Cowboys a much tougher matchup for a Seahawks team still desperate for wins

Jim Moore calls Sunday's game with Dallas "must-win" for the Seahawks, who are 3-4 this season. (AP)

The Seahawks head to Dallas with a 3-4 record, and I’d call it a must-win game. If you lose and fall to 3-5, you’d have to go 8-0 the rest of the way to assure a playoff berth and 7-1 to finish 10-6 and probably make it, but maybe not.

Thing is, the Cowboys are similarly desperate at 2-4. Tony Romo is due back from his injury in three weeks and by then, Dallas might be out of contention – though it certainly helps that the Cowboys play in the weak NFC East, where a 9-7 record might be good enough to win the division.

It’s not the case in the NFC West. Arizona leads at 5-2 and should beat the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday. Though most of the focus is on the Cardinals and defending NFC West champion Seahawks, I think the Rams are going to win the division. They’re 3-3, have wins over the Cardinals and Seahawks already, and Todd Gurley is the hottest running back in the league.

Chances are good that St. Louis will improve to 4-3 after beating San Francisco in the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.

I get the feeling that a majority of 12s think the Seahawks won’t have a problem with the Cowboys. Vegas feels the same way, favoring Pete Carroll’s team by 5 1/2 points.

But this is a much tougher matchup than that Thursday night affair in San Francisco. Yes, the Seahawks looked good in a 20-3 win over the 49ers, but Jim Tomsula’s club is one of the worst in the league. It’s hard to call it progress when you flatten a team like the 49ers, but it could be, and we’ll get a better idea on Sunday.

This year’s Seahawks team reminds me of the Mariners. We kept waiting for them to get better because everyone said that’s what would happen. Then June arrived and July and pretty soon we all figured out it wasn’t going to happen. The Mariners finished 76-86 and never realized preseason expectations.

With the Seahawks, at least we know they have the potential to turn it around because we’ve seen their greatness before, and a lot of the same players are still here. But something seems different – particularly the offensive line – and to me, it’s unrealistic to think they’re going to suddenly become the force they once were.

When we look at them – or at least when I look at them – the tendency is to think they’re going to resume being the 2013 Seahawks at some point or the 2014 Seahawks, but the problem is, they’re the 2015 Seahawks and things have changed.

After the season ends – and I’m thinking it could end after the final regular season game at Arizona on Jan. 3 with no playoff games at all – the offensive line will be the biggest reason why this team failed to meet expectations. As I mentioned yesterday, the Seahawks have a Super Bowl-caliber secondary, Super Bowl-caliber linebackers, Super Bowl-caliber defensive line, Super Bowl-caliber quarterback and a Super Bowl-caliber running back with a New Mexico Bowl-caliber offensive line. That’s not good enough to keep up with Green Bay and New England in January and February.

Just my opinion, could be really wrong or sort-of wrong, there are varying degrees of wrong and I’ve experienced them all, sometimes on a daily basis.

Because they’re the 2015 Seahawks and not the previous two Super Bowl editions of the Seahawks, I’m taking Dallas and the 5 ½ points and will have a plate of crow ready, fork in hand, on Monday if I’m wide right with this pick.

I follow R.J. Bell on Twitter, and he’s a handicapper who pointed to a few factors in Dallas’ favor – as a home underdog since 1990, the Cowboys are 28-13 against the spread. When the Cowboys are an underdog by more than a field goal, they’re 17-4 against the spread.

And when Seattle is favored the week following a division win, they’re 13-34 against the spread.

But you could tell me that the Cowboys have lost four in a row and have the worst turnover differential in the league at minus-9. Or that Matt Cassell threw three interceptions in his first Dallas start against the Giants last Sunday.

Besides those against-the-spread numbers, I like the Cowboys in this game because they’re home, they found a running game last week with Darren McFadden rushing for 152 yards, they have an All-Pro tight end in Jason Witten, they likely have Dez Bryant returning from injury, and they have Greg Hardy as a pass-rushing nightmare for a Seahawks’ O-line that has already allowed 31 sacks and might play without left tackle Russell Okung, who is questionable with an ankle injury.

Should come right down to the wire, and I think the Cowboys will figure out a way to win it on a Dan Bailey field goal in the final seconds.

Line: Seahawks by 5 1/2
Prediction: Cowboys 20, Seahawks 17
Season record against the spread: 3-3-1

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.