Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, Nov. 7:

Jerry Brewer at the Seattle Times says the Seahawks are only halfway to learning some hard lessons after Sunday’s 23-13 loss to the Cowboys left then at 2-6: “Tarvaris Jackson stood in the front of a near-empty locker room. The equipment, the players and their excuses were all but gone, and the probing media questions had been asked, except for one throwaway query about how the Seahawks could turn around a season trending toward miserable. The quarterback was appropriately blunt. ‘We’ve got to score points and stop killing ourselves,’ Jackson said. Oh, is that all? If only producing points and eliminating self-abuse were as easy as acknowledging the problems. If only those were the only problems. The Seahawks know their issues, at least. It’s difficult to ignore leaks, especially the persistent and annoying ones that plague this team. But there are so many holes. Plug one leak, and another drips water on their foreheads. In that sense, the Seahawks’ 23-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys was a fitting conclusion to the first half of this rebuilding season. The Seahawks (2-6) finally plugged their running-game leak, only to be doused by the rest of their problems.”

Danny O’Neil of the Times says the size of the venue and state equaled the Seahawks’ shortcomings in this one: “Everything is supposed to be bigger in this state. Even the shortcomings. No, especially the shortcomings. Because Seattle’s imperfections became warts and their warts became sores in a 23-13 loss to Dallas. Yes, it was that ugly, a game that Seattle lost every bit as much as the Cowboys won. The Seahawks were flagged for 10 penalties, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was intercepted three times and, not to be left out, the defense completely neglected to cover Cowboys tight end Jason Witten on the touchdown that gave Dallas a second-half lead it never lost. ‘It started with the penalties,’ coach Pete Carroll said, “and the turnovers will be the story.’ “

Eric Williams of the News Tribune says this wasn’t just another loss, it was humbling setback, especially for Tarvaris Jackson: “ ‘I feel very sick about how I played today,’ he said. ‘I just made some stupid mistakes. You can’t do it. I’ve been staying away from those mistakes the whole season, and it’s just one of those games where you just do something stupid.’ Jackson wasn’t the only culprit. Seattle’s defense let Dallas rookie running back DeMarco Murray run wild. The former Oklahoma player finished with 139 yards on 22 carries. The Seahawks gave up a season-high 163 yards on the ground.

Mike Sando at ESPN.com says he liked the Seahawks finally getting their running game going: “It’s critical for Seattle to show progress in that area over the second half of the season after investing considerable draft capital in the offensive line over the past two seasons. This game counts as a big step forward in that area. Marshawn Lynch topped 100 yards for the first time during the regular season since Seattle acquired him. He finished with 135. The Seahawks topped 150 yards rushing, another first this season. The Seahawks also did a good job avoiding sacks after entering the game having allowed 28 this season, most in the league. The Seahawks have rushed for at least 145 yards in their past two games with Jackson and Lynch in the starting lineup together. The Seahawks’ defense, though too pliable from a yardage standpoint, played tough around the goal line and forced turnovers to keep Seattle in the game past halftime.”

Christian Caple at PI.com has some postgame thoughts: “Tarvaris Jackson played his worst game as a Seahawk. The defense allowed its first 100-yard rusher of the season. And once the Cowboys pulled ahead 20-6 in the second half, no thought existed that Seattle was going to be able to pull this one out.”

Here at Seahawks.com, we look at how getting the running game going came on a day when the aspects of the Seahawks overall game that had been working didn’t: “A running game that has been missing all season finally showed up for the Seahawks on Sunday, but too many other elements of their collective game disappeared. So despite a season-high 135-yard rushing performance by Marshawn Lynch, which including a rushing touchdown in his fourth consecutive game, the end result was a 23-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys before a crowd of 81,510 at Cowboys Stadium. Coach Pete Carroll labeled the effort a classic, but not for the usual reasons associated with that tag. ‘This was classic game where a team goes out and plays really hard and then makes the mistakes that puts you in the loss column.’

We’ve also got a recap in our “Game at a Glance,” as well as Tony Ventrella’s video review.

For a look at the rest of the league in what was a wild Week 9, there John Clayton’s “Last Call” at ESPN.com; Don Bank’s “Snap Judgments” at SI.com; and Clark Judge’s “Judgements” at CBSSports.com.

A look at the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Nov. 7:

1976: The expansion Seahawks capture their first regular-season victory at the Kingdome with a 30-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons as Sherman Smith becomes the first Seahawk to post a 100-yard rushing performance (124 yards on 14 carries).

