Dallas Cowboys competitive against Pittsburgh Steelers, but come up short
We are at the point in the Dallas Cowboys season where the expectations are so low that they are now being graded on a curve.
They are being given credit for surprisingly competing and giving maximum effort.
And that certainly was the case against the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0) Sunday in a game that no one expected to be close with a fourth quarterback starting in Gilbert Gilbert, let alone the Cowboys (2-7) leading the entire way, including by double digits to start the fourth quarter.
In the end, bad things happen to bad teams who continually do things to cost them games.
And so it was in the Cowboys’ 24-19 loss before a COVID-19 record crowd of 31,700 at AT&T Stadium of mostly shocked Steelers fans who were expecting a blowout rather than a bitter fight to the end.
After leading 13-0 in the first half and 19-9 heading into the fourth quarter, the Cowboys came undone when the Steelers closed it to 19-14 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Instead of adding to the lead following a 64-yard kickoff return, Gilbert tossed an interception on third-and-goal at the 5.
The defense had a chance to save the day but a sack and forced fumble by Tyrone Crawford was nullified by illegal contact on Jaylon Smith to keep the Steelers’ drive alive.
And then linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was flagged for a personal foul.
Pittsburgh made it 19-18 on a 43-yard field goal with 7:11 left.
After a Cowboys punt, the Steelers embarked on a game-deciding touchdown drive that was again aided by a Dallas miscue.
A third-down incompletion was offset by a roughing the passer penalty on Jaylon Smith.
Roethlisberger put the Steelers ahead for good with an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Ebron at the 1:57 mark.
A last second pass from Gilbert fell incomplete.
The Steelers moved to 8-0 and the Cowboys are now 2-7, riding a four-game losing streak heading into next Sunday’s bye.
They don’t resume play until Nov. 22 at the Minnesota Vikings.
But the Cowboys might return a team with renewed confidence following the stronger than expected effort against the Steelers.
Andy Dalton is expected to return at quarterback but Gilbert showed some promise in his first career career start while becoming the team’s fourth different starter in 2020 and marking the first time the Cowboys have had three different starters in three straight games since 1994.
Gilbert completed 21 of 38 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 6:51 PM.
