In Week 4, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially lost their undefeated status.
Sure, the game was close, Justin Fields stood out as a passer and the running game was on point, but the Steelers were sloppy, gave up some big plays and turned the ball over twicewho played a pretty big role in the 24-27 loss to Indianapolis.
Has the shine gone from Steelers helmets? Or was it a small bump on a windier road, with Mike Tomlinson getting the chance to see where his inefficiencies lie and hopefully correct them when it matters most?
For Pittsburgh fans, let’s hope it’s the latter, as the Steelers face their longtime rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, in Week 5 and could help define their season for better or worse in the eyes of most fans depending on how things shake out. The good news is that the Steelers are very good where the Cowboys are not and, as a result, they have a chance to seriously solidify their position as one of the best teams in the AFC with a dominant victory in the Sunday Night Football.
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1. The Cowboys can’t get anything done on the field
The Cowboys are a team that knows how to win one way: through the air.
I know, it’s crazy, right? A team that once prided itself on being a dominant offense with players like DeMarco Murray, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield must now throw the ball an average of 38 times per game to stay competitive, but it’s true: Through four games, the Cowboys have thrown the ball second most of all NFL teams with 152, while putting the ball on the ground just 85 times, the 31st-best mark in the NFL.
Elliott looks like a shell of his former glory, Rico Dowdle looks like a different guy and the team’s most entertaining player, Deuce Vaughn, has just 20 yards on seven rushing attempts, one more than Prescott for the same total yards.
Although the Steelers haven’t been a dominant offense in the NFL by far, averaging just 3.7 yards per attempt between Najee Harris, Fields, Cordarrell Patterson and Jaylen Warren, they have run the ball 53 more times in four weeks than the Cowboys and actually rank first in overall attempts per game in the entire league, even though their efficiency is generally poor.
Factor in the fact that Dallas is giving up 4.6 yards per attempt on the season and Fields has at least one more start before Wilson is healthy enough to return to the field full time, and the Stars look s ‘be aligned. for huge rushing production for the Steelers. Good news for the Steelers, who clearly want to be an elite rushing team, but bad news for Dallas, as they will have to focus all their efforts on expressing themselves against a fantastic pass defense.
2. The Steelers go all-in on their pass defense
The Cowboys are a team that knows how to win one way: through the air.
Deja vu? Sure, but that’s also how Cowboys fans must feel, because after consistently dominating the regular season over the past few years, Mike McCarthy’s offense has become one-dimensional in 2024, with the team holding a plus-minus -7 points over four weeks. , and only having one game, Week 1, with a victory by more than a touchdown.
In the past, the Cowboys have blown out lesser teams when they had the chance, but in Week 4, they only beat the New York Giants by five points, which was the most close that the G-Men have suffered throughout the season.
But in week 5? Are you facing one of the best defenses in the NFL? Yes, the Cowboys are going to have to throw the ball over and over again out of necessity, because Prescott is going to be under pressure for much of the night, and the Steelers defensive backs are going to make him pay if he doesn’t. I won’t make an A+ effort.
Through the first four games of the 2024 NFL season, the Steelers’ D has recorded 14 passes defensed and four interceptions, along with two forced fumbles and 11 sacks, the 14th-highest mark in the NFL. They rushed for the ball in the air or on the ground every time it landed in a player’s hands and also broke up more than their fair share of plays for good measure, ensuring that opposing teams couldn’t do anything just not getting consistent momentum.
Need proof? Just look at week 3; this match was a masterclass in defensive dominance.
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While the Cowboys can and certainly will spread it in Week 5 as they are the fifth-ranked passing attack in the NFL, the Steelers have allowed the eighth-fewest passing yards in the league with 6,988 and could at again watch Fields maneuver more. Savvy starting QB even if they end up having a “better” stat line at the end of the game.
3. Justin Fields earns his fourth victory of the season
If three months ago someone had said the Steelers would be the favorite to beat the Cowboys in Week 5, it would have seemed crazy.
If three months ago someone had said the Steelers would be the favorite to beat the Cowboys in Week 5 with a backup quarterback under center, it would have seemed even crazier.
And yet, here we are, midway through Week 5, and the Steelers have a real chance to hand the Cowboys their third loss of the season, give them a losing record for the second time this season, and ultimately, lend some legitimacy to the QB campaign of one Justin Fields, who has always been considered a fluke, a gold medalist or simply the luckiest man in the league because of the way he wins.
Whether or not Fields can put up another 300-yard game like he did in Week 4 or if he simply puts together an efficient outing powered by a dynamic rushing attack, the Steelers can prove they are legitimate contenders with a declared victory over the Cowboys. , and if push comes to shove, they just might.
