In many regards, the Dallas Cowboys’ 20-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that stretched from late Sunday into the early hours of Monday morning tested the team’s mettle. The Cowboys endured a 90-minute weather delay before the opening kickoff and then withstood injuries, three turnovers and a mess of miscues to escape with a comeback victory.
“Our guys just kept playing,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “The resiliency of our football team was on display.”
That was especially true for a few specific members of the Cowboys. To eke out a last-minute win in Week 5, Dallas didn’t only rely only on quarterback Dak Prescott and other star players. Rather, several components of the team that have often attracted criticism played an outsized role in helping to beat the Steelers (3-2), including these three:
1) The run defense
The Cowboys’ defensive front floundered earlier this season, and that was before it lost Pro Bowl defensive ends Micah Parsons (high ankle sprain) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot sprain) to injuries in Week 4. Rookie Marshawn Kneeland, starting in place of those stars, left with a knee injury in the first quarter in Pittsburgh, further depleting Dallas’ depth up front.
Yet the Cowboys held up well against Pittsburgh’s running game and stood tall in pivotal moments.
Dallas, which allowed 464 rushing yards in Weeks 2 and 3 combined, has appeared to make meaningful improvements. After smothering New York in Week 4, the Cowboys held the Steelers to 3.5 yards per carry at Acrisure Stadium and stepped up on the third downs, allowing Pittsburgh to convert just three of 12 attempts.
“It’s two weeks in a row” of encouraging showings, McCarthy said. “It’s playing together with details and discipline. I think we can continue to get more hits on the ball.”
While the Cowboys’ offense produced a game-winning drive in the closing moments, the defense’s sturdiness was paramount from start to finish. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s unit stumbled for a few weeks earlier in the year but has absorbed blow after blow on the injury report recently and didn’t wilt against the Steelers. With the season at an inflection point and backup players scattered on the field, the group excelled.
If it didn’t, the offense’s three giveaways could’ve doomed the Cowboys to a loss.
2) Rico Dowdle and the running game
Entering Week 5, the Cowboys ranked last in the NFL in rushing offense, and advanced statistics suggested the team’s running backs ranked among the league’s most ineffective ball-carriers independent of blocking or play-calling. Rico Dowdle began to alter the narrative for the better in Pittsburgh.
Dowdle easily had his best game of the season, taking 20 carries for a season-high 87 yards (4.4 per attempt) and producing the type of long runs that the offense lacked earlier in the year. He also hauled in a 22-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Prescott in the fourth quarter.
After averaging 52 yards from scrimmage per game over the season’s first four weeks, Dowdle finished with 114 against the Steelers.
He nearly committed a game-squandering error in the final minute when a Pittsburgh defender knocked the ball out of his hands near the goal line. But Prescott pounced on the fumble and threw a go-ahead touchdown two plays later.
So, Dowdle’s mistake can be forgiven. And he can rake in credit for helping create a more balanced offense and consistent ground game than Dallas had displayed all year.
“That’s who Rico is, and that’s really what we get to see,” McCarthy said. “The first couple of weeks, he was probably quick on his horses. I thought he ran with a lot more patience and discipline [against Pittsburgh], and when he hits that second level, he’s all gas and physicality. So, I think he had a really nice night.”
3) Jalen Tolbert and receivers not named CeeDee Lamb
A third-round pick in 2022 who arrived in Dallas harboring hopes of immediate success as a playmaker, Tolbert struggled to shine his first two seasons in the league. This year, he stepped into an expanded role and showed progress.
And when the Cowboys put veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks on injured reserve with a knee infection earlier this week, Tolbert gained even more space — and urgency — to increase his production.He delivered in Pittsburgh.
Tolbert led the Cowboys with seven catches for 87 yards in the game, pulled down a career-long 48-yarder in the second quarter and made the most consequential catch of his career with the game on the line.
With less than 30 seconds left, the Cowboys trailed 17-13 and faced a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Prescott dropped back in the pocket as Tolbert ran a crossing route from the quarterback’s right to his left.
Prescott flipped a short pass to Tolbert, who pulled it down at the goal line, fighting off contact to secure the touchdown catch.
4TH AND GOAL. :20 TO GO.
CLUTCH COWBOYS 🤠pic.twitter.com/yM0ObWFmnU
— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2024
Lamb, an All-Pro, had five catches for 62 yards, but Prescott spread the ball around more often than he typically does. Seven Cowboys finished with at least 18 receiving yards, including Dowdle, tight ends Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford and return specialist KaVontae Turpin.
Tolbert was the stand out of the group and the one Prescott looked at with the game on the line. Moving forward, the quarterback hopes Tolbert’s career game is just one step in his maturation process.
“I’m gonna keep pushing him to get better, not gonna put a ceiling on what that guy can do, what our relationship can be, how important he can be to this offense,” Prescott said. “Just gonna continue to push him, and I know he’s gonna push himself, and [I’m] excited for us just to continue to grow.”