One of the premier match-ups on the Week 6 NFL slate involves the surprising 4-1 Dallas Cowboys traveling to Seattle to take on the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys have been impressive this season with their ability to run the ball.
DeMarco Murray is currently on pace to break the record for carries in a season and it has allowed the Cowboys passing offense to thrive on less attempts. This week will be a major challenge however, as the Seahawks are the league’s best run defense, allowing only 62 yards per game. If they are able to shut down the run game, it will force the Cowboys to challenge the Seahawks through the air, which means going at one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, Richard Sherman.
Many recall the Green Bay Packers refusing to throw to Sherman’s side in their opening week matchup, but owner Jerry Jones says the Cowboys will challenge Sherman according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Charean Williams:
Jerry says the Cowboys can't run from Sherman. They will challenge him.
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) October 10, 2014
Jone expounded on his thoughts while appearing on 105.3 FM The Fan according to ESPN:
With all of the respect we have for him, we’re going to have to give him some business over there or we will hurt the balance of what we can do relative to certainly the passing game. We can’t run from him. That’s easy to say and hard to do. We got to challenge him and make him at least cover us one-on-one, and Dez of course is the guy who can do it.
Jones is probably right to challenge Sherman. The Cowboys must at least be able to threaten the Seahawks on both sides of the field, and Dez Bryant has proven multiple times that he can make the tough catches regardless of who is guarding him.
Nonetheless, this game will be a major test for the legitimacy of the Cowboys. Very few believe they have a chance to win in Seattle, but if they can even make the game competitive, and attack Sherman successfully, it will look good in the eyes of everyone.
