Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Rally Past Cowboys to Remain Undefeated

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still undefeated. It didn't come easy on Sunday, though.

Despite trailing 13-0 in the first half, the Steelers (8-0) remained the only unbeaten team in the NFL by beating the Dallas Cowboys 24-19, led by Ben Roethlisberger's three touchdown passes.

It wasn't all good news for Pittsburgh—Roethlisberger went into the locker room at the end of the first half with a left knee injury. The good news was that he was able to return in the second half and led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, though his health status will be a storyline in Pittsburgh this week. 

Garrett Gilbert looked better at quarterback for Dallas than Ben DiNucci a week ago, though not good enough to beat the vaunted Steelers defense.

Nonetheless, Gilbert played well enough to leave the Cowboys with an interesting choice going forward between Gilbert and veteran Andy Dalton. They head into their bye week with a 2-7 record as their playoff hopes continue to dim. 

Key Stats

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: 29-of-42 for 306 yards and three scores

JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT: Six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown

Minkah Fitzpatrick, PIT: Six tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery

Garrett Gilbert, DAL: 21-of-38 for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception

Ezekiel Elliott, DAL: 18 rushes for 51 yards; two carries for 18 yards

CeeDee Lamb, DAL: Four receptions for 71 yards and a score

The Ball Seems to Find Minkah Fitzpatrick

Last season, Fitzpatrick recorded five interceptions and two fumble recoveries in 14 games with the Steelers. He's been off that pace this season, with just one interception in the team's first seven games.

But on Sunday, a Lamb fumble popped right into his arms:

And an errant Gilbert pass did too:

Right place, right time—Fitzpatrick has a tendency of popping up in those positions. 

Those two plays were huge, not only leading to six points for the Steelers but wiping potential points off the board for Dallas as well. Roethlisberger's game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter was huge, but he wouldn't have been in that position without Fitzpatrick's two turnovers. 

The Cowboys Keep Finding Ways to Lose

CeeDee Lamb fumbled the ball with a minute remaining in the first half, leading to a Steelers field goal. Gilbert threw an interception in the red zone in the fourth quarter that led to another three points. Mike McCarthy opted to kick a field goal in the third quarter instead of going for a 4th-and-inches. Had they gone for it, continued their drive and scored a touchdown, those extra points would have allowed them to potentially kick a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds when they drove down to Pittsburgh's 23-yard line.

Dallas also hurt itself with untimely penalties that erased big plays throughout the game. And it had two drives in the waning moments to score a game-winning touchdown with about two minutes remaining and couldn't capitalize.

This is a bad football team that lost an extremely winnable game. Dallas blew an excellent defensive performance against a Steelers team that played its worst offense of the 2020 season. A victory was within grasp, and Dallas gave it away. 

That, in many ways, has been the story of this team's season. There is talent throughout the roster. There was last year, too. And yet when the game is in the balance, this team finds ways to lose. The coaching decisions remain highly questionable. One would imagine Jerry Jones will take a long, hard look at this organization in the bye week. 

What's Next? 

The Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 15 at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Cowboys have a bye before traveling to Minnesota for a matchup with the Vikings on Nov. 22 at 4:25 p.m ET.