Cowboys 20-17 Steelers (Oct. 6, 2024) Game Recap

PITTSBURGH — Dak Prescott drifted left and then further. What harm would a few more seconds do in a seemingly endless night?

With one move, as TJ Watt and the rest of the Pittsburgh defense closed in, the NFL's highest-paid player made a money shot to Jalen Tolbert with 20 seconds left, giving the Dallas Cowboys a 20-17 victory early Monday.

Prescott had spent the last three-plus hours mixing equally brilliant and confusing plays, throwing two picks and fumbling once to almost single-handedly keep the sluggish Steelers in the game.

But when Dallas (3-2) got the ball back with four minutes left with 4:56 left, Prescott calmly led the Cowboys 70 yards in 15 plays and even vigilantly pounced on a fumble by teammate Rico Dowdle as the ball sputtered out , as Dowdle attempted to jump into the end zone. Heads-up play gave Dallas two more shots, and after an incompletion, Prescott completed his 352-yard performance, helping the injury-plagued Cowboys to their second straight win.

“We talk about it, stay neutral, be resilient and understand that there will be ups and downs, ups and downs,” Prescott said. “We just know who we are. (If) we just stick with it, we can get a victory. That was a great example.”

Pittsburgh (3-2) lost its second straight game after a 3-0 start. This was a lethargic performance – particularly on offense – on a night when the opening kickoff was delayed nearly 90 minutes due to severe weather.

The sky finally cleared. The Steelers spent much of the night in a fog, particularly on offense, managing just 226 yards against a defense that was missing injured stars Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

“I think the recurring thing is we're shooting ourselves in the foot,” Steelers quarterback Justin Fields said. “Penalties, false starts, it’s all about execution.”

Pittsburgh got the ball back after Tolbert gave the go-ahead shot, but a side attack went nowhere and the Cowboys stormed onto the field victorious in a game that ended a minute before 1 a.m

Dowdle gave the league's worst rushing attack a boost by rushing for 87 yards. He also added a sliding 22-yard touchdown reception on the third play of the fourth quarter to cap a 16-play, 90-yard drive that put Dallas up 13-10.

It looked like that would be enough until, with about 10 minutes to play, Prescott slammed a deep ball into double coverage, hoping for the knockout shot. Instead, it landed in the arms of Pittsburgh's Joey Porter Jr., and the Steelers fought their way 63 yards in 12 plays, the last being a 6-yard shovel pass from Fields to tight end Pat Freiermuth that gave the Steelers the lead .

Fields threw for two scores for 131 yards and added 27 rushing yards, but struggled with his accuracy, completing just 15 of 27 passes. With the calf that sidelined veteran Russell Wilson for five weeks finally healed, Fields' inconsistent performance gave head coach Mike Tomlin some wiggle room to consider putting Wilson – who had won the starting job in training camp – back in action next week in Las Vegas to record the lineup.

“We just missed shots and shot ourselves in the foot again,” Fields said.

The Cowboys missed several opportunities to gain some early breathing room thanks to fumbles by Prescott, who fumbled while being sacked by TJ Watt and Nick Herbig, ending a drive deep in Pittsburgh territory in the first quarter. The half-sack pushed Watt's career total to 100 and made the All-Pro the second-fastest player to reach that plateau in NFL history (109 games).

Prescott missed another chance in the second quarter when he threw late to Cee Dee Lamb in the end zone, giving Pittsburgh cornerback Donte Jackson time to step in front of the pass to intercept it and keep the Steelers within striking distance.

That's how it went most of the night, and Dallas' mistakes – the Cowboys were also penalized 11 times for 87 yards – allowed Pittsburgh to keep playing.

But just like his first trip to Pittsburgh as a rookie eight years ago, Prescott pulled off another late winning streak to give the Cowboys some momentum after their consecutive shocks against New Orleans and Baltimore.

Behind a struggling offensive line on a night where Dallas' defense more than held its own without its two cornerstones, Prescott served as a reminder of why he is such an important part of the team's foundation by buying enough time to turn his team's season into one to steer in the right direction.

“We have a play call that we love and are very confident in, regardless of the defense,” Prescott said. “The offensive line did a great job, Tolbert came open to the left and just had to make the throw.”

INJURIES

Cowboys: DE Marshawn Kneeland, who started in place of DeMarcus Lawrence, left in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return.

Steelers: Herbig limped off the field in the third quarter with what appeared to be a serious right hamstring injury. … OLB DeMarvin Leal went down on a stinger in the fourth quarter, leaving Jeremiah Moon as the only other outside linebacker.

NEXT

Cowboys: Host Detroit on Sunday.

Steelers: In Las Vegas on Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL