Alright Nation – let’s be honest. I have concerns about this week’s matchup.

The Cowboys have quietly become a dangerous team, and they boast one of the best offensive lines in football.

And they have Zeke.

I am a lifelong Buckeye, and on Saturdays, I bleed Scarlet and Grey. The rest of the week, it’s 24/7 Black and Gold.

On Draft day, the only scenario worse than Ezekiel Elliot going to the Cowboys would have been if he went to the Ravens, Bengals or Patriots. I cheered for Zeke for years, and now, well, I have to feel nauseous looking at him in those shiny pants. Ewww.

The one thing you cannot question is that Zeke has translated his game to the NFL with ease. He’s leading the league in rushing by almost a hundred yards over DeMarco Murray. He’s averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He’s scored 7 TDs. He’s having a great rookie season.

But there are a few flaws. He does fumble every now and then (3 so far on the season). Okay, maybe one flaw. I got nothing else.

Dak Prescott has been the benefactor of all this. Much as Ben had Jerome Bettis, Dak has Zeke. We have the Killer B’s, they have a Killer Z and a Killer D.

I don’t know where I’m going with that.

The point is we need to stop Zeke, and keep Dak in the pocket.

Let’s get to it.

Cam Heyward and The D-Line

It’s Buckeye versus Buckeye. Cam (and to a large extent Ryan Shazier) versus Zeke.

Can our OSUers out do the Cowboys OSUers?

The truth is, maybe.

When Cam plays, we’ve been pretty darn good against the run. When Cam and Shazier play, we’ve been flat out good. Yeah, we may give up a 10/12 yarder or two, but we have kept almost everyone bottled up.

The Cowboys, unfortunately, ain’t everyone else. Tyron Smith, La’el Collins, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Doug Free are one of the very best offensive line groups in the NFL. We have not faced a group this good all year. Top that of with the fact that the kid they are blocking for is damn good, and well, this is a running attack better than any we’ve faced.

It doesn’t get much easier when Zeke takes a break. Alfred Morris is no slouch as a backup to Elliot.

It’s a daunting task, but it’s not impossible. Tuitt, Hargrave, Heyward are going to need to have the best game they’ve had so far this year. But they can. Add in Timmons and Shazier, and we have the athletes to matchup.

And it’s not just the run they have to deal with. We’ve had real problems staying disciplined in our pass rush. So badly that such speedsters as Tom Brady and Joe Flacco have burned us. While Zak Prescott is no Tom Brady or Joe Flacco (I had to… giggle giggle) he can give us headaches if we lose discipline and don’t keep our lanes during the rush.

The D-Line is going to be key. If we are going to emerge victorious, the play of these guys is going to be what lead to that victory.

The Boys are Back in Town

So, yeah, the defense is critical, but it’s unlikely they will keep Dallas completely off the board. So the boys are going to need to dial up their game to 11.

The good news is, we’re at home. It’s a night and day difference between home and road games for the offense. In 4 (in which we are 1 and 3) road games we’ve scored 38 (WAS), 3 (PHI), 15 (MIA) and 14 (BAL). Even with the nice total in Washington, that’s only an average of 17.5 points per game (take Washington out and it’s 10.6).

On the other hand, at home we’ve scored 24 (CIN), 43 (KC), 31 (NYJ) and 16 (NE). Of course, the Patriots game was minus Ben, and with a lot of lost opportunities. That’s an average of 28.5 points per game (take out the NE game and it’s 32.6).

The offense can be potent. Especially so at home. And they are healthy. Ben’s looking better, AB, Sammie and Eli Rogers all are practicing fully. And guess who’s maybe going to make his first start wearing Black & Gold? Remember that free agent tight end we signed earlier this year? That’s right, it’s possible that Ladarius Green finally takes the field for the Steelers this week, and that’s a big deal Nation.

Why you ask?

Well, with Darrius Heyward-Bey down with his foot, popping Ladarius Green in gives the Steelers another “stretch the field” option, and this time it’s not a wide-out, it’s a tight end. That means you could have AB, Sammie Coates and Ladarius Green on the field at the same time. The Dallas secondary is suspect, and in my opinion, they do not have the luxury of doing what Baltimore did last week, triple-teaming AB all day long. They don’t have a D-line that’s as good as Baltimore, and while they have some decent linebackers, again, I’d give the nod to the Ravens.

The Cowboys defense can be had.

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

I know, I know. It’s repetitive. But turnovers are going to be important. Really important.

We can’t afford to give up any, and we absolutely need to get some.

Again, last week we tied in the turnover battle, but lost the points off turnover battle. We need to win both of them this week. And I think we can.

Zeke, as I mentioned, fumbles on occasion. Dak is a rookie. Properly contained, he can be forced into making mistakes. He’s thrown picks (not a lot, but it has happened). So the Cowboys can turn the ball over, and if we can force a couple of them, and (and this is critical) turn them into points, well that will go a long way to giving the Steelers a much needed victory.

Conclusion

I didn’t talk about Jason Witten. I didn’t talk about Dez Bryant.

Not because they can’t be difference makers.

Not because they aren’t dangerous.

Witten is slowing down, and Dez is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think we can cover Witten (if we simply decide to do it) and I think either Artie Burns or Ross Cockrell can take Dez out of his game. That really annoying Wes Welker wannabe Cole Beasley could be a really annoying little gnat that keeps being a pest, but I’m hoping Mike Mitchell might pop him once and knock the ball out.

While I talked about Ben, I didn’t bring up the fact that these are the kinds of games he normally shines in; at home, against a top opponent. We could see 350, maybe even 400 yards out of Big Ben, and 4-5 TD’s.

AB will absolutely get his catches this weekend, and watch out for Eli Rogers having a big game.

Sammie Coates will haul in another big pass.

And let me just close with this – if he plays (still a question) – watch out for Ladarius Green.

Steelers win – 45-24.

Until next time Nation.