Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images Mike McCarthy had an interesting performance in Pittsburgh to say the least. This was a homecoming game of sorts for the Cowboys. Obviously, they didn’t play at home, but head coach Mike McCarthy – who, by the way, did you know is from Pittsburgh? – was set to coach just his third game ever in his home town. McCarthy had never won in Pittsburgh, going 0-2 on the road against the Steelers as the head coach for the Packers. That all changed Sunday night, even with the weather delay. And it happened in a way that the head coach likely relished. The Steelers have a reputation as a football team, one that’s been around for years but has become more drawn out in recent years. Pittsburgh hasn’t been viewed as a legitimate Super Bowl contender in quite a while, and their offense usually makes things very hard on themselves, but like the Iowa Hawkeyes of college football they just keep winning. Head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season, and it’s not like he’s just been posting 9-8 season after 9-8 season. The Steelers won 12 games back in 2020, starting out 11-0 and being the last undefeated team on the season. Just last year they won 10 games despite having three different starting quarterbacks. So far this year, they’ve only played Justin Fields under center, even though he was supposed to backup Russell Wilson; they started out 3-0 and have lost their last two games by a combined six points. Tomlin’s Steelers have become the kings of the ugly win. It’s the kind of football McCarthy aspires for his team to be capable of. Obviously he would prefer to win every game 45-3, and he’s had more than his fair share of those types of wins since coming to Dallas. But having a team that can hunker down and persevere through injuries, mistakes, penalties, and more to pull out a gutsy win is the type of edge McCarthy has sought to instill in this team. His players certainly knew it this week, and they did just that against the Steelers, beating the ugly win kings at their own game. That isn’t to say this was a perfect win for the Cowboys, because it wasn’t. The team was penalized 11 times, the third time this season they’ve drawn that many flags. All of them have come on the road, and the Cowboys have won all three of those games. Beyond the penalties, though, Dak Prescott had three awful turnovers that marred what was an otherwise great performance for the quarterback. Prescott’s first turnover was a sack-fumble that was completely caused by Prescott holding the ball too long. Then he threw an interception on what looked to be a miscommunication with CeeDee Lamb. Both came in the red zone, and both killed promising drives that could have blown things wide open. His third turnover was a deep shot that just poorly placed, not giving Jalen Tolbert a chance at making the play. Still, Prescott stepped up when it mattered most, and McCarthy empowered his quarterback to save the day. He called the screen to Hunter Luepke knowing the Steelers would sell out to rush Prescott, and trusting that his quarterback wouldn’t repeat his earlier mistake of holding the ball too long in the red zone. He called the option play after that, trusting Prescott to make the right read and set the team up for the go-ahead score. And he did all of this while keeping an eye on the clock, and the Cowboys took the lead with just seconds left in the game. Pre-MNF, the #Cowboys rank 10th in shift/motion rate for Week 5 (64.5%, includes plays nullified by penalty) per PFF. — John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 7, 2024 The Cowboys exorcised a few demons in this game too. For the second straight week, the offense saw a significant uptick in pre-snap motion. Of course, it helped that the Cowboys were able to run their normal offense and not be in hurry-up mode all game, as they were against the Saints and Ravens. The run game also got going, another byproduct of running their normal offense. Last week saw the Cowboys do the same thing, and Rico Dowdle had a solid night with a wildly efficient 63.6% success rate on his carries. It wasn’t as high in this game, but Dowdle broke six tackles and had three runs of 10+ yards, both of which are season high’s for him. As a team, the Cowboys had a rushing success rate of 38.7%, their second-best on the year after last week’s performance. Defensively, the Cowboys were banged up and missing their two best players, but you wouldn’t know it. They limited the Steelers to 3.4 yards per carry and, for the first time all year, did not give up a run of 10 yards or more. They also limited Justin Fields through the air, as Fields posted his worst completion rate on the season at 55.6%. He failed to connect on any of his six attempts 20+ yards down the field, and the pass rush – playing without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, or Marshawn Kneeland – managed to pressure Fields on 36.7% of his dropbacks. This game was always going to be a test of this team’s resiliency. Beating the Steelers is never easy, despite what some national talking heads who all picked Pittsburgh to win this game might say, and winning this game with all the injuries the Cowboys had would only make it harder. But this is the type of win McCarthy has been striving for in reshaping the mindset of this team. To get that kind of win in Pittsburgh, where McCarthy grew up and was raised in this style of football, has to make it all the more sweet. Now, the Cowboys get to make an actual homecoming, as they’ll head back down to Dallas to host another tough

Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images Jalen Tolbert had an incredible game last week. The Cowboys escaped Pittsburgh with a win – Mike McCarthy’s first career win in his hometown as a head coach – but it wasn’t pretty. They’ll surely take the win, though, as they get to head home for a game against the Lions. In a game like this, though, who were the best players? Let’s see what Pro Football Focus thinks. Offense was great… until the red zone Realistically, the Cowboys should’ve blown the Steelers out of the water in all three of the rivers there in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys nearly doubled the Steelers’ offensive output, totaling 445 yards of offense to Pittsburgh’s 226; they averaged nearly two more yards per play and had one fewer possession. Yet they went 1/4 in the red zone with two turnovers and a blocked field goal. That’s a losing recipe nine out of ten times, but the Cowboys were fortunate that this game ended up being that tenth scenario. RG Zack Martin – 82.6 Even at 33 years old, Zack Martin remains elite. He was the only offensive lineman for Dallas to not surrender multiple pressures on the night, a legitimate feat against this Steelers pass rush. Martin also did tremendous work in the run game, with a high mark of 81.7 in his run block grade. WR Jalen Tolbert – 72.4 Jalen Tolbert was the hero of the game, catching the game winner just one play after appearing to injure himself. It wasn’t just that one play, though: Tolbert was the only Cowboy to see double-digit targets, hauling in seven passes for 87 yards. Four of those receptions went for either a first down or touchdown. It’s clear Dak Prescott trusts Tolbert. WR KaVontae Turpin – 68.5 Tolbert may have been the one who stepped up the most with Brandin Cooks out, but KaVontae Turpin was another benefactor of Cooks’ absence. Turpin was targeted five times and caught four of them for a total of 50 yards, with 34 of those yards coming after the catch. Turpin has seen more and more involvement on offense this year, and he’s repeatedly shown he can handle the extra workload. QB Dak Prescott – 67.5 This was a strange game for Dak Prescott. He had three turnover-worthy plays and three pretty egregious turnovers, but he was also electric outside of those three plays. Prescott completed 69% of his passes for 352 yards and had several big moments, including his crucial recovery of Rico Dowdle’s goal line fumble and, just two plays later, throwing the game winner to Tolbert. RB Rico Dowdle – 67.3 Speaking of Rico Dowdle, that fumble was the one negative for him in this game. Other than that, Dowdle was spectacular, carving up the Steelers’ stout run defense over and over. He had three runs of 10+ yards after having just one such run all season, and Dowdle broke six tackles while averaging 2.65 yards after contact per carry. He also added two receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. Next man up all around on defense The Cowboys were pretty banged up on defense to start this game, and the injury bug didn’t let up. Marshawn Kneeland left with an injury in the first quarter and never returned. Despite that, Dallas held the Steelers scoreless on seven of their ten drives on the night, and this paper thin pass rush unit saw five different players notch at least two pressures. iDL Linval Joseph – 89.8 No Cowboy had a higher grade in this game than big Linval Joseph, who has started to round into form after an inconsistent start to the season. Joseph was a force on run defense, frequently rerouting running plays. He also showed off his impressive power as a pass rusher, throwing an offensive lineman to the ground en route to a strip sack. CB Jourdan Lewis – 85.5 Jourdan Lewis was sneakily the most important player in this game. He was exclusively matched up with the Steelers’ top receiver, George Pickens, who has five inches on Lewis. Lewis largely locked up Pickens, though, as the receiver had just two catches for five yards. Lewis apparently got inside Pickens’ head too, as the receiver showed his frustration at the end of the game in a moment that will almost certainly incur a fine, if not more. EDGE Chauncey Golston – 77.1 One of the defenders who saw a massive uptick in snaps due to the injuries to Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence was Chauncey Golston, who put up a really solid performance Sunday night. He posted the second-best run defense grade in this game and led the team in pressures with four. LB Marist Liufau – 72.8 Rookie Marist Liufau doesn’t see the field as often as Eric Kendricks or DeMarvion Overshown, both of whom have been playing well lately, but he made his snaps count in this one. Liufau’s lone tackle on the night constituted a run stop, and he also had a beautiful pass breakup late in the game on third down. Not to go unnoticed: Marist Liufau had a huge hit and PBU on a 3rd and 1 last night in the 4th quarter to force a 4th down (which the Steelers converted). pic.twitter.com/uEpbN96s90 — Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) October 7, 2024 S Malik Hooker (66.7) and S Donovan Wilson (66.2) Safety play is huge in Mike Zimmer’s scheme, as he rotates his two deep safeties quite often and uses them in a wide variety of ways. It was thus encouraging to see Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson place fifth and sixth, respectively, in player grade for the defense in this one. Both held their own in coverage, while Wilson continues to be a tone-setter in run defense. It appears this tandem is beginning to get comfortable in the new scheme.