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NFL Week 13 got underway on "Thursday Night Football" with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Seattle Seahawks.

The Cowboys offense was clicking going into the game thanks to quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb, while cornerback DaRon Bland had developed into a pick-six machine. Seattle's offense, meanwhile, had been having trouble; since Week 4, quarterback Geno Smith and receiver DK Metcalf had only scored one touchdown together.

Both offenses were raging in a back-and-forth game on Thursday, which resulted in a 41-35 victory for the Cowboys against the Seahawks, moving Dallas to 9-3 and Seattle to 6-6 on the season.

Dollas Cowboys

The Cowboys were aware that Thursday was a reputation-making day.

Were they the front-runners, soundly defeating inferior teams, or were they a squad capable of contending in the postseason?

The Cowboys emerged victorious in their most crucial game of the season—five games against teams without a losing record—even though the 41-35 victory over Seattle may not have provided all the answers.

With 7:04 left in the game, a defense that had been on fire for the whole of it forced a fourth-down stop (DeMarcus Lawrence). Prescott then went to work, finishing 4 of 5 throws for 35 yards, including the game's final touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson from 12 yards out with 4:37 left. Prescott ran for nine yards as well. 

In the end, Prescott threw for 299 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And it now sets up what the Cowboys had hoped for—a chance to force the NFC East into a contest—when they left Philadelphia on November 5th after falling to the Eagles 28–23.

The Cowboys, who have won four straight games, are 9-3, but they still need support. Even if the Eagles' loss to the Niners on Sunday would help, the Cowboys can still make a statement by defeating Philadelphia in ten days when they visit AT&T Stadium. More important than defeating the Seahawks would be the message.

In two words, what is the game called? Penalty fest. For the majority of the season, the Cowboys did not place much emphasis on penalties; nevertheless, through three quarters on Thursday, they were called eight times for 122 yards. Prior to Thursday, the season high in yards was 107 (on 13 flags) during a Week 3 defeat over the Arizona Cardinals. It extended beyond the Cowboys. The crew led by Clete Blakeman was equally formidable when against the Seahawks. 

Disturbing trend: Bland did make history on Thanksgiving against Washington by recording his fifth pick-six of the year, but the Commanders targeted him more than they did in any other game. It continued on Thursday. NFL Next Gen Stats shows that in the first half, Seattle completed 6 of 7 throws for 138 yards and two scores while Bland was the closest defense. He had previously set a season best of 120 yards in that category against Washington last week. To maybe offset it all, Bland made a crucial selection of Smith in the third quarter.

A promising pattern: Prescott has thrown at least two touchdown passes in six straight games, tying a career best. Perhaps this is more than just a tendency at this juncture. He followed suit in 2021. Don Meredith holds the team record with 12 straight games during the 1965–66 season, while Tony Romo has two or more in seven straight games during the 2006–07 season. Prescott has thrown for 18 touchdowns in his previous six games going into Thursday's game, which is a record for him during a six-game stretch in his career. -- Todd Archer 

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks' weekly routine was completely flipped by two back-to-back Thursday night games, to the point where players and coaches were unable to remember what day it was before their game against the Cowboys. One thing, though, was evident to all: they had to have this one.

This was probably their best shot at avoiding a five-game losing streak that would seriously jeopardize their chances of making the playoffs, as they had two consecutive defeats and two difficult games against the 49ers and Eagles coming up.

There was a sense of immediacy around Dallas. So was the offense of the Seahawks, which broke out of a rut courtesy of tremendous performances from Smith and Metcalf. But neither the defense nor the outcome were. 

The Seahawks are only halfway through the most difficult part of their schedule with a 6-6 record. If Smith and his offense perform as they did for the most of the game—going 9-of-14 on third down, 4-of-5 in the red zone, and totaling 406 yards—they'll give themselves a shot in the last month of the regular season.

However, after Prescott & Co. did whatever they pleased to score on eight of nine possessions—aside from the final two kneel-downs—the defense may have replaced that unit as the primary worry.

Unsettling tendency: The Seahawks are still killing themselves with penalties, which is not a new trend but is nevertheless unsettling. Despite having their bye, they had been flagged 100 times as of Week 13, which is the highest in the NFL. Against Dallas, they committed nine more for 127 yards, five of which came during a Cowboys score drive. Under head coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks have regularly been among the most penalized teams in the league, which may be seen as a trade-off for how aggressively he wants them to play. However, this version isn't strong enough to fix all of the errors. 

Astonishing NFL Next Gen Stat: On his 73-yard touchdown reception, Metcalf reached a top speed of 22.23 mph. At 23.09 mph in Week 2 of the 2020 season, Raheem Mostert set the record for the quickest max speed by a ball carrier. This season, the Smith-to-Metcalf connection has struggled; as of Week 13, Metcalf's catch percentage stood at 53.1%, ranking 73rd among wide receivers. However, on Thursday night, the connection clicked. Metcalf hauled in 134 yards and three touchdowns on six of his eight targets. 

