My Miles Austin Blog

A botched 19-yard-field-goal attempt on fourth down with only 79 seconds left caused the Dallas Cowboys to be one point short and one yard short of a first down as the Seattle Seahawks hung on to advance in the 2006 NFC playoffs, beating the Cowboys 21-20 at home in Seattle.

While there was blame enough to pass around for the loss in the wild-card game, the final mistake came when "rookie" quarterback Tony Romo lost control of the ball on Martin Gramatica's 19-yard-field-goal attempt.

Romo, the holder, caught the ball cleanly but bobbled the ball when placing it down for Gramatica's attempt. Romo tried to scamper into the end zone on the play but was stopped short by Jordan Babineaux's game-saving tackle at the 2-yard line, one yard short of a first down.

Untested quarterbacks who become starters historically screw up in big games, and Romo did not disappoint. He did not make any excuses for costing Dallas the victory and advancement in the playoff game, and Romo deserves credit for shouldering the blame.

He was the holder on kicks for the Cowboys last year before replacing Drew Bledsoe this year. He blossomed into a Pro Bowl pick by winning five of his first six starts and turning the Dallas season around at that point. Romo's fast start and big statistics fell apart quickly as the season progressed.

Many money players (including myself) bet Seattle to win behind Matt Hasselbeck's experience and Romo's inexperience in the playoffs.

True to form, Hasselbeck was 18-of-36 for 240 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which resulted in Dallas field goals. Matt Hasselbeck was a Pro Bowl pick last year but was bothered by injuries and a weaker offensive line this year.

Romo was 17-of-29 for 189 yards and a touchdown and no turnovers, but all it took was the botched kick attempt to mar his effort.

Pushing aside all statistics, the ball clearly bounced right for Seattle and wrong for Dallas, but that is why we play the game. As a Seattle Seahawk fan, it almost goes without saying that I love first year starting quarterbacks playing for the opposing team.

Two other big plays helped Seattle advance in the playoffs.

The first big play happened when trailing 20-13 after failing on a fourth-and-goal play with 6:40 left in the game. The Seahawks started their comeback with two points on a safety when defensive back Kelly Jennings forced Dallas receiver Terry Glenn to fumble the ball into the end zone when the Cowboys took over deep in their own territory.

The ball shot out of Glenn's arms and took one bounce into the end zone as three Seattle defenders converged on the opportunity for the Seahawk defense to score in the Cowboy's end zone.

Linebacker Lofa Tatupu, an All Pro rookie last year, dove for the ball to keep it from going out of bounds and tipped it back into play then safety Michael Boulware recovered it for what appeared to be a touchdown.

A replay showed Tatupu was out of bounds when the ball was tipped inbounds, so the Seahawks were awarded a safety and the Cowboys lost possession of the ball.

The second big play came when Seattle received the ball on a free kick following the safety. The Seahawks took the winning lead on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens.

Stevens arguably had the best day of his 5-year career, catching five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, his first touchdown being a 15-yarder to give Seattle a 13-10 lead in the third quarter. The Seahawks could not have won without Stevens because Seattle's go-to wide receiver Darrell Jackson (D-Jack) and D. J. Hackett both left the game with injuries.

Dallas was not to be denied as Romo drove the Cowboys right back down the field and into position for the win when a pass to Jason Witten was initially ruled a first down. A replay showed the Cowboys were short.

It looked as if Dallas Coach Bill Parcells was tempted to go for it on fourth-and-1 as he left his offense on the field until Seattle called for a timeout. Then Parcells sent in Gramatica for the ill-fated field goal attempt.

This playoff game was as exciting as any wild-card game ever played.

Miles Austin, an undrafted rookie, had a 93-yard kickoff return for Dallas that became the first kickoff return for a touchdown in the Cowboys playoff history. Austin's electrifying run put Dallas up 17-13 in the third quarter only 11 seconds after the Seahawks had gone ahead.

Defending on the play were such no-names as John Howell, Rich Gardner, Ben Joppru, Oliver Celestin, Marquis Weeks and Lance Laury.

Seattle lost starters Kelly Herndon and Jimmy Williams with season-ending injuries against Tampa Bay a week before the game. Starter Marcus Trufant, one of the best tacklers at cornerback in the NFL, suffered a high ankle strain earlier in the year.

Thrust into the spotlight to defend against Terrell Owens (arguably the best current receiver in the NFL) and Terry Glenn (arguably the fastest receiver in the NFL) was rookie Kelly Jennings (who caused the fumble that resulted in Seattle's safety), safety-turned-cornerback Jordan Babineaux (who covered Terrell Owens and made the game-saving tackle on Tony Romo) and nickel back Pete Hunter (who was out of football a week prior and was working as a loan officer in Dallas).

If you are not impressed by the performance of Jennings, Babineaux and Hunter, you are most certainly a Dallas homer.

The Seahawk defensive secondary that had been decimated going into the playoff game helped hold the Cowboys to a season-low 14 first downs, its second-lowest total yards at 284, its second-lowest net yards passing at 168 and only 23% conversions on third downs.

A lot of Seahawks played tough on defense and the defensive secondary, which figured to get a lesson in what not to do against Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn, held its own like the Seattle Seahawks NFC conference championship team of a year ago that went to the Super Bowl.

Is there unfinished business in Seattle? Yes, there is. Next stop is in Chicago against the Bears, the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks come in as a 9-point underdog.

The Bears humiliated Seattle 37-6 earlier in the season on their home turf, but as a betting man, I like Seattle to upset the Bears and continue on their run to another Super Bowl appearance.

The Seahawks earlier defeat by the Bears was played with a banged-up offensive line, Shaun Alexander was unable to play because he had a cracked bone in his left foot and Michael Boulware left the game with a concussion.

Let the Seahawks try again, this time healthier, stronger, hungrier and more focused on the prize that eluded them last year when Pittsburgh beat them 21-10 to win Super Bowl 40 (XL).