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Romo and Cowboys bounce back, beat Seahawks

Nov 6, 2011 - 11:30 PM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes and the Dallas Cowboys bounced back from a rough loss to take a 23-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Dallas was trounced in Philadelphia last week, 34-7, but improved to 5-1 under Jason Garrett after a loss thanks to Romo and three interceptions by the defense.

Romo finished the game 19-of-31 for 279 yards while DeMarco Murray ran for 139 yards on 22 carries for the Cowboys (4-4), who will host the resurgent Buffalo Bills next Sunday.

"The credit for this game needs to go to the front five," said Romo. "If I'm going to have the time I had back there today and they're going to open up the holes they did, we're going to have some success."

Tarvaris Jackson had a rough game as he was 17-for-30 with 221 yards and three second-half interceptions for the Seahawks (2-6), who have dropped three straight games and have scored just 28 points during that time.

"I was really disappointed that they ran the football the way they did against us," said Seattle head coach Pete Carroll. "They were pushing us off the line and we were missing tackles and I never want to see that."

Marshawn Lynch had his best game of the season, running for 135 yards and a score on 23 carries in the loss.

With the score tied at the half, the Cowboys took the lead with their first possession of the third.

On the sixth play of a drive that started at the Dallas 36, Romo hit Jason Witten in-stride near the 10 and he took it in on a 33-yard score for a 13-6 lead with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Seattle got into scoring position and lined up for a 41-yard field goal attempt, but Anthony Spencer leaped over the line and then leaped again to block Steven Hauschka's attempt.

Dallas was unable to take advantage and had to punt, but Jackson had a pass deflected at the line and Jason Hatcher caught the ball for the first interception of his career.

On the sixth play of the drive, Romo hit Laurent Robinson in the back of the end zone from six yards out for a 20-6 lead less than a minute into the fourth.

Again Dallas came up with a turnover as pressure on Jackson saw the QB haphazardly throw the ball away and Terence Newman come up with the easy pick. That led to a 42-yard field goal from Dan Bailey for a 23-6 lead with 11:22 left.

Seattle put together a successful drive on its next touch as Lynch ran in off the left tackle from four yards out to make it a 23-13 game with 6:12 to play.

However, Dallas was able to kill off over four minutes of the game clock on its next drive before punting, and Jackson was picked off by Gerald Sensabaugh in the final minute of the game to seal the win for the Cowboys.

"I think our team is learning and we're a work in progress," said Garrett. "But we're making some strides and are going to finish this season strong."

After an exchange of punts to start the game, the Cowboys put together a long drive to take the lead.

Starting at their own two, Romo hit Miles Austin for 16 yards on the first play to get out of danger and a 39-yard catch from Dez Bryant got the ball across midfield. The team later faced a 1st-and-goal at the eight, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Bailey with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the first quarter.

Seattle, though, responded with a field goal of its own as Hauschka's 45-yard attempt made it through the uprights in the final seconds of the first quarter to cap an eight-play, 53-yard drive.

Dallas responded with another 20-yard field goal from Bailey after its drive again stalled at the Seattle two for a 6-3 lead with 10 1/2 minutes to play in the second.

After holding the Seahawks to a three-and-out, the Cowboys again drove down the field and came just inches away from a touchdown. On 3rd-and-4 at the Seattle 24, Romo hit Bryant over the middle and he was just about to take it into the end zone when he was hit by Richard Sherman. The ball came out of the arms of Bryant and Seattle recovered. Dallas challenged the call, but it was upheld and Seattle had the ball at its own six.

Lynch had runs of seven and 19 yards to give Seattle some breathing room and Doug Baldwin later caught a 25-yard pass. After stalling in the red zone, Hauschka hit a 32-yard field goal to tie the game near the halftime break.

Game Notes

Seattle has not led at the half in any game this season...Seattle hosts Baltimore next Sunday...Dallas has won the last three meetings with Seattle...Bryant finished the game with four catches for 76 yards...Dallas totaled 442 yards, but controlled the ball for just 29:27...The Seahawks had 381 yards.