Any Given Sunday

It was one of those 'any given Sunday' days yesterday in Week 6 of the NFL season.  When I looked at the Cowboys schedule at the beginning of the season, I chalked up yesterday's game against the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks as an almost definite loss and here is why.  The Seattle Seahawks home at Century Link Field is perhaps the NFL's most difficult venue in which to achieve victory as a visiting team.  Going into the yesterday's game against the Cowboys, Seattle was 19-1 over the last 20 home games, streching back to 2012.  With modest expectations for the season, almost everyone (except the Cowboys themselves) thought the  Cowboys would turn turtle and sink into artificial turf of Century Link Field at the end of a butt kicking by the Seahawks.  The Cowboys apparently did not listen to the nay sayers before the game but quietly prepared for the gargantuan task of beating the Super Bowl Champs in their own house.

It did not start out pretty either with the Seahawks scoring a Field Goal on their opening drive, then holding Dallas to a 3 and out on their first series.  The ensuing punt was blocked and run in for a 25 yard score and the Cowboys were reeling, down 10 points midway through the first quarter.  However theses Cowboys did not succumb to despair and get blown out by the Seahawks, like their last excursion to the Northwest two years ago, 27-7.  Instead, the Cowboys showed a resilience unknown to their fans for a generation or more.  The Cowboys reeled off 17 unanswered points to lead at the half 17-10.  The The Seahawks have the number 1 run defense in the league, allowing just 62 yards per game and had not surrendered a 100 yard game to any one runner this season.  Dallas has the league's leading rushing attack relying on DeMarco Murray, Josh Randle and Lance Dunbar to run the ball down the opponent's throat.  DeMarco Murray tied the record of the most revered runner in NFL history, Jim Brown, with his sixth straight 100 yard game to start the season (115 yards on 29 carries).  The Cowboys defense hassled Seattle at every turn, as the front seven limited the potent duo of Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch to just 80 rushing yards. Wilson tried on plenty of occasions to break containment on Dallas pass rushers, and he was repeatedly denied.

In the second half,  a muffed punt return and a fumbled snap led to 10 Seattle points to take the lead at 20-17.  Yet the Cowboys did not fold, matching Seattle's FG with the longest FG of Dan Bailey's young career at 56 yards to tie the score at 20.  Seattle added another FG to go up 23-20 in the fourth quarter and still the Cowboys did not fold their cards and give up.  After converting a 3rd cown pass to Dez Bryant, the Cowboys started going backwards, facing a 3rd and 21 from their own 31 yard line.  Tony Romo escaped from the Seattle pass rush with a spin move to complete a 23 yard pass to Terrence Williams for a First Down at the Seattle 47.  

The fans at CenturyLink Field erupted when Seahawks coach Pete Carroll challenged Terrance Williams’ fourth quarter circus catch – so certain were they it was incomplete.  How could it not be? Tony Romo’s 23-yard connection with Williams looked like it was heading for the Cowboys’ bench, it was thrown so far to the outside. The second-year receiver’s toes just tip-toed the artificial turf before he fell out of bounds.

“I saw him rolling right to the sideline, so I rolled with him,” Williams said. “He threw it, and, it’s just one of those things where -- if he throws it up, I’m trying to gain all his trust -- so I’m going to catch it regardless.”  After a brief review, officials crushed those fans’ hopes. It was a catch – not just a catch the Cowboys had to have, but the best catch of Williams’ 22-game career.  4 plays later Demarco Murray burst up the middle for a 15 yard TD carrying the Seahawks vaunted safety Richard Sherman into the End Zone with him.  This put the Cowboys up 27-24 with 3 minutes to go.  

The Seahawks faced a 3 point deficit and a fourth down deep in their own territory with 2 minutes to go.  Seattle is 2 for 3 on fourth down conversions this year, but their attempt failed when  Orlando Scandrick broke up Wilson’s fourth-down heave near the two-minute warning.  The Cowboys tacked on a FG with 40 seconds left to go up 30-23.  The defense derailed Seattle's attempt to tie the game at the end of regulation when Seattle QB Russell Wilson's final pass attempt was fittingly intercepted by Rolando McClain.  Game, Set and Match for a most improbable win for the Cowboys!  They probably did not need their chartered jet to fly home last night after the win as they were flying much higher than the Seahawks on this 'given Sunday'.  This leaves only 3 teams in the NFL with a 5-1 record after six weeks and last year's Superbowl teams, Seattle and Denver are not among them.  Two of them are in the NFC East, Dallas and Philadelphia, while the remaining team with the best record this season so far is the San Diego Chargers (who are the  only other team to beat the Seahawks this year although they did it in San Diego).

Your Monday With Mozart features live concert video of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra under the diretion of Petra Müllejans  at the Schwetzingen festival featuring Kristian Bezuidenhout as the Piano Soloist.  The play list includes Der Schauspieldirektor, KV. 486: Ouverture; Piano concerto no. 17 in G major, KV. 453 and Idomeneo, KV 366: Musique de ballet.  You may also hear Maxim Vengerov, Violin & Conducting the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in their performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No 2 in D major, K 211 over on my tumblr.  

Last but not least, it is time once more to venerate and appreciate those muscly men cavorting about the page in their Monday's Undies on display below the play list.  Then today's Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr says "Come and Get It"!.  Thanks for starting your week with me, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!