Positive trend: The Seahawks may have at last found a successful screen game. Since past coordinators and running backs, that aspect of their offense has been mysteriously absent for a long time. However, coordinator Shane Waldron has revitalized it. It was perhaps their best screen play of the season. With Kenneth Walker III sidelined due to an oblique strain, Charbonnet took over and rushed 19 times for 60 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Additionally, the Seahawks have incorporated receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba into the screen game; they must keep using it to gain the ball out of Smith's hands quickly and counter the strong pass-rush units they'll face over the next three weeks. 

Crucial play: It's possible that the Seahawks committed one of their penalties unintentionally. They set up for a 37-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but they were called for a delay of game. Jason Myers then went wide right from 42 yards out as the effort was pulled back. Pete Carroll was heard yelling at referees in replays for failing to reset the play clock after re-spotting the ball. Myers attempted to reset the clock just before it expired, but to no avail. 

QB breakdown: Smith had one of his better performances in a long time, especially considering the difficult conditions—playing against a superb Dallas pass rush and having little to rely on in the running game. In addition to adding a rushing touchdown, he completed three touchdown throws to Metcalf, matching the amount of times Seattle's offense had found the end zone in the preceding four games. On the first play of the game, Smith scored his first touchdown with a laser pass over two defenders on a post route. Despite all that has gone wrong in recent weeks, Smith's throw demonstrated confidence. Before Bland picked him off in the third quarter, he successfully picked on Bland multiple times in the first half.  

A fourth straight victory, a late-game touchdown drive, or three more touchdown passes won't cause Dak Prescott to lose his cool.

Prescott was just doing what he felt he should be doing as the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seattle Seahawks 41-35 on Thursday night.

"To be honest, my expectations," Prescott remarked. I invested a lot of time and energy on this game. I get ready to piss off. I'm surrounded by incredible players and coaches right now who are all doing the same. That, in my opinion, is what I actually demand of myself, what our offense has come to expect, and how we feel comfortable playing this game. 

Never before has Prescott felt more at ease. He has only had two interceptions in his last seven games while throwing 21 touchdown passes, including three against Seattle. The Cowboys have won six straight since falling to the San Francisco 49ers on October 8. Prescott led an offense that did not punt on Thursday, finishing the game with touchdowns on eight out of ten offensive plays, including a kneel-down to seal the victory.

Mike McCarthy, the head coach, compared Prescott's performance to that of Aaron Rodgers during their MVP seasons together with the Green Bay Packers.

Dak is having a terrific game. McCarthy claimed that being in this rhythm is enjoyable. He commands such greatness. It's merely a relationship with his teammates, too. We're entering and exiting situations with ease. We're moving at a really fast rate. And that's the strategy we want to use. Only a quarterback deserving of a championship can pull it off. And that person is Dak.

Until January, Prescott will be unable to help the Cowboys advance past the divisional round of the playoffs. With a 9-3 record, the Cowboys appear to be headed for a third consecutive postseason, something they haven't accomplished since winning three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones stated, "He's getting better, which is saying something when you have his experience and has had the reps that he's had in his career, had the successes, if you will." However, he has also had some setbacks. The best player is Dak. He is improving. He is, in my opinion, at his best right now. 

Prescott's odds to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award dropped from 8-1 to 5-1, tied with Lamar Jackson for the third-shortest odds, as he completed 29 of 41 throws for 299 yards and three touchdowns, including the 12-yard winner to Jake Ferguson with 4:37 remaining. 

Prescott stated that at this time, he is not worried about MVP hype or a Super Bowl appearance. Having the weekend free to watch the Philadelphia Eagles, who are atop the NFC East, take on the 49ers on Sunday is more important to him than getting enough rest after playing three games in a row.

The Cowboys will trail the Niners in the division by just one game if they defeat the Eagles. On November 5, the Eagles defeated the Cowboys 28–23 in their first encounter.

To be really honest, I'll be watching that game and utilizing it as a little bit of a film study, said Prescott. After that game is complete, I promise that I will watch every Monday morning from the previous time we played them to the games they've played in the month that have come between our games. eager for it. Actually am. The manner in which we're playing, comprehending the outcome of the previous game. Here at home, we get to enjoy that bunch. Many reasons to be enthusiastic. The most crucial thing is that we are moving forward and improving by taking another step toward our goals.

In his team's 41-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the refereeing, citing what he called a "error" on a crucial play in the first half.

Carroll was also displeased with the NFL's perceived excessive officiating. Together, the two teams racked up 257 penalty yards and 19 penalties. 

Carroll began his postgame news conference without being asked, saying, "It's unfortunate that it feels like there was a whole 'nother factor in this game." I don't know, you people seemed to see it much more clearly than I did, but this game had way too many penalties on both sides. We must leave that type of football behind.

The Seahawks were set up for a 37-yard field goal attempt late in the first quarter when they were called for a delay of game. As play neared the 40-second mark, placekicker Jason Myers signaled officials to restart the clock with a hand gesture. Carroll shouted from the sidelines that he thought the ball had been re-spotted, which called for a reset, according to replays.

Myers missed the 42-yard try after Seattle was forced to retreat five yards due to the penalty.

Carroll was keen to talk about the sequence when questioned about the penalty.

He responded, "I'm happy you asked me that." "All right, so on that play, the referees moved the football from the middle to the hash. They should have reset the clock at that point, and they didn't do it.