1999: Jon Kitna passes for three touchdowns, Ricky Watters scores twice as part of a 133-yard rushing effort and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy intercepts a pass in a 37-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at the Kingdome.

2004: Shaun Alexander rushes for 160 yards and two touchdowns; Matt Hasselbeck passes for three TDs, including two to Darrell Jackson, who had five catches for 114 yards; and linebacker Anthony Simmons returns an interception for a score in a 42-27 victory over the 49ers in San Francisco.

ARLINGTON, Texas – A recap of the Seahawks’ 23-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday:

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Jason Witten. Say what? He only had four catches, two in each half. But it wasn’t the catches the Cowboys’ tight end made; it was when he made them – especially in one decisive segment of that decisive second half.

The first came when a blown coverage by the Seahawks left Witten wide open for a 33-yard touchdown on the Cowboys’ first possession of the second half. The score off the seam route gave the Cowboys a 13-6 lead they would not relinquish.

“We busted on the seam route, which was a big play of the game,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “We made a mistake on that seam route to Witten and he gets an easy play for a touchdown.”

Witten’s second catch in the half – again on a seam route – went for a 23-yard gain on a third-and-6 play that followed the first of Tarvaris Jackson’s three interceptions and proved pivotal on the Cowboys’ six-play, 40-yard drive to Romo’s 6-yard TD pass to wide receiver Laurent Robinson.

Two big catches, two quick touchdowns. Game over, before it really was.

Honorable mention must go to Romo, who overcame a mistaken-marred start to finish with 279 yards and the two TDs while completing 19 of 31 passes; Cowboys rookie running back DeMarco Murray, who became the first back this season to crack triple digits (139) against the Seahawks defense; and Seahawks back Marshawn Lynch, who ran for a season-high 135 yards and the team’s only TD.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

Offense: Lynch’s 4-yard TD run. Yes, it was too little and too late (with 6:12 left in the game). But it was a rightful reward for his hard-running afternoon and produced the Seahawks’ lone touchdown. In fact, Lynch also had the only TD in last week’s loss to the Bengals and also a 1-yarder in the pre-bye week upset of the Giants (he sat out the post-bye loss to the Browns because of back spasms).

Defensive: Richard Sherman’s fumble-forcing hit on Dez Bryant, just when it appeared the Cowboys wide receiver was about the cross the goal line in the second quarter. Bryant took a short pass from Romo and had carried it 23 yards to the Seahawks’ 1-yard line. That’s when he found Sherman, the Seahawks rookie cornerback, rather than the end zone. Roy Lewis recovered the fumble, and the Seahawks then drove 81 yards in 13 plays to a 32-yard field by Steven Hauschka that tied the score at 6.

Special teams: Pick a Jon Ryan punt. All he did was average 61 yards on three punts, with a net average of 58.3 yards and a long of 70 yards. But let’s go with Ryan’s first punt, which was “only” a 58-yarder. But it turned into a net of 62 yards because Kennard Cox dropped Bryant for a 4-yard loss on the return – at the Dallas 2-yard line.

INJURY REPORT

Carroll reported no significant injuries in the game.

WORTH NOTING

Lynch’s 135 yards were a season high, as was the team’s total of 162 rushing yards.

The Seahawks have forced three turnovers in their past two games and Sherman has played a big part in all three. In addition to his fumble-forcing hit on Bryant, he also intercepted a pass in last week’s game against the Bengals and broke up another pass that was picked off by strong safety Kam Chancellor.

Free safety Earl Thomas and middle linebacker David Hawthorne, who played their high and college football in Texas, each had a game-high eight tackles. Thomas had eight solo stops and Hawthorne six.

The Seahawks did not sack Romo and only got two hits on the Cowboys’ QB.

The Seahawks had the edge in time of possession – just barely (30:33) – for the first time this season.

The Seahawks averaged 6.2 yards on their 61 offensive plays, second only to their per-play average against the Falcons (7.0).

There were 17 penalties called in the game – 10 for 88 yards by the Seahawks; seven for 82 by the Cowboys.

Since starting 4-2 last season, the Seahawks are 5-13 in regular-season games.

The Cowboys (six of 14) converted three times as many third-down situations (two of 10) as the Seahawks.

Jackson threw three interceptions in a game for the third time in his career.

YOU DON’T SAY

“I’m really disappointed where we are; very disappointed. We thought we could be better, of course. I don’t know any other way to think.” – Carroll after the Seahawks slipped to 2-6