There have been three distinct Dallas offense this season, There was the one that was rolling along until Tony Romo's pinkie injury took him out of action from Week 7 through Week 10. The Brad Johnson Replacement Offense was about as bad as any offense you will ever see; Dallas put up Offensive DVOA totals of -114.2%, 1.8%, and -66.0% when Romo was out. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the “Romo's Back!” offense is the one they'll be facing; this is the same one that torched high-priced San Francisco cornerback Nate Clements as T.O. had a career day.

Seattle's pass defense was actually improved over the last few weeks. The Seahawks ranked 30th in Pass Defense DVOA from week 1-9, they're 15th since. Marcus Trufant has been playing better and Josh Wilson has been a pleasant surprise, but this will be yet another test of the wisdom of that small defender theory. Owens is an especially difficult matchup for this team. He's better than he used to be at unlocking press coverage, and he can still get downfield with scary speed for a guy who isn't at all afraid to be physical before and after the catch.

The Cowboys' rushing offense has dropped from sixth to 14th in DVOA from the first half of the season to now, but even this more favorable matchup for Seattle has its pitfalls. The Seahawks' quick, undersized front seven doesn't tend to do exceedingly well against behemoth offensive lines, and they'll be facing a bunch of dump trucks this week.

Seattle offense vs. Dallas defense

The Dallas defense has experienced its own rebirth of late – the Cowboys were particularly on point against San Francisco last Sunday. The DeMarcus Ware-Walter Jones matchup is always a good one, but the real game-clincher will be what the undermanned middle of Seattle's offensive line does against nose tackle Jay Ratliff, an underrated force. (Actually, that may be redundant. Is there an overrated nose tackle?) The Dallas secondary is vulnerable at the best of times, but there also appeared to be a bit of home cooking when it came to non-calls against their cornerbacks. Be prepared for some frustration in that department, Seahawks fans. The officiating train keeps rolling on, veering off the tracks as it may be.

How will the game go?

Let's face it – this is a “What have you done for me lately?” world. Hasselbeck is no longer Matty Ice; that's now the kid down in Atlanta. He's third down the list of Starting Matts behind Cassel, based on two straight 400-plus-yard performances by New England's replacement quarterback (who we'll be talking about next week). Some believe that Cassel should be the newest Seattle Matt, which means that some have forgotten what happens when you blow AIG bailout money on a piece of the New England offense without the rest of the New England offense to go with it. This game will be on Hasselbeck's shoulders. He's facing a defense primed to prove that Julius Jones was best off elsewhere, and a secondary with enough holes to exploit.

The simple fact is that the Cowboys are playing as well now as they have all season. They know they have to fight the Redskins tooth and nail down the stretch for the honor of second to the G-Men in the NFC East. They also know that the Redskins padded their win total against this Seahawks team just a few days ago, and they know what an 8-4 mark would do for them with a 10-day rest to get ready for a December 7 blow-up against the Steelers.

This is a team with amazing talent and just enough recent humility to make them exceedingly dangerous. All the Seahawks have to counter with is humility, and the prospect of “spoilerism” drawing the curtain on Mike Holmgren's final season. The Seahawks would have been much better off facing a Dallas team on one streak or another for several weeks. Instead, they'll be dealing with a team that stared into the abyss, halfway fell in, and righted itself. There's something to prove there. Bad news for the Seahawks.