I’m not sure if a 20-17 win in Pittsburgh is a substantially more impressive victory than a 20-15 victory at New York last week but it feels like it was. If nothing else, it allowed the Cowboys to get back above .500 for the season and see if they can stay there by getting their first home win Sunday against Detroit.
Offense
This is a low C at best until the final drive, but the near-perfect execution (I’m referring to taking time off the clock, not Rico Dowdle’s fumble at the 1) gave the Cowboys the score and the win. Dak Prescott threw for more than 350 yards but needed every inch after turning the ball over three times. He and CeeDee Lamb must get back on the same page soon.
Grade: B-minus
Defense
Even though the Steelers aren’t a high-octane offense, the defense could have surrendered with so many missing key pieces Sunday night. Instead, they found a way to keep Pittsburgh from capitalizing on Dak’s mistakes and mostly shut down Pittsburgh’s running game and wide receiver George Pickens.
Grade: A-minus
Special teams
Yes, Brandon Aubrey made another 50-yarder to give him an NFL record seven straight games with a long kick, but the blocked field goal looked like it had a chance to be huge turning point in Pittsburgh’s favor.
Grade: C-plus
Coaching
Cowboys seemed a step ahead on both sides of the ball most of the night. Coach Mike McCarthy believes in his running game a lot more than I do, but, for once, Dowdle was efficient. And that wasn’t the Cowboys head coach blowing a key timeout with 20 seconds to go on defense, that was an enormous misstep from Mike Tomlin.
Grade: A-minus
Overall
Clearly the Cowboys could have made matters easier without the costly turnovers. But they kept coming at Pittsburgh and the Dallas defense held the fort most of the night even when bounces and calls seemed to be going the other way. A road win for an underdog shouldn’t be minimized.
Grade: B-plus
More from Cowboys’ win over Pittsburgh
— Five takeaways from Cowboys-Steelers: Dak Prescott leads Dallas to dramatic victory
— Persistent Dak Prescott survives costly mistakes to lead Cowboys to win in Pittsburgh
— Dak was the hero, but Cowboys defense deserves the praise in dramatic win over Steelers
— Tim Cowlishaw’s Cowboys-Steelers report card: Don’t minimize importance of this road win
— National reaction to Cowboys-Steelers: Dallas pulls off late-night thriller in Pittsburgh
