SEATTLE 13
DALLAS 12
ARLINGTON, Texas 鈥� Russell Wilson sprinted toward the sideline in search a first down that could set up the winning points at Dallas.
The star quarterback made the corner, and the defending NFC champion Seahawks found their way back to .500.
Wilson had a scoring pass for the game鈥檚 only touchdown, and his key run came on a drive to Steven Hauschka鈥檚 go-ahead 24-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining, leading the Seahawks over the Dallas Cowboys 13-12 Sunday.
Seattle (4-4) improved to an NFL-best 21-6 in games heading into the bye in its second straight win. The Seahawks will see NFC West-leading Arizona in two weeks.
The Cowboys (2-5) lost their fifth straight without Tony Romo in Dez Bryant鈥檚 return from a five-game absence with a broken right foot.
鈥淚t just feels good to finally finish,鈥� said Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin, who had a key sack of backup Matt Cassel on the Cowboys鈥� final possession.
Seattle receiver Ricardo Lockette had an injury scare, came away with a concussion and was moving his extremities after a vicious block by Jeff Heath on a punt return. It was a tense moment for both teams, with some Seattle players appearing upset at Heath, who flattened Lockette while he was running downfield and had been engaged with another player.
Lockette lay motionless on the field for several minutes and was taken off the field on a motorized cart. He pointed his right hand toward his Seattle teammates on the sideline, and then thrust his index finger high into the air.
鈥淗e cleared for concussion stuff, but they have some other tests to do here,鈥� coach Pete Carroll said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful he鈥檚 been able to bounce back from that, and he鈥檚 pretty positive right now.鈥�
The Seahawks started the decisive 17-play drive at their 15, and Wilson quickly converted a third down with a pass to Jimmy Graham, who had game highs of seven catches for 75 yards.
Later facing third-and-7, Wilson beat Barry Church to the corner, diving past the first-down marker on a 10-yard scramble inside the Dallas 10 near the two-minute warning.
Seattle didn鈥檛 get a touchdown, but Hauschka鈥檚 kick came about a minute later than it would have without the critical conversion from Wilson, the NFL鈥檚 top rushing quarterback who was outgained on the ground with 32 yards to Cassel鈥檚 43.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 and wouldn鈥檛 have expected them to convert those three third-downs situations on that last drive,鈥� Dallas owner Jerry Jones said. 鈥淲e have to figure out a way to play smart enough to win one of these before we get Romo back.鈥�
The Dallas offence, held without a touchdown for the second time in five games without Romo, didn鈥檛 take advantage of two good chances in the fourth quarter.
First, the Cowboys settled for a field goal after defensive end Greg Hardy tipped a pass from Wilson and intercepted it 鈥� the first takeaway in five games for Dallas. The only thing that kept him from scoring was Wilson鈥檚 arm tackle around the ankles the Seattle 16. Three plays later, Dallas got Dan Bailey鈥檚 fourth field goal and a 12-10 lead.
After David Irving blocked Hauschka鈥檚 potential go-ahead field goal, the Cowboys couldn鈥檛 get a first down on three runs by Darren McFadden, who had 64 yards on 20 carries.
Cassel kept a couple of the drives to field goals going with his feet, including a career-long 24-yard run, followed shortly by a 12-yarder. But he was 13 of 25 for just 97 yards passing in his second start in place of Romo, who will miss at least two more games with a broken left collarbone. Brandon Weeden lost the first three starts.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 sense desperation and I don鈥檛 sense panic,鈥� Cassel said. 鈥淵ou get on a roll and anything can happen.鈥�
After Hauschka鈥檚 go-ahead kick, the Dallas offence fizzled again on its way to just 220 total yards, the fewest in almost two years.
Cassel was sacked by Irvin on third down and went down again on what appeared to be the final play of the game. Instead, because of a false start, Dallas got one more shot on fourth-and-21 with 12 seconds remaining. Cassel鈥檚 heave along the sideline was broken up.
鈥淚 thought the defence was lights out tonight, making big plays for us,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淥n offence, when we needed it, we converted and made plays, like the last drive.鈥�
NOTES: Darren Woodson, the leading tackler in Dallas franchise history, became the 21st person inducted into the team鈥檚 ring of honour in a halftime ceremony. The safety is the second defender and sixth overall from the Super Bowl-winning teams of the 1990s. ... Wilson was 19 of 30 for 210 yards, and the touchdown was a 22-yarder to tight end Luke Willson in the first half.
