ARLINGTON, Texas - Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton had a bye week to forget in mid-October.
First, the Cowboys replace him with Miles Austin in the starting lineup. Then they sign Allen Rossum to return punts instead of him, too.
With Rossum (hamstring) injured two weeks later, Crayton has made team history.
The sixth-year veteran became the first Cowboys player since Hall-of-Famer Bob Hayes in 1968 to score a punt-return touchdown in consecutive games. Crayton had a 73-yard score in last week's win over Atlanta, and his 82-yard TD late in the third quarter clinched Sunday's 38-17 victory over Seattle at Cowboys Stadium.
Thanks to a couple of key blocks, Crayton found room down the left side and pushed the Cowboys' lead to 35-10.
"It was a different return (than last week)," Crayton said. "This one wasn't a gap overshooting. This was more of a nice little left return, so it was good. I had plenty of room."
Crayton also became the first Cowboys player with multiple punt returns for a touchdown in a season. His back-to-back scores were the first in the NFL since last season, when Johnnie Lee Higgins of Oakland had two straight on Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.
"It's a lot of fun to watch him," Austin said. "It juices the team up and gives us momentum. Big plays like that help us not only on special teams but also offensively and defensively."
Crayton also had three catches for 39 yards while playing in multi-receiver sets. But his punt return was the signature play on another complete special teams effort.
Mat McBriar pinned two of his four punts inside Seattle's 20-yard line. Rookie David Buehler increased his season touchback total to 17, tying the second-most in a Cowboys season since 1991. The Seahawks' average drive start was their own 21-yard line.
Ratliff Starts
Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff was a sudden addition to the Cowboys' injury report last Friday. He suffered a bruised knee during Thursday's practice and was listed as "questionable" against the Seahawks.
But Ratliff responded to treatment over the weekend and made his 23rd consecutive start on Sunday. He dropped running back Julius Jones for a one-yard loss on the defense's first play and finished with three tackles.
"I'm all right," he said. "I just wanted to make sure I knew what was going on with it. Come to find out, everything is fine and I was able to play, so I went ahead and played."
Carpenter Adds To Sack Total
After recording zero in its first two games, the defense's three sacks against Seattle pushed its season total to 17.
Nickel linebacker Bobby Carpenter contributed with his first sack since his rookie season in 2006. Carpenter and inside linebacker Keith Brooking each sacked Seahawks Matt Hasselbeck on middle blitzes.
Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware also had a sack for the third consecutive game - the eighth time in his career he has a streak of three-or-more games with a sack.
Fewer Penalties
The Cowboys entered the game tied for sixth in the league in penalties (45 for 381 yards), including eight for 50 yards a week ago against Atlanta.
Sunday, the team had five for 43 - its second-lowest total of the season.
"The coaches have been getting on the guys a little bit," quarterback Tony Romo said. "It's been a very important part of our week preparing. We try very hard to minimize those mistakes."
Short Shots
The Cowboys' 362 total yards Sunday gave them 2,878 through the first seven games of the season - the third-most in team history through seven games . . . Tight end Jason Witten caught four passes to give him 466 for his career and break a tie with Mickey Shuler for ninth on the NFL's all-time tight ends receptions list. He is 14 catches behind Jackie Smith (480) for eighth . . . Cowboys inactives were third quarterback Stephen McGee, Rossum, safety Mike Hamlin, linebacker Jason Williams, guard Montrae Holland, center Duke Preston, offensive tackle Pat McQuistan and linebacker Curtis Johnson.
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Rob Phillips - 