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Which Cowboys players stood out to you the most on Sunday night? Entering Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas was at a severe disadvantage. Several of their starters were out and it was going to take a gutsy performance to win on the road against Pittsburgh. When the game began, it only got worse. By halftime, the Cowboys had lost Marshawn Kneeland and Tyler Guyton to injuries. Both teams played a close contest, with the Cowboys emerging victorious. It was a difficult test that the Cowboys passed and their defense that was woefully thin, grounding the Steelers offense to just 17 points. That said, the offense also did their fair share to overcome their mistakes and provide a spark when it was needed most. Dak Prescott’s last-minute throw to Jalen Tolbert gave the Cowboys the late lead and the win. Here are five stars from the Cowboys late, late-night win. Jake Ferguson Without Brandin Cooks available for some time, it is incumbent upon others to step up in his absence. Jake Ferguson had no problems with that. The former Pro Bowler is a gritty, tough receiver that will do all that it takes to get the job done. Several times when the offense backed themselves up with costly penalties, Ferguson made the catch over the middle to get the Cowboys’ offense back on track. Pittsburgh set their sights on limiting CeeDee Lamb and did their best to take away the deep part of the field, forcing the Cowboys into methodical, long drives. Pittsburgh would call up blitzes to make Prescott throw the ball earlier than he intended and Ferguson would make himself a target for Prescott, winning off the line of scrimmage to make timely catches. In all, Ferguson had 70 yards on six receptions, including a critical first down on 3rd-and-9 on Dallas game-winning drive as he broke away from a tackle to pick up the needed yardage. Ferguson earned it the hard way. Dak Prescott Forget the turnovers for now, save that discourse for another day. Quarterbacks throughout the NFL are told to “find a way”. When your quarterback can walk into that hostile environment, missing many of his starters, and having to focus while the game is delayed an hour, and then will your team to a game-winning drive, it doesn’t matter what mistakes were made beforehand. Winning a game in the manner Prescott did with less-than-ideal help, speaks volumes to his leadership and character. Think about all the big plays Prescott made when his team needed it. First, Prescott made an exceptional throw to CeeDee Lamb for a 27-yard gain where only Lamb could get it and credit to Lamb for making the difficult toe-tap catch. The degree of difficulty of that throw is something to marvel. Another example of Prescott’s tenacity was recovering Rico Dowdle’s fumble that could have lost the game if not for Prescott efforts. Finally, with all the chips on the table, and needing to make the throw in the clutch, Prescott stuck it right on Jalen Tolbert in the end zone. Again, you can be disappointed in the turnovers, but respect the resilience of Prescott to pull his, and his team’s rears out of the fire in the game’s most important moment. Rico Dowdle The Cowboys’ running game has been much-maligned this season as Dallas has been one of the league’s worst in that area. Heading into Sunday’s game in a matchup against Pittsburgh, many thought it would mean another disaster. However, the rushing on Sunday was good, not exactly spectacular, but vastly improved against a quality defensive front. Some of the credit goes to Tyler Smith, who moved to left tackle following Tyler Guyton’s injury and T.J. Bass inserted at left guard. Dowdle took advantage of the creases the offensive line afforded to him and burst through holes. For the first time this season, he looked like the RB1 the team was expecting. On Dallas’ go-ahead drive to begin the fourth quarter, Dowdle was integral on that series. He had eight carries for 36 hard-fought yards on “angry” runs and capped off the series with a diving 22-yard catch in the end zone. Dowdle’s major blemish was his fumble late in the game, but the totality of his impact cannot be understated. Mike Zimmer & the defensive unit There are too many contributions from individuals on defense to just name a few. The entire defense deserves a special mention, especially their coordinator Mike Zimmer. DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons are a terrific duo of edge rushers that could change games in an instant. Without them, you had to wonder where the pass rush would come from. Zimmer’s unit has had rumors of distrust between the players and coaches but against the Steelers, all eleven players played as a one to have a terrific performance. Blanket coverage against George Pickens held him to a mere three catches for 26 yards and left Pickens so frustrated that he was flagged for a penalty the following the last play of the game for pulling Jourdan Lewis down by the facemask. How about Linval Joseph sacking Justin Fields after flattening Steelers offensive guard Isaac Semualo for a forced fumble that Dallas nearly recovered? Carl Lawson was also disruptive, getting pressure on Fields who clearly looked uncomfortable in the pocket against the Dallas pass rush. Once again DeMarvion Overshown was everywhere, seeking out the ball-carrier and stopping them in their tracks. He racked up eight tackles, seven of them the solo variety. Again, too many contributors to single out all of them. The entire defense can take a bow. Jalen Tolbert The adage of next man up was made for games like this with so many missing teammates. Jalen Tolbert answered the call. For the night, Tolbert led the team in receiving with team highs of seven receptions for 87 yards. Tolbert made several catches to keep the chains moving and had a big catch for a gain of 48.