from. We can expect that to happen at the end of these games, especially in critical situations. We’ve got to be better at that.” 

As he has done so many times over the past two years, Smith took his share of the blame facing the music from reporters and wasn't going to throw his coach under the bus. But after throwing for 334 yards and hooking up with DK Metcalf on a trio of touchdowns, his performance wasn't why the Seahawks found themselves flying home with a 6-6 record and four losses in their previous five games. He deserved a legitimate opportunity to go for the win and whether fair or not, Waldron's doomed play call essentially took the ball out of his quarterback's hands.

And, maybe most alarmingly, the decision to feature Dallas as the primary target while turning away from Metcalf, who had been uncoverable all night long, as well as Tyler Lockett and Smith-Njigba should be defined as coaching malpractice in such a crucial situation. It's a textbook example of trying too hard to be clever out foxing an opponent rather than simply coordinating to get the ball to your best players and the end result was too predictable.

With five games left to play on the schedule, Seattle still has enough time to change the narrative and controls its own destiny. Plenty of positives came in defeat on Thursday night and if the offense can build off of what it accomplished in Dallas, it's possible the team could go on a run to close out the season and rebound from a difficult midseason slump.

But if the Seahawks miss out on the playoffs by one game come January, in a season that has been defined by second half droughts to this point, the inability to convert on any of those fourth downs, most notably the final ill-fated attempt, will stand alone as the most regrettable missed opportunity letting a winnable game against a quality football team slip from their grasps.