Elliott powers Cowboys to wild-card victory
Cowboys 24, Seahawks 22
ARLINGTON, Texas — Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 137 yards and the goahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Cowboys hung on for a 24-22 wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night.
The playoff win by the Cowboys (11-6) was the first for Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott on their second try after losing a divisional game as rookies two years ago. Dallas will play either New Orleans or the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round next weekend.
The loss ended a run of nine straight victories in playoff openers for the Seahawks (10-7). The Elias Sports Bureau says it was the longest streak in NFL history.
Dallas' defense, ranked in the top 10 most of the season, mostly kept quarterback Russell Wilson under control and handed him his first loss in four wild-card games.
Seattle played the second half without kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who injured a leg while missing a 57-yard field-goal try on the final play of the first half.
Janikowski, 40, grabbed the back of his left leg and yelled as the kick sailed wide right. He limped to the locker room.
Rookie punter Michael Dickson tried some short field goals during halftime, with mixed results. The Seahawks have also pondered using Dickson for drop-kicks in field-goal situations. He had several drop-kicks during the season, as recently as Week 16 when Janikowski left with an injury but returned to the game.
The Seahawks went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Dallas 39 in their first possible field-goal situation of the second half, converting on Wilson's 22-yard pass to Doug Baldwin. After Wilson ran 4 yards for a touchdown, Mike Davis scored on a two-point conversion run for a short-lived 14-10 Seattle lead.
Cowboys receiver Allen Hurns suffered a lower left leg injury in the first quarter.
Hurns was being dragged down by Seahawks safety Bradley Mcdougald at the end of a 14-yard catch for a first down when his lower left leg appeared to buckle. The injury was announced as an ankle injury.
Hurns writhed in pain on the turf as medical personnel rushed out to immobilize his leg. He was taken off the field on a cart after being placed on a stretcher.