COWBOYS EDGE SEAHAWKS IN PRESEASON OPENER

Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells wanted to see how well Tony Romo could direct the offense in Saturday`s preseason opener against the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks. Romo made the most of his first NFL start, leading the offense on three scoring drives in the Cowboys` 13-3 win over Seattle here at Qwest Field. He finished 19-of-25 for 235 yards and a touchdown pass. After a shaky first series that included two incompletions and a fumble, Romo calmly led the offense on a 15-play, 89-yard scoring drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton. Romo was 7-of-7 for 76 yards on the drive, which included two key third-down completions to tight end Jason Witten and rookie receiver Sam Hurd, who started the game in place of an injured Terrell Owens. Projected starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was in uniform but did not play. Neither did third-stringer Drew Henson. This night belonged to Romo, who completed 12 straight passes at one point in the first half and drove Dallas to eventual 21-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt with 2:06 left. Earlier in the drive, Crayton made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch for a 33-yard gain before leaving with a sprained right ankle. Julius Jones started at running back and carried seven times for 14 yards. Marion Barber had seven carries for 20 yards before giving way to Tyson Thompson and Keylon Kincade in the second half. On defense, Greg Ellis started at left outside linebacker and recorded a sack and a tackle on the Seahawks` first offensive series. Inside linebacker Scott Shanle and defensive end Kenyon Coleman made surprise starts after working behind the first team the past two weeks. Parcells began integrating second-team players by the second quarter. The backup offensive line featured seventh-round pick Pat McQuistan, Cory Procter, Al Johnson, Stephen Peterman and Marc Colombo. Colombo started the game at right tackle and eventually was replaced by Rob Petitti. In the second quarter, Seattle cut the Cowboys` lead to 7-3 with a 40-yard field goal by Josh Brown. Cowboys second-year nose tackle Thomas Johnson recorded a sack on Seattle`s final drive of the half, which ended with a 55-yard miss by Brown. Cowboys kicker Shaun Suisham tacked on a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter to make the score 13-3.