Steelers Scouting Report: What to expect from the Dallas Cowboys
After an exciting past couple of weekends for the Pittsburgh Steelers with wins over the Titans and Ravens, things are looking very promising for this team. The Steelers are still sitting at an undefeated record and truly look like the best overall football team in the league. Their opponent this Sunday has not had that same luck.
What I thought would be a very exciting matchup when the schedule came out now looks like it could be a one-sided affair. The Dallas Cowboys have struggled to live up to expectations this season, currently sitting at a 2-6 record. Fortunately for them, they are still in the hunt in the worst division in football, the NFC East, but they will need to find some wins in a hurry.
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s opponent, the Dallas Cowboys.
Injury Report
The Cowboys are a team that has been hit hard by major injuries this year. The most notable one was losing quarterback Dak Prescott for the season with a severe ankle injury. His backup, former Bengal Andy Dalton, will also miss Sunday’s game to do COVID-19.
The Cowboys will also be without two offensive tackles in La’el Collins (Hip) and Tyron Smith (Neck), along with tight end Blake Jarwin (ACL) who were all placed on the IR. Punter Chris Jones will also miss Sunday’s game with an abdomen injury. Running back Ezekiel Elliott is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury and was limited in Thursday’s practice.
On defense, they will be without defensive tackle Trysten Hill who was placed on the IR with a torn ACL. Chidobe Awuzie is also on the IR with a hamstring injury. Defensive end Aldon Smith is listed as questionable with a knee injury and was limited in Thursday’s practice.
Ezekiel Elliott must lead Dallas’ offense
Ever since they lost Dak for the season, things have been downhill in a hurry for this Dallas offense. First, they lost Prescott, then Andy Dalton, and then last week’s Ben DiNucci experiment was a failure. With that being said, the Cowboys are looking to start either Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush at quarterback this Sunday, most likely Gilbert. Regardless of who is named the starter, it will be their first-ever NFL start and they have combined to throw nine passes in their pro careers.
Their top target will be receiver Amari Cooper who leads the team with 54 receptions for 588 yards and two touchdowns. He will be joined by an impressive rookie receiver in CeeDee Lamb along with Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, and tight end Dalton Schultz.
The quarterback that they decide to roll with will be facing a Steelers secondary that has truly come into their own lately. They rank seventh in the league in passing defense, allowing 213.9 yards per game, and have given up 13 total touchdowns while coming away with ten interceptions. To make things even tougher, the Cowboys have a struggling offensive line that will be going against a Steelers pass rush led by TJ Watt, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt that leads the league with 30 combined sacks.
With things looking very shaky in the passing game, the Cowboys will turn to star running back Ezekiel Elliott to lead the charge on offense. While he hasn’t quite looked fully himself this season, mainly due to injuries on the offensive line, Elliott has still put up some decent numbers. He is currently sitting at eighth in the league in rushing with 132 carries for 521 and five touchdowns. Tony Pollard should also see some action out of the backfield.
Elliott will be facing a Steelers defense that has dominated against the run so far. Pittsburgh currently ranks fifth in rushing defense, allowing 96.9 yards per game and only five rushing touchdowns so far. With nose tackle Tyson Alualu likely missing Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, so it will be up to Isaiah Buggs to step up in his place if he can go after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury of his own.
Dallas must make huge improvements on defense
While their offense has had their issues, this season has been even worse on the defensive side of the ball for the Cowboys. They rank 24th in total defense, allowing 384.9 yards per game and 33.3 points per game this season.
If you had to pick a strength for their defense, it would be against the pass. They currently rank eighth in the league in passing defense allowing 214 yards per game but they have also given up 18 touchdowns while only coming away with three interceptions.
Their secondary has been led this season by rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs who has two interceptions on the season. He will be joined in the secondary by Anthony Brown at the other corner with Donovan Wilson at strong safety and Xavier Woods at free safety. Jourdan Lewis will see significant snaps at corner with Darian Thompson and Steven Parker rotating in at the safeties.
This secondary will be going up against a Steelers offense that has found some success throwing the ball thanks to a wide variety of weapons. Ben Roethlisberger is making his case as the Comeback Player of the Year as he has thrown for 1,628 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions so far this season.
Where this Cowboys defense has truly struggled is against the run. They currently rank dead last in the league in rushing defense giving up 170.9 yards per game and eleven total rushing touchdowns so far. Their front seven is led by linebacker Jaylon Smith who has 82 tackles on the season. He will be joined by Leighton Vander Esch at the Mike linebacker. Sean Lee and Joe Thomas will also see time in the linebacker rotation.
In front of them, DeMarcus Lawrence is the leader on the defensive line at end. He is joined by Tyrone Crawford at the other end with Antwaun Woods and rookie Neville Gallimore at the tackles with Aldon Smith coming off the edge as well. Rookie Bradlee Anae and Randy Gregory will also see time in the rotation at defensive end.
They are going up against a Steelers rushing attack led by James Conner, who has truly come into his own this season. Conner is currently tenth in the league in rushing with 110 carries for 498 yards and five touchdowns. He will look to continue to prove himself as a true top level back in the league this weekend.
Final Predictions
As I already mentioned, this was a game I was excited about at the beginning of the season. However, it has truly lost most of its significance as I truly don’t see any way this Dallas team competes. Whoever is at quarterback is going to be set up for failure in their first start as they are facing an elite defense in Pittsburgh.
The only hope they have is Elliott going off and I just don’t see him doing enough. On the opposite side of the ball, I see this being a huge game for Conner with over 100 yards and a pair of scores. Add at least a couple of