The Steelers experienced another disappointment on Sunday night, October 6, when they suffered their second significant loss of the season. This resulted in thousands of frustrated gamblers placing their sports bets in Canada. The team’s defense was unable to stop Jalen Tolbert, who caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott in the final 30 seconds, leading to a 20-17 defeat against Dallas.
According to defensive tackle Cam Heyward, a single play identified the game result, and their opponents were on the right side. During the last five minutes of the match, Pat Freiermuth caught Justin Fields’s six-yard touchdown. This gave the Pittsburgh team a 17-13 lead, but this advantage wasn’t enough to win.
The Steelers’ defense forced three turnovers and blocked the field goal, but it allowed 445 yards and wasn’t able to stop Tolbert during the final minutes of the match. The Cowboys’ final drive was a 15-play, 70-yard series, culminating in back-to-back losses for Pittsburgh despite their earlier lead.
Dallas successfully converted a couple of third downs during the game. On one notable second down, Rico Dowdle fumbled at the first-yard line, but Prescott quickly recovered the loose ball. Two plays later, Jalen Tolbert outmaneuvered DeShon Elliott at the pylon to secure the winning touchdown.
Minkah Fitzpatrick commented that the team should have stopped the Cowboys during that play. Fields completed 15 out of 27 passes for 131 yards and gave touchdowns to Connor Heyward and Freiermuth.
It is worth mentioning that Dallas played without its top pass rushers, DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons, since both were injured. Despite this, they managed to limit Fields and the Steelers’ offense to just 226 total yards. Marshawn Kneeland also dealt with a knee injury during the game.
The Steelers were lucky to score the first field goal and have 89 yards of total offense, which helped Dallas take the 6-3 lead at the break. This marked the fourth time in five games that the Steelers failed to score more than ten first-half points.
Heyward admitted to the importance of fast starts but also noted that finishing strong is crucial. Unfortunately, the Steelers failed to do so this time.
Fans of the Steelers had to wait for the night showdown between the two teams because of the adverse weather conditions. Soon after the opening kickoff, thunderstorms swept through Pittsburgh downtown. Both teams didn’t score a first-half touchdown, but the Steelers managed to make this match special. Outside linebacker T. J. Watt became the second-fastest player in the history of the league. He reached 100 sacks during the final play of the first quarter.
The first possession of the second half saw the Steelers take a 10-6 lead. During this period, Tyrus Wheat roughed the passer and made Fields leave the game for a short period. However, it didn’t prevent Kyle Allen from sparking the drive and making a 19-yard completion to Freiermuth, allowing Fields to complete a 72-yard drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Heyward.
The fourth quarter was marked by a 13-10 lead from the Cowboys, which followed a mammoth 13-play, 90-yard drive. Dallas converted four third downs, too, and Dowdle received a 22-yard pass from Prescott next to the front pylon. Pittsburgh took advantage of the interception made by Prescott and took the 17-13 lead in the final stages of the game.
One more successful 6-yard shovel pass from Fields to Freiermuth could have helped Pittsburgh succeed, but the defense wasn’t able to keep the advantage. Freiermuth admitted to the necessity of rebounding fast, noting that two losses in a row are a great disappointment. However, the team plans to put it all together in Vegas in the matches held next week.
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