The defending Super Bowl champions open their exhibition schedule at home, and the market has installed the Seattle Seahawks as a short 2.5-point favorite over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night at Lumen Field. Neither sideline plans to show much. Seattle has already ruled out quarterback Sam Darnold, and Dallas is holding back a long list of veterans in the opener. That leaves a 37.5-point total, a field-goal-sized spread, and a roster-evaluation game that rewards bettors who read participation plans instead of season projections. Our headline play leans on the price rather than the number.
Last Updated: Saturday, August 15, 2026
Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks — Time & How to Watch
| Where | Lumen Field, Seattle WA |
| When | Saturday, August 15 – 8:00 PM ET |
| TV | NFL Network |
Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks Betting Preview
Seattle arrives at this opener off the best season in franchise history. The Seahawks won 14 regular-season games, scored a franchise-record 483 points, and finished first in the NFL in scoring defense at 17.2 points allowed per game. They closed the year with a 29-13 win over New England in Super Bowl LX, with Kenneth Walker III taking MVP honors. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 receiving yards and earned first-team All-Pro recognition.
Dallas is coming from the opposite direction. The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year, the franchise’s first back-to-back losing seasons since 2002. Brian Schottenheimer enters year two with a reshaped defensive core. Dallas locked up interior lineman Quinnen Williams on a three-year, $105.9 million extension earlier this month, and rookie defensive back Caleb Downs headlines an incoming class that will get real snaps in August.
None of that decides Saturday, though. Schottenheimer has signaled that the majority of his projected starters will not suit up, a group that includes Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and the first-team offensive line. Downs and fellow rookie Malachi Lawrence are expected to play, though on a limited count. Seattle is in the same posture. Darnold sits, Drew Lock opens under center, and head coach Mike Macdonald has said he will rotate Lock and second-year passer Jalen Milroe in and out rather than run fixed shifts. Rookie running back Jadarian Price has missed practice time and is not expected to contribute.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks Odds
| Spread | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | +2.5 (-105) | +125 | U 37.5 (-120) |
| Seahawks | -2.5 (-115) | -145 | O 37.5 (+100) |
Odds accurate as of August 15, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest NFL Odds – Futures – Props
Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks — Who Is the Public Betting?
| Cowboys | 52% | 48% | Seahawks |
See the latest NFL Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers!
Cowboys vs. Seahawks Prediction — Is the Short Home Number Worth the Price?
The spread has not moved off 2.5 since it opened on August 7. The juice has. Seattle went from -110 to -115, while Dallas improved from -110 to -105. That is a modest tick toward the home side without much conviction behind it. Public spread tickets are split almost evenly at 52 percent on Dallas and 48 percent on Seattle, which is what you expect in a game where neither starting quarterback takes a snap.
The case for Seattle is straightforward. The Seahawks are home, their coaching staff returns intact off a championship year, and Lock is a veteran who has started NFL games. Continuity matters more in August than talent does, because most of the playbook stays in the bag. Seattle’s second-team front should also be more organized than a Dallas offensive line missing every projected starter.
The counter is the rotation itself. Macdonald plans to alternate Lock and Milroe rather than give either a clean stretch, and that kind of substitution pattern tends to stall drives and shorten possessions. Dallas, meanwhile, has a genuine competition to settle behind Prescott between Sam Howell and Joe Milton III, which usually means longer, more committed reps for whoever is on the field. In a game the market prices at 37.5 total points, 2.5 points is a meaningful slice of the expected scoring, and the better price sits on the visiting side. The risk is obvious: an unsettled quarterback room can produce the turnover that decides a low-scoring exhibition.
The Pick: Cowboys +2.5 (-105)
Cowboys vs. Seahawks Prediction — Will Anyone on the Field Score Enough?
The total opened at 37.5 with the Over priced at -115 and has since flipped, with the Under now the more expensive side at -120. The number itself has not moved, so this is a pricing signal rather than a line move. It tracks with what both teams have said about participation. Dallas is sitting its entire projected starting offensive line along with its top three pass catchers, and Seattle is running two quarterbacks through a shared script behind a patched-together front.
The argument for points is real. Preseason openers are sloppy, and backup offenses give the ball away in bad field position. Seattle’s return jobs are open, so special-teams units will be experimental on both sides. Still, vanilla play-calling, conservative fourth-down decisions, and a running clock in the second half all pull the other way. Seattle will hand carries to George Holani and a rotation of camp bodies, and Dallas will do the same behind a reserve line. Long, low-yield drives are the likelier outcome.
The Pick: Under 37.5 (-120)
Final Thoughts and Bonus Angle
There is a correlated angle worth noting on the moneyline. Dallas is +125 to win outright while getting 2.5 points on the spread. The only outcomes that separate those two bets are a Seattle win by exactly one or two points. With this many personnel unknowns, taking the plus money on a side you already like is a defensible upgrade rather than a separate opinion. The trade-off is that you surrender the cushion entirely, and preseason games decided by a late field goal are common.
If you are working through the rest of Saturday’s exhibition slate, our Panthers vs. Bills prediction and best bet and today’s Browns vs. Bears total analysis apply the same participation-first framework to two more openers.
Recap of our picks: Cowboys +2.5 (-105), Under 37.5 (-120), and Cowboys moneyline +125 as the bonus angle.
NFL Cowboys vs. Seahawks FAQ: Saturday August 15, 2026
What time does the Cowboys vs. Seahawks game start?
Kickoff is set for 8:00 PM ET on Saturday, August 15, 2026, which is 5:00 PM local time in Seattle. This is the preseason opener for both the Cowboys and the Seahawks. Seattle’s pregame coverage begins earlier in the evening.
What channel is the Cowboys vs. Seahawks game on?
NFL Network carries the game to a national audience. Viewers in the Seattle market can watch on KING 5, while the Dallas-Fort Worth broadcast airs on CBS Texas, KTVT channel 11. Regular CBS programming shifts to KTXA 21 in that market during the game.
Where are the Cowboys and Seahawks playing?
The game is at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, the Seahawks’ home stadium. Seattle is the designated home team for this preseason opener, and Dallas travels west for the first of its exhibition games. Both clubs then move on to the rest of their August schedules.
How can I stream the Cowboys vs. Seahawks game?
The game streams on NFL+, which requires a paid subscription. Seattle also carries the broadcast through the Seahawks mobile app and Seahawks.com, and Dallas offers a stream through DallasCowboys.com for fans inside the local market. CBS Texas also streams its broadcast at CBSTexas.com/live.