Cowboys vs. Steelers Announced for 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

The long-running rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers will be renewed when they clash in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio. 

The Cowboys and Steelers were announced as the Hall of Fame Game participants on NFL Network's Good Morning Football and confirmed by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

With both the Steelers and Cowboys seeing three representatives each inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, they were natural choices to meet in the first game of the 2020 preseason slate.

For the Steelers, former head coach Bill Cowher and safeties Troy Polamalu and Donnie Shell will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in August, while former head coach Jimmy Johnson, safety Cliff Harris and wide receiver Harold Carmichael will be immortalized for the Cowboys.

The Steelers and Cowboys have been bitter rivals dating back to the 1970s, and their three Super Bowl meetings are the most in NFL history.

Those factors will ensure plenty of eyes are on the 2020 Hall of Fame Game, but it should also be noted that both teams have plenty of question marks surrounding them that could start to be answered on Aug. 6.

Both the Steelers and Cowboys missed the playoffs last season, but their failures were born from very different reasons.

Pittsburgh went 8-8 despite having a defense that ranked fifth in the NFL in points allowed. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season after just two games, and the combination of Mason Rudolph and Devlin "Duck" Hodges wasn't nearly good enough to complement the defense.

It is far from guaranteed that Big Ben will play in the Hall of Fame Game, but if he is healthy enough to do so, he could offer fans a glimpse into whether he can still play at a high level despite being 38 years of age and coming off a significant elbow injury.

The Cowboys finished 2019 with a 9-7 mark and missed the playoffs despite ranking first in the NFL in total offense.

Longtime head coach Jason Garrett is gone and replaced by former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Quarterback Dak Prescott is expected to be back but has yet to be franchise-tagged or signed to a long-term deal, while wide receiver Amari Cooper is a free agent.

No. 1 cornerback Byron Jones is also a free agent, so the 2020 Cowboys could look a lot different than the 2019 version, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing considering how last season ended.

Above all else from the NFL's perspective, the Steelers and Cowboys have two of the biggest and most rabid fanbases in football, which should ensure a packed house in Canton.