Position Tiers: Steelers vs. Cowboys

We waited all Sunday and Monday morning for this? That's a difficult question.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers holding a late lead and needing the high-paying defense to get a stop in the fourth quarter, they didn't get it done in the end, allowing a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Jalen Tolbert on 4th and scoring to the Dallas Cowboys took a 20:17 lead with 20 seconds left, which would be enough for the final score.

Although the Steelers' defense forced three turnovers and blocked a field goal, the offense was unable to score consistently enough and the defense couldn't be stopped when it mattered most, resulting in the 20-17 Loss dropped to 3-2 for the season.

In a game where kick-off was delayed by an hour and 25 minutes due to severe weather in the area, it's pretty disappointing to come out of this game with a home loss in prime time.

Let's get to some notes.

QB – C-

The box score shows two touchdowns and no turnovers for Justin Fields on the night, but it was far from a good performance.

Fields was 15 of 27 for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. His longest pass of the night was 21 yards to George Pickens in the fourth quarter. He tried at times to push the ball up the field, but he couldn't, and sometimes he failed.

He should have had a low shot at Van Jefferson that was blocked, but the defender dropped it. He also missed several other throws that night, including missing George Pickens on a crosser and a sideline route. He also overshot a little early in the game when he ran a seam route to Darnell Washington in one-on-one coverage.

Fields just didn't seem to see the field that well that night, and he hit a big shot that knocked him out of the game for a moment. Not the best performance, especially with Russell Wilson getting closer to full health.

RB – C-

At times it looked like Najee Harris was getting back on track, but then the running game came to a halt. Against a defense that was missing its two best players, the Steelers should have been able to run the football with success. They couldn't.

Harris finished the game with just 42 yards on 14 carries and added two receptions for 30 yards. He had a nice 20-yard catch-and-run on a screen in the second half after a 15-yard catch-and-run in the first half. It would have been nice to use him more in the passing game to open things up a bit.

Aaron Shampklin, replacing Harris, had 4 carries for 14 yards, while Jonathan Ward, who was on the practice squad, had 2 carries for 9 yards.

The running game was just inconsistent. Aside from the two receptions for Harris, the running backs were also absent in the passing game. Another hard night.

WR – F

The Steelers receivers only had 8 receptions for 67 yards on the night. This is now self-evident.

Pickens only had three balls for 26 yards, including 21 on his catch in the fourth quarter. Van Jefferson continued to show some life in the second half, finishing the game with three catches for 26 yards.

Two of his catches came on touchdowns to open the second half, hauling in consecutive passes from Fields to give the Steelers some rhythm. However, he then took a hard fall on the sideline and failed to make a contested catch. Pickens also had a rough night overall, accompanied by a stupid decision after the final whistle to trip Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis on his facemask, leading to a scuffle.

Brandon Johnson had a 9-yard reception while Calvin Austin III had a 6-yard reception.

The Steelers simply get very little out of their receivers.

TE – B-

It was nice to see Pat Freiermuth get going in the second half. He had a huge 19-yard catch from Kyle Allen — on the play when Fields was being evaluated for a concussion — that seemingly sparked the offense. Freiermuth later added a touchdown on a shovel pass from Fields and finished the night with three receptions for 22 yards.

The Steelers need to use him more.

Connor Heyward recovered from a hard drop early in the game to score a 16-yard touchdown from Fields. He also had a nice 7-yard catch in the first half that set up a third-and-short and allowed the Steelers to move the chains. He makes plays when he gets the opportunity, but had two tough drops on the night.

Darnell Washington only had two scores and completed one pass for 5 yards. After adding a spark to the Steelers' offense last week against Indianapolis, it was surprising to see him return to limited action.

OLD

This group is really struggling at the moment. It was nice to get Isaac Seumalo back for the game, but he was tough getting back into game shape. He had a tough call on a Linval Joseph sack and wasn't particularly effective in the run game.

The Steelers' offensive line allowed three sacks and eight quarterback hits on the night and failed to drive offense past 100 yards against the weakened Dallas defense.

