Ricky Dimon
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The Seattle Seahawks started the season 0-2 and later 4-5. As for the Dallas Cowboys, they were even worse; they found themselves at 3-5 through eight games and did not win back-to-back contests until Week 10 and Week 11 (a stretch that touched off a crucial five-game winning streak). It’s safe to say a wild-card showdown between Seattle and Dallas did not look likely midway through the 2018 campaign, but here we are. The Seahawks will pay a visit to Jerry World on Saturday night before the winner learns its next destination following Sunday’s outcome of Bears vs. Eagles. Let’s dive into the Odds & Prediction for Seahawks-Cowboys.
Faults in the star
Dallas by no means has to apologize for its playoff appearance. At the same time, however, it was thoroughly unspectacular on its somewhat improbable way to double-digits in the win column. Nine of the Cowboys’ 10 regular-season victories came by one possession, including 36-35 over the Giants in Week 17, 27-20 at home against lowly Tampa Bay, 31-23 over a Washington squad that was not as good as its 7-9 record suggests (and a Washington squad that actually beat Dallas in the first head-to-head matchup), and 26-24 at home against another opponent that is watching the playoffs from the couch—Detroit.
An inconsistent offense is cause for concern. The Cowboys, who are 22nd in the NFL in total offense and 23rd through the air, got shut out at home by Indianapolis in Week 15. Dak Prescott threw no interceptions over the final two regular-season contests but he was victimized a total of three times in Week 14 and Week 15.
Russell athletic
There’s a reason why this isn’t Russell Wilson’s first foray to the playoffs; the guy simply knows how to get the job done—especially in pressure-packed situations. Although postseason returns have been mixed, he is a Super Bowl champion (Seattle won it all in 2013…and should have triumphed again in 2014 before melting down at the goal-line against New England).
Wilson has tossed 35 touchdown passes compared to only seven interceptions this season. On a whopping nine occasions he has thrown multiple scoring strikes without getting picked off a single time. Six of those performances have come in Seattle’s last eight outings, during which the team has compiled a 6-2 mark (and 6-1 in its last seven).
Trends
The Seahawks are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 overall, 4-1 ATS in their last five on the road, 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine against the NFC, 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine on fieldturf, 5-1 ATS in their last six against opponents with winning records, and 4-1 ATS in their last five wildcard games. Dallas is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 playoff games and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 at home against opponents with winning road records.
The over is 7-1 in the Seahawks’ last eight overall, 6-1 in their last seven against the NFC, 4-1 in their last five against opponents with winning records, 7-2 in their last nine on the road against opponents with winning home records, and 6-2 in their last eight playoff games. It is also 4-0 in the Cowboys’ last eight after gaining more than 350 total yards in their previous outing.
Pick
The ugly truth is that neither one of these teams is very good; but that is often what happens when 12 of the 32 NFL teams make the playoffs. Which one is worse? Well, considering that it’s the postseason now…probably the Cowboys. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2014 (despite going 13-3 in 2016) and they’ve won only one since 2009). But can that change?
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