Five things we learned from Steelers 24, Cowboys 19:
1. Road warriors
It’s not just achieving the best start in franchise history that made this win historic for the Steelers. They reached the 8-0 plateau with a third road win in as many weeks.
Counting the season-opening win at the New York Giants, the Steelers hit the midpoint of their season with a 4-0 record on the road.
The last time the Steelers did that was 2005 when they ended that 26-year drought without a Super Bowl championship, bringing the franchise its One for the Thumb.
The accomplishment Sunday also represented the fifth time the Steelers won their first four road games in a season.
In addition to 2005, the Steelers did it in 1975, 1978 and 1983. Not only did the Steelers reach the playoffs in all of those seasons, they won the Super Bowl three times.
The Steelers also matched an accomplishment last done by the franchise in 1953 when they overcame second-half deficits of 10 or more points in back-to-back road games. The Steelers trailed the Baltimore Ravens, 17-7, at halftime last week and were down 19-9 to the Cowboys in the third quarter.
2. Terrible travelers
The palace known as AT&T Stadium is suited for 80,000 football fans, yet because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Cowboys supposedly capped attendance at 25,000.
No way that held true Sunday as the crowd size surged to 31,700 with thousands coming dressed in black and gold. Whether the fan base in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex came out in full force or spectators traveled far and wide to see the visiting team make history, Steeler Nation was on display. At least 50% of the crowd cheered for the Steelers.
The presence became evident in warm ups. Each pocket of Steelers players that emerged from the tunnel was met by swirling Terrible Towels and loud cheers from the early arrivals. The Cowboys, who toted a 2-6 record into the game, were met with a smattering of boos when they took the field.
The show of support didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m not trying to take any shots at anybody, but if you didn’t know who America’s Team was you should have seen the stands and all of the Terrible Towels,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Dallas may be America’s Team, but we’ll be the world’s team because we’ve got fans everywhere and they’re the best in the world.”
3. Running in place
When a team trails by double digits in the second half, it’s not uncommon for it to abandon the running game.
But the way the Steelers couldn’t run the ball in the first half contributed to a deficit that reached 13-0 and was 19-9 in the third quarter and necessitated Roethlisberger throwing it on nearly every play.
The Steelers attempted 12 runs and gained 31 yards — a 2.6 average — in the first half. It wasn’t until Roethlisberger threw passes on all nine plays of a 75-yard touchdown drive that the Steelers got their first points on James Washington’s 17-yard touchdown catch.
James Conner carried six times for 21 yards in the opening half, yet the starting running back wasn’t even on the field for a sequence that swung the momentum in the Cowboys favor.
With the Steelers trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, they faced a second-and-2 from the Cowboys 36. Rookie Anthony McFarland, who entered the game on that series, gained one yard. He was given the ball again on third-and-1 and was bottled up for no gain. Conner remained on the sideline on fourth down while Benny Snell took over and was stopped for no gain.
The Cowboys then marched 65 yards for a touchdown that gave them a 10-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, with the Steelers trying to run out the clock, Conner ran for 2 and 3 yards. Chase Claypool went around the end for a 4-yard gain. Facing another fourth-and-1, this time with Conner on the field, the Steelers turned it over when he lost 4 yards.
It was the second game in a row the Steelers couldn’t get the running game going. They totaled 48 yards and averaged 3.0 yards per carry against Baltimore.
4. Missing pieces
Concerns about the defense’s ability to stop the run amid mounting injuries continued against the Cowboys.
A week after the Ravens rushed for 265 yards, the Cowboys totaled 144 on 31 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt.
The Steelers played a third consecutive week without slot corner Mike Hilton and for the first time without nose tackle Tyson Alualu.
To make up for the absence of Alualu to a knee injury, the Steelers rotated Henry Mondeaux and rookie Carlos Davis, who was making his NFL debut, into a defensive line unit that featured starter Isaiah Buggs.
The Steelers went with five linebackers in certain packages in an attempt to contain Ezekiel Elliott and backup Tony Pollard. Elliott totaled just 51 yards on 18 carries, but Pollard rushed for a game-high 57 yards on nine attempts, breaking off a pair of 20-yard runs. Quarterback Garrett Gilbert got into the act with three scrambles for 28 yards.
Although the Steelers knew the Cowboys would try to run the ball with Gilbert making his first NFL start, they at times were unable to get off the field, a trend that was established the previous week in Baltimore.
5. Fuming over the flags
The Cowboys took umbrage to several personal foul penalties called against their linebackers in the fourth quarter that extended back-to-back drives for the Steelers.
On the first, Jalon Smith was called for illegal contact downfield on a sack of Roethlisberger that was recovered by Aldon Smith at the Steelers 43. On the next play, Leighton Vander Esch was called for unnecessary roughness for mixing it up with McFarland. Those penalties helped set up Chris Boswell’s 43-yard field goal with 7:11 left that pulled the Steelers within 19-18.
On the Steelers’ next possession, Roethlisberger threw incomplete on third-and-10. But Jalon Smith swatted Roethlisberger in the helmet, and he was called for roughing the passer. Instead of punting from their 21 with 4:03 to play, the Steelers had a first down at the 36.
Four plays later, the Steelers took their first lead on Roethlisberger’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ebron.
“Total BS,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said of the roughing-the-passer call. Jalon Smith was more polite, calling it “questionable.”
No matter the term, the penalties helped contribute to the Steelers scoring their final nine points of the game.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Sports | Steelers/NFL