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images We have some thoughts one day after the Cowboys beat the Steelers on Sunday night. They are more common in the NFL than anyone cares to admit. You have to win some games that you are not supposed to. This is true because, another thing we try to avoid in reality, you will inevitably lose some games that you should win. No one is going to act like the Super Bowl was won on an early October night in Pittsburgh. This is especially the case when you are fighting a shadow the size of your worldwide brand the way that the Dallas Cowboys are. Ultimately the Cowboys won on Sunday night and did so against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that refused to take advantage of the opportunities they were being given. Consider that Dallas, thanks to Dak Prescott, turned the ball over three total times. In the Mike McCarthy era it was only the fourth time that they have done so and gone home as the winners. As we always do we have put together some thoughts about it all now that we have had a day to reflect on it (with not much sleep given the delay nonsense). These are difference-making wins As noted, these wins are massive. They are difference-makers. Quite literally, they turn a 10-7 season into an 11-6 one. You have to find a way to grind these out. Being capable of doing this is the mark of a great team. This isn’t to say that the Cowboys are a great team, but if they want any chance of being regarded as one when we have fallen back and are wearing hoodies on a regular basis, then they have to stack together wins like this. What’s more is that things have obviously been rather bad for Dallas on the injury front. Consider that Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, DaRon Bland and Brandin Cooks were all absent from this game. Toss in Caelen Carson if you’d like. Recall then that Marshawn Kneeland left early and that Tyler Guyton also exited before tension fully rose. Finally, remember how little the front office did to the roster (the one we just acknowledged the several weaknesses to) over the course of the offseason. It was a tough scene to say the least. Yet somehow, some way, the Cowboys won. What’s more is that they won on a night when their quarterback was probably rather upset with the way he played individually for all but the game’s most critical moments. I’ve seen many equate it, in general spirit, to the infamous win against the Buffalo Bills in 2007 when we were far less jaded than we are these days. You don’t need a reminder that the 2007 squad won 13 games and a big reason for that was stacking together the ones that they were not supposed to have. This was a massive deal and a huge piece of evidence that the Cowboys can say enough is enough and go out and get a win. We did not know if they had that in them. Clearly, they do. The defensive performance was incredibly surprising and impressive Prior to Sunday night you did not need to look far to find disparaging information or statistics about the defense. It is or was not hyperbolic to call them one of the worst defenses in the NFL. A lot of this could have been (and was) diluted down to effort. Dallas was among the worst tackling teams in the NFL through the first four weeks of the season which suggested that they were fine watching opposing players run past them into the arms of congratulations while they were left feeling sorry for themselves. Enter Mike Zimmer. Let the record show that I remain skeptical of this overall hire and situation, but you cannot deny that Zim had the ‘boys ready to rock in Pittsburgh. Was there a single missed tackle? If so it was inconsequential. And even if the Cowboys did have an oopsie or two we can be forgiving enough of that given the number of toys that Mike Zimmer did not have to play with that he was originally promised. It was a masterclass at making lemonade with the proverbial lemons. Ensuring a .500 record at the bye week is a very underrated thing The Cowboys have a winning streak going for the first time this season, but if we are honest with ourselves it is unlikely to grow as they have a date with the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Consider that the Cowboys are home underdogs to Detroit as far as opening odds are concerned. While the Cowboys are undefeated on the road this year, they are looking for their first win in their building since they beat these very Lions in the penultimate game of the regular season last year. Anything is possible and “any given Sunday” and all of that jazz, but it would not be shocking for Dallas to lose. This is why getting this win, stealing it to our earlier point, was so critical. With the bye (a very necessary one) following the Lions game the Cowboys are assured of entering it with at worst a .500 record. The San Francisco 49ers will wait for Dallas coming out of that which as we know is a test among tests for this group, but all of that and what lies beyond it would look and feel and honestly be a lot more treacherous if the Cowboys came out of their off week with a 2-4 record.

Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images Who are you taking to win tonight? The New Orleans Saints play the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Our partners at FanDuel have the Chiefs as 5.5-point favorites in the game. The pick: Chiefs 27 – Saints 24. Check out FanDuel for all of your NFL betting needs. This is an open thread for game chat.

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Dallas just got its third win of the 2024 season, but it’s the first one that really gives us hope. The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-2 with Sunday night’s upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It may seem odd to say this about a team that’s won 60% of its games this year, but this win is the first one that’s really offered reason for hope about the remainder of the season. Given the opponent and other circumstances, it’s the first 2024 victory that forced Dallas to dig deep for success. In Week 1, the Cleveland Browns were little more than a sparring partner. While they did boast an elite defense last season, it hasn’t been nearly as good this year. And thanks to offensive line injuries and the continued struggles of QB DeShaun Watson, Dallas was able to bully an opponent that couldn’t even get its gloves up. The win over the New York Giants wasn’t so one-sided, but that’s only because it was a contest of who could play worse. Dallas barely put down their NFC East rivals thanks mainly to Dak Prescott, who wasn’t even in top form, being a better quarterback than Daniel Jones. Barely beating the Giants was hardly cause for celebration. While Pittsburgh has its issues, they presented a far more respectable opponent. They entered Sunday night with a 3-1 record, home-field advantage, and expectations to win by an overwhelming majority of analysts. When the game was delayed an hour due to weather, it felt like certain doom for a Cowboys team whose mental toughness has been rightfully questioned this year. The field conditions would also have seemed to lend itself to the Steelers’ style of play. Then came the injuries for Dallas. Already missing Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Caelen Carson, the Cowboys’ defense lost Marshawn Kneeland early in the game. With Brandin Cooks missing his first game since going to IR, Dallas also saw Tyler Guyton go down and Zack Martin go out for a portion of time. We knew the Cowboys were in an uphill battle going into the game, and the climb only got steeper with the various circumstances. When Dallas allowed turnovers and a blocked field goal to rob them of points on three different drives, it felt like they’d shot themselves in both feet. We just kept waiting for the Steelers to finally take advantage. But they didn’t. In spite of everything, including themselves, the Cowboys just kept fighting. Mike Zimmer kept finding ways to MacGyver a capable defense out of limited resources. After a month of tough sledding and limited opportunities, Rico Dowdle was in attack mode on every touch. Jalen Tolbert fought through obvious pain to get back on the field for the game-winning touchdown. And despite his own mistakes and brotherly friction with his star receiver, Dak Prescott stepped up on that final drive to seal the deal for his team. We haven’t said this often lately, but give Mike McCarthy credit for the heart his team showed. We still saw some classic McCarthy booboos with dumb decisions on when to challenge and not challenge calls, or not taking a shot at the endzone on 3rd-and-long when you’re already well within Brandon Aubrey’s range. But watching Dallas show little fight in the losses to New Orleans and Baltimore (until very late), and this one having plenty of reason to go the same way, we saw a different personality in the team’s performance. Does it mean anything going forward? It might; it’s amazing how much teams respond to renewed confidence or the perception that the outside world doesn’t believe in them. Dallas has both going for them this week, still seen as the underdog ahead of a big NFC showdown with the Detroit Lions. But if they build on what they did in Pittsburgh, especially in the run game, then the Cowboys may finally find the balance they need to be consistently competitive.