Pete Carroll was obviously frustrated, and the Seattle Seahawks head coach will find a lot of people sympathetic to his stance on the officiating after his team dropped to 6-6 with a third straight defeat in a primetime thriller against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Seahawks (10) and Cowboys (9) combined for 19 penalties totaling 257 yards as Dallas fought back to defeat Seattle 41-35. The Seahawks were flagged for pass interference, defensive holding or illegal contact six times.

"It's unfortunate that it feels like there was a whole 'nother factor in this game," Carroll said at the start of his post-game press conference. "I don't know, you guys saw it a lot better than I did, but there was just way too many penalties in this game, for both sides. We've got to get out of that kind of football."

Costly coverage fouls

The coverage penalties, four of which came on Dallas' lone third-quarter touchdown drive, were a particular source of frustration for Carroll, who believes referees need to be given more freedom when it comes to that area of the game. The NFL asked officials in August to place an emphasis on illegal contact fouls

"They know the game, they know how to make these calls, but they can't call everything that when there's a little this and a little that, and particularly when it doesn't affect the play," said Carroll. 

"I'll spend some time on this in the offseason for sure. And I'm not saying I've got all the answers. I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that I think the game needs to be adjusted here somewhat because there's too much emphasis on those situations."

While Carroll will have plenty of supporters, his irritation with the officiating shouldn't be used as an excuse for the primary issue preventing the Seahawks from competing with the NFC's elite.

A familiar failing

Simply put, Carroll is a defensive coach whose defense cannot find ways to get off the field consistently.

Dallas dominated time of possession, holding the ball for over 36 minutes. The Cowboys racked up 33 first downs to Seattle's 25. Neither team punted.

Of Dallas' nine drives in which they did not kneel out the first half or the game, eight went for either a field goal or a touchdown. The only time the Cowboys surrendered possession was when they turned the ball over on downs on their second drive of the third quarter.

Unlike in last week's blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle did find ways to get to the quarterback, sacking Dak Prescott four times, yet the Seahawks continually had no answer as Prescott picked apart the secondary almost at will, CeeDee Lamb going for another 100-yard game as tight end Jake Ferguson and second wide receiver Brandin Cooks also did damage.

The #Seahawks defense allowed 7 non-penalty explosive plays in their week 13 loss at the Dallas Cowboys:

2nd and 6|2:25 4th|Lamb 24-yard carry
2nd and 8|14:31 1st|Lamb 23-yard catch
3rd and 2|12:52 1st|Cooks 19-yard catch
3rd and 16|6:14 1st|Ferguson 17-yard catch

(1)

— Under Zone X (Frisco)/Phoenix Check/Stick Slasher2 (@mattyfbrown) December 1, 2023

There are several impressive players in the defensive backfield for Seattle, with Devon Witherspoon putting together an increasingly compelling case for Defensive Rookie of the Year after Riq Woolen missed out last year despite an excellent season.

But the individual qualities of the players the Seahawks have on defense are not translating to team success. Seattle has given up at least 20 points in five of the last six games, with the defeat to Dallas the third in that span in which the Seahawks have conceded 30 or more.

As they showed against the Cowboys, when Geno Smith is healthy and relatively well protected, the Seattle offense can pour on the points and help the Seahawks stay in games with contenders.

But victories in such contests are primarily obtained by complete team efforts in which the defense makes critical plays. 

Those plays are conspicuous by their absence for Seattle and, unless Carroll can inspire a turnaround as a daunting stretch continues with a 49ers rematch and a primetime game with the Philadelphia Eagles, a Seahawks team that once looked a safe bet for the playoffs will be watching the postseason from home.

Second 49ers injury report for Week 13, at Eagles

There’s hope for a key absentee.