Cowboys (1-1) at Seahawks (2-0); Three predictions for Sunday’s matchup

The Dallas Cowboys (1-1), and Seattle Seahawks (2-0), matchup on Sunday in a game that figures to feature a ton of offense. Dallas and Seattle have been led by outstanding play from their quarterbacks, Dak Prescott, and Russell Wilson.

Dallas has had their fair share of struggles playing on the road in Seattle, but this year they won’t have to deal with the Seattle crowd. This game shapes up to be one of the best of the regular season, and the two teams have a good shot at a rematch in the postseason.

Before the Cowboys and Seahawks go head-to-head, here are three predictions for Sunday’s matchup.

1. Amari Cooper breaks out of his road slump, going for over 110 yards and a touchdown.

Amari Cooper’s kryptonite has been playing away from Dallas. The Cowboys’ star receiver caught just 27 passes for 320 yards on the road in 2019. At home, Cooper more than doubled those numbers, hauling in 52 passes for 869 yards, a 16.7 yards per reception average.

However, this Sunday, Cooper will flip the script on that narrative. Cooper gets a favorable matchup against a Seattle defense that is dead last in the NFL in yards allowed per game. They’ve surrendered the most passing yards in the league, the most first downs in the league, and the second most net yards per pass attempt,

The Seahawks secondary has struggled in coverage during the first two weeks of the season. Pro Football Focus has them rated with a 50.7 coverage grade as a team, 11th worst in the NFL. Starters in the secondary, Quinton Dunbar, Jamal Adams, and Shaquill Griffin, all have PFF coverage scores below 51 on the season.

Cooper should be able to use Seattle’s struggles in coverage to his advantage. With this likely being a high scoring game, Dallas will have to throw the ball down the field often. This should give Cooper plenty of opportunities to win against the struggling Seattle corners. Overall, the Pro Bowler will have a big day, going for 100 plus yards and catching his first touchdown pass off the season.

2. Tyler Lockett torches the beat up Cowboys’ secondary

Arguably the weakest position group on the Cowboys roster right now is the cornerback spot. Dallas came into the season with high hopes for their group of young defensive backs, but injuries have forced them into a tough spot. Dallas will be without both Anthony Brown and Chidobe Awuzie on Sunday and for the foreseeable future.

Without the two veterans, Dallas will be forced to use rookie Trevon Diggs, who also is banged up, Jourdan Lewis, and Daryl Worley as their top three cornerbacks, unless they slip Brandon Carr in there. Worley and Lewis have gotten off to rough starts, both with a PFF coverage grade below 55 after the first two games. Diggs has been impressive as a rookie, but will face his toughest test this week.

We saw last week Dallas get constantly burned by the Falcons number two receiver, Calvin Ridley. That trend will continue this week at the hands of Tyler Lockett. The former third-round-pick has caught 15 passes for 159 yards in 2020. Lockett has outstanding speed that could cause the Cowboys serious problems in coverage on Sunday. We saw Trevon Diggs get flat-out ran by on defense twice last week, and Lockett could easily make it happen again.

Dallas will do a solid job of slowing down Seattle’s number one target, D.K. Metcalf, but Lockett will do some big damage. He’ll catch one home run ball early on, and will consistently make big catches on third down to help Seattle move down the field.

3. Dak Prescott throws a critical fourth-quarter interception

Hold your horses here. This isn’t trying to take away from what Dak Prescott has done to start this season. The Cowboys signal-caller has been one of the NFL’s best in the first two weeks. Last week, Prescott was surgical in the fourth quarter, going 14 of 19 with a passing and rushing touchdown.

Prescott was really the sole reason the Cowboys were able to crawl out of the grave they put themselves in on Sunday. This week, he’s going to have another huge day against the Seahawks defense. Prescott will once again put up some big numbers, throwing for three touchdown passes.

The knock here isn’t on Prescott, it’s on the Dallas defense who will force the Cowboys offense to keep throwing the ball all game. Russell Wilson is going to have a field day against this banged up defense, forcing Prescott and the offense to participate in a track meet.

Dallas will keep up the pace all game long, until one fourth-quarter drive. Someone in the Seattle secondary, probably Jamal Adams, will step up and make one big play, taking the football away and sealing the win for the Seahawks.