For the first time in their history, the Steelers are 8-0 after yesterday’s dramatic 24-19 come-from-behind win over a determined Dallas Cowboys team that dominated much of the game.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers scored fifteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter, and coach Mike Tomlin gambled away a chance to force Dallas to score a touchdown and tie the game with a 2-point conversion. After a sack by Cam Heyward and TJ Watt gave Pittsburgh the ball at the Cowboys’ 18, James Conner was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-on, as Tomlin decided not to kick a short field goal.
Kicker Chris Boswell hit a team record 59-yard field goal in the game, but also missed an extra point and had another blocked. He’d missed from 54 yards in the second quarter but a five-yard dead-ball procedure penalty gave him another chance, which he made from 59.
Special teams were bad for the Steelers yesterday. In addition to the kicking team, the kick coverage was poor, giving up a 73-yard catch-and-cross-field-lateral and a 64-yard kickoff return.
Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to James Washington, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Eric Ebron. Smith-Schuster caught six balls for 93 yards.
Coach Mike Tomlin says it is a great accomplishment to be 8-0.
Tomlin says the Steelers have to play a lot better than they did yesterday.
Roethlisberger, who suffered a left knee injury in the second quarter and stayed in the game to hit four straight passes and lead a touchdown drive says the Dallas defense was really tough.
Big Ben says the Steelers can’t keep relying on comebacks to win games.
The Steelers will take on the Bengals on Sunday back at Heinz Field. Kickoff has been “flexed” by the NFL to start at 4:25. Cincinnati had a bye this week after beating the Titans two weeks ago. They sit at 2-5-and-1.
Elsewhere in the AFC North, the Ravens moved to 6-and-2 with a 24-10 win over the Colts. The Browns had a bye and will play the Texans on Sunday. Yesterday, they placed quarterback Baker Mayfield on the reserve/covid-19 list after contact tracing showed he’d had contact with a staff member who tested positive for the virus. Mayfield must have five days of negative tests before he can be reinstated.
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