The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was pinned inside its own 1-yard line holding a 4-point lead during the final minute of regulation when linebacker Elandon Roberts came flying over the line of scrimmage on second down. Roberts stopped Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle dead in his tracks and jarred the ball loose.
Suddenly, the Steelers had an opportunity to secure victory with a fourth takeaway. But Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recovered the loose ball.
Although the play resulted in a 3-yard loss, Prescott found Jalen Tolbert in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown two plays later.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin lamented over the inability of his defense to recover Dowdle’s fumble in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, though, didn’t play the what-if game as much as his head coach.
“These games are so close. It can be one play here or there, but obviously there’s a collection of work, a whole body of work that we’re going to have to go back and look at,” Watt told reporters after the loss. “It didn’t come down to just one play tonight.”
T.J. Watt speaks to the media after our game against the Cowboys.
The collection of work from the Steelers defense was some good, some bad in Week 5 versus Dallas. Pittsburgh forced 3 takeaways and allowed the Cowboys to only score 1 touchdown on 4 red zone possessions.
But the Cowboys also posted 445 yards and converted 9 of 15 third-down attempts.
Steelers Just Miss Making Another Huge Defensive Stop
Pittsburgh’s defense looked more like last year’s unit on October 6 than the defense the team had in its first three games this season. The Cowboys were moving the ball, but the Steelers were preventing Dallas from scoring.
The Steelers had two takeaways in the red zone during the first half to keep the team within a field goal at halftime. Then in the third quarter, Pittsburgh blocked a Dallas field goal attempt.
Had the Steelers been able to recover Roberts’ forced fumble, the team’s third red zone takeaway would have sealed the victory.
“There’s a fine line between drinking wine and smashing grapes in our business. That’s an example of it,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “That ball is on the ground right there in the red area.
“And that’s the difference.”
Depending on which perspective one prefers, both Watt and Tomlin are correct. A play or two can change the outcome of an NFL game, which completely alters the narratives that form around players and coaches.
But regardless of whether or not the Steelers recovered Roberts’ forced fumble, one could argue the team didn’t play well enough to beat the Cowboys.
Dallas nearly doubled Pittsburgh’s yardage output 445-226. The Cowboys had 202 more passing yards than the Steelers.
The Cowboys also had three times as many third-down conversions (9 versus 3).
Steelers’ T.J. Watt Makes History versus Cowboys
Watt couldn’t quite make the big impactful play for the Steelers defense on the final drive. But without Watt, the Steelers don’t have a chance to win while registering 219 fewer yards than the Cowboys did.
Watt’s first sack of the game resulted in a forced fumble, which was Pittsburgh’s first red zone takeaway. It also gave 100 sacks in his career.
Not only did Watt move into the exclusive 100-sack club, he became the second-fastest player ever to reach the milestone.
He finished the night with 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 3 quarterback hits and 8 total tackles, including 7 solos.
Watt, though, wasn’t in much of a mood after the game to talk about his individual achievement.
“Especially this year, it’s not about individual accolades,” Watt said. “It’s all about wanting to win. Tonight, we didn’t do enough to get it done.”
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Steelers’ T.J. Watt Speaks Out on Late Missed Opportunity to Beat Cowboys