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For a team that had good news on the injury side of things, including the potential return of Daron Bland and a better prognosis for Marshawn Kneeland, the Dallas Cowboys still may be putting a little too much into their win over the Steelers. Here are three overreactions from that last-minute thriller.
First, the Cowboys deserve a ton of credit for getting that win. They made too many key mistakes, but still somehow came up with a 20-17 victory when Dak Prescott engineered the 14th fourth-quarter comeback win of his career. Prescott said the final drive came about because of practice, according to dallascowboys.com.s
“We practice that a lot,” he said. “I'd say as much as, if not probably more than any team in the league, so we're all very comfortable in that situation with the plays being called. And then getting it down there pretty quick, and then having some opportunities to strike in the end zone. Just examples of things in practice coming up over and over again.
“We just wanted a chance. Just give us a chance on that two-minute drive. I personally was pissed about the two-minute drive before (halftime), obviously, throwing an interception there when we could get points — easily three, if not a touchdown.”
Overreaction #1
The running game issues are solved
Again, let’s start with credit. Running back Rico Dowdle had arguably his best game as a member of the Cowboys. This would have been true even if his untimely fumble in the final seconds had been recovered by the Steelers. Dowdle finished with 87 yards on 20 carries while also catching two passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys’ offensive line deserves a lot of credit for creating room for Dowdle. He broke a few tackles, but mainly he had room to run against a disappointing effort from the Steelers’ defensive front.
However, one game doesn’t erase the other four. The Cowboys still rank No. 31 in the NFL with a platry 82 yards per game. That’s a full football field — end zones included — behind the NFL-leading Ravens.
One thing is clear, though. This is Dowdle’s backfield. Ezekiel Elliott is officially a backup. The Cowboys need performances like this on a weekly basis to help head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense, which is designed with the quarterback — not the running backs — in mind. Prescott can set the tone, even when the weather is bad like in Pittsburgh, according to comments by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to nytimes.com.
“Sometimes people think when it’s wet and slick, you want to just run the ball,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “Well, we feel like we kind of have the advantage when it’s wet because we know where we’re going, talking about running routes. The defensive backs don’t (know), they can slip and things like that.”
And it worked well against the Steelers.
“What was cool for us was that when we had to run the ball in the second half, we were able to do that,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s a sign that there’s progress. We’re feeling better about the combinations, the running game. Kudos to Rico, he ran really, really hard. Just some big plays throughout.”
Dowdle showed he has the capability of succeeding when the offense is in a flow. But not all games will be like that.
Overreaction #2
The Cowboys saved their season by beating Pittsburgh
Folks, this one is laughable. This very comment blared across a highlight of Prescott’s game-winning pass to Jalen Tolbert on a popular NFL morning talk show. Here are four words for that comment: Give me a break.
The Cowboys didn’t save their season any more than they would have flushed it if that pass had been knocked out of Tolbert’s hands. Folks, there’s not much difference in the NFL between 3-2 and 2-3. And that’s especially true in the NFC East. Who is buying into the Washington Commanders as a team that can run away in that division?
Had the Cowboys lost and fallen to 2-3, they still have two games remaining against the Commanders. Yes, the Cowboys have a tough schedule ahead with the Lions, 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Texans, and Commanders coming up. The Cowboys could lose any of those games. But listen up, they WON’T lose them all. It’s no inconceivable they could go 4-2. From 2-3, they would stand at 6-5. That’s good enough in the NFL to still be very much alive in the playoff hunt.
With the win over the Steelers, a 4-2 stretch would move them to 7-4. And it’s possible they would be in first place in the division.
Drama. That’s all it is. It turned out to be a great win, but it didn’t save their season. Nobody talked about their season being on the line prior to that game, so stop with the ridiculous notion in the aftermath.
Overreaction #3
The Cowboys can overcome massive defensive injuries
The unfortunate thing about the NFL is injuries define every season. It’s not so much which team has the best players. It’s more about which team has the most healthy players. If Dak Prescott or Patrick Mahomes get hurt, those Cowboys and Chiefs seasons, respectively, stand a big time chance of taking a nose dive.
Yes, the Cowboys won without the services of pass rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. But they still got pressure on the Steelers, recording three sacks and forcing Fields into 12 incomplete passes. However, this can be attributed more to a Steelers’ team that didn’t show enough fire, or adjustments, to handle the Cowboys’ pressure.
If Parsons and Lawrence miss multiple games against the wrong teams, the Cowboys will suffer. They happened to miss games at the right time and that’s fortunate for the Cowboys. In the NFL scheme of things, this win will count the same as any win later in the season. But the Cowboys don’t have the type of offense this season to overcome many games without star defensive players.
