2nd Down and Goal – Rico Dowdle’s Fumble
The Cowboys drove deep into Pittsburgh territory in 11 plays. On first and goal, QB Dak Prescott kept the ball and tried to race to the left pylon, but was tackled short. Worse, the ball came loose when he was stretching to reach the goal line, but fortunately the ball went out of bounds and the 2-foot line. If the ball had crossed into the end zone before going out of bounds, game over. It’s a touchback and the defense’s ball. Instead it went out of bounds with Prescott, setting up 2nd and goal.
Rico Dowdle, who had a career game with 87 yards on the ground and another 27 through the air was looking to cash in his second score. Instead, he was met at the goal line by Elandon Roberts, with probably the most perfect execution of a defensive goal-line leap as one could envision, jarring the ball loose.
Prescott’s insane awareness allowed him to maintain possession.
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4th Down Heroics
An incompletion to Jalen Tolbert open in the back of the end zone was made worse when Tolbert was slow to get up. He tried to get it together but the Cowboys ended up having to call a timeout. Tolbert stayed in the game and Dallas returned to the field for the fourth-down attempt from the four-yard line. This time Pittsburgh spends its final timout, but finally, the snap.
Tolbert started from the right side and came across the formation through traffic, he never crossed into the end zone until the throw was delivered, navigating his way from while CeeDee Lamb cleared things by crossing in the opposite direction. Tolbert barely made it across the goal line but corralled the game-winning score.
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