Really, really hard night. The All-22 will tell a more detailed story, but again there isn't much to cover.

DL-D+

This group was unable to consistently stop the run and generated very little pressure overall against the pass.

Letting Rico Dowdle do whatever he wanted in the run game most of the night was pretty discouraging. The guys couldn't get out of the blocks, couldn't get into gaps and couldn't make plays.

The defensive line combined for just 9 tackles and 2 quarterback hits. Dallas ran 75 plays. It's simply unacceptable for the guys at the top to go against a struggling Dallas offensive line that also had two rookies starting.

Cameron Heyward had some moments as a run defender, finishing the game with two stops, while Montravius ​​Adams took on the run late. But Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi were largely non-existent. This is discouraging. The most impactful thing Benton did that night was call a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Dallas lineman.

This is revealing.

LB-C

It was a solid night for TJ Watt, who broke the 100-sack mark for his career while forcing a fumble. Watt finished the night with 1.5 sacks, 8 tackles and 3 quarterback hits. He was a threat. But no one else really came forward.

Before Nick Herbig was injured, he suffered a half sack and recovered a fumble. But he fought against the run. After he left the game, DeMarvin Leal and Jeremiah Moon took care of OLB snaps, and it wasn't good at all. Moon and Leal combined for two tackles and were unable to generate any pass rush against Watt.

Inside, Elandon Roberts almost took the win. He jumped over the line of scrimmage at the goal line and forced a Dowdle fumble, but the Cowboys recovered and ultimately won the game on fourth down. It was a Troy Polamalu-esque piece. It's a shame it's forgotten.

Roberts finished the game with three tackles and played the run down the field well.

Patrick Queen finished the game with nine tackles and spent quite a bit of time with the football, but the one play he couldn't make in the third period was a hard pill to swallow, as you read that right Shot home and was there for the stop, but I didn't manage to finish.

Payton Wilson had a great tackle against the run on the Cowboys' final drive in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 9 tackles. However, he struggled at times getting out of the blocks and wasn't as effective running.

DB-D

DeShon Elliott allowed two touchdowns on the night, which was pretty shocking considering how great he was this season. On the first possession against Dowdle, Elliott slipped, allowing the Cowboys running back to get wide open for the score. On the game-winner, Elliott tried to get through traffic on the intersection route and arrived just a touch late.

On the final rep, he didn't get much help from rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. as he was out of position, recognized the crosser too late and couldn't provide any help underneath. He had a terrible night with two crucial penalties and was picked on in the passing game all night long. His struggles with communication and coverage make him almost unplayable right now, but it's not like the Steelers have many other options right now.

Joey Porter Jr. had a nice interception that gave the Steelers a chance to extend the lead by tracking down a deep ball from Prescott and making a nice over-the-shoulder catch. He had four tackles on the night and was largely able to hold his own in coverage. The same was true for Donte Jackson, who made a crucial interception in the end zone late in the first half to keep the points off the field.

He was beaten by Tolbert in the first half while awaiting safety help. He also missed a crucial tackle on the final drive, similar to last week in Indianapolis. He has solid coverage but has struggled to manage in recent weeks and has been prone to the big play and communication breakdown.

Minkah Fitzpatrick had a very strong game. He had 10 tackles, broke up a pass and was used everywhere. Sure, the turnovers still aren't there, but he was healthy and flying around most of the night. That was encouraging.

Special Teams – A-

Hats off to the Steelers special teams.

Chris Boswell made a field goal and punter Corliss Waitman averaged 44.4 yards per punt on five punts, throwing four of them inside the 20-yard line.

But it was the field goal blocking unit that came up big. Isaiahh Loudermilk blocked a Brandon Aubrey field goal to keep the game 10-6 in what appeared to be a huge play for the Steelers. In the end it didn't matter, but what a moment it was.

Shampklin also had a nice 32-yard return in the game, giving the Steelers a slight spark with better field position at the time.

The Steelers' special teams were solid all night, especially in an important game against a strong Dallas special teams unit.