Over the last two days, ever since the Cowboys managed to pull off a road win over the Steelers on Sunday Night Football, the conversation among NFL observers has ranged from asking whether that one Week 5 win saved the Cowboys season to whether the win was impressive enough to really matter all that much anyway.
Speaking on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday, analyst and former quarterback Dan Orlovsky was asked whether he was impressed by the 20-17 come-from-behind Cowboys win and quickly shot back, “Not impressed at all. Bad offense from Dallas bailed out by bad offense from Pittsburgh. … They avoid catastrophe, I’ll give you that, but this is not an impressive win by the Dallas Cowboys.”
And on the popular Dallas radio show, “K&C Masterpiece,” on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, an entire segment was dedicated to the question, “Was Cowboys Victory Over Steelers Impressive?”
Defensive back Jourdan Lewis, who has been one of the best players on the Cowboys this season, had an answer for all that chatter himself. Writing on Twitter/X, Lewis sounded off on the question himself:
“We don’t gaf about impressive. A win is a win and football by nature is suppose to be a beautifully ugly sport,” he wrote.
We don’t gaf about impressive. A win is a win and football by nature is suppose to be a beautifully ugly sport.
Cowboys Racked Up 445 Yards on Sunday
Indeed, the victory for the Cowboys was unsightly in many respects. Dallas racked up a season-high 445 yards of offense, which, according to Pro Football Reference, should have led to 31 points. But two badly timed turnovers—a first-half fumble at the Pittsburgh 11-yard line and an interception from the Steelers’ 15-yard line—by Dak Prescott had Dallas repeatedly squandering good drives.
The Cowboys had just six points going into the fourth quarter. Prescott added a fourth-quarter interception.
Dallas also had an especially rare event take place in the third quarter—a Brandon Aubrey field-goal attempt was blocked by the Steelers, who had 6-foot-7 Isaiahh Loudermilk along the line to do the honors.
If that was less than impressive, credit the Cowboys for offering no excuses. A downpour before the start of the game left the field wet and mushy, and Aubrey could well have used that excuse to explain the play. But special teams coach John Fassel said no such thing.
“It was a mishit,” Fassel said, via the Dallas Morning News.
He continued: “I asked Brandon about the kick. You could tell after the rain when the big boys started mushing it down, it got a little bit muddy and pasture-like between the hashes. But that had no factor on the kick. Our footing was good on that.
“He just mishit it.’’
Dak Prescott Came Through in the End
Fact of the matter is, the Cowboys did bungle their way through most of Sunday’s game, especially on offense and especially with the mistakes Prescott made. But it’s only Week 5.
And when the Cowboys needed Prescott the most, when they needed him to take them 70 yards down the field in a 17-13 game with just over four minutes to play, Prescott came through. Maybe the game as a whole was not impressive, but the four-yard touchdown to Jalen Tolbert on fourth down with the game on the line sure was.
“It’s one of our most comfortable plays,” Prescott explained. “It was special to get it back to Tolbert. He did a great job coming across the field, getting open. Offensive line did a great job on that play of allowing me to stay in the pocket. “The persistence and resilience of the team just really showed on that drive.”
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Cowboys Star Sounds off on ‘Ugly’ Week 5 Narrative