3 reasons why the 2023 Seahawks and Cowboys are eerily similar feat. Dak Prescott
The 2023 Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys share a conference and in most years, the comparisons stop there. The latter, an old, storied franchise with a fanbase the size of a country has always stood separately from the much younger franchise with a distinct niche of fans.
However, the stars have aligned this season and the two teams have quite similar makeups heading into the year. Here's a look at three ways the two teams are interestingly similar.
#1 Super Bowl-winning head coach leads Cowboys and Seahawks
After all these years, the Seahawks still have Pete Carroll running things. Carroll has a Lombardi under his belt and will be looking to add his second this season. At the same time, the Cowboys have a Super Bowl-winning coach in Mike McCarthy, who won his first ring in the same general era.
McCarthy won his first Super Bowl as a head coach at the end of the 2010 season. Carroll won his at the end of the 2013 season with Russell Wilson.
As such, both coaches know what it takes to get to the Big Game, even if it has been a decade or more.
#2 Studs all around on offense
The rosters of both teams have quality names up and down the roster, especially at running back and at wide receiver. The Cowboys have Ceedee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup in addition to Tony Pollard. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
However, both teams will be electing to resist the urge to throw it all over the park. The Seahawks will be looking to run the ball and lean on their defense like in the early Russell Wilson era.
Meanwhile, Mike McCarthy has also infamously declared that he wants Dallas to run the ball more in 2023.
#3 Questions at QB
Many fans reason that the need for running the ball often is because of who's at quarterback. The Dallas Cowboys have a quarterback in Dak Prescott coming off a season in which he led the league in interceptions after only playing in only 12 games.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks also have reason to brace for a return to the mean with Geno Smith.
After holding the clipboard for a decade, Smith proved to have something left in 2022. However, it is almost unprecedented for a backup quarterback to turn into a franchise starter after so many years of waiting in the wings.
Defenses now have a full year's worth of updated tape on him and adjustments will be made. The question is whether Smith has a different set of tricks he can pivot to in order to avoid getting cornered by defenses this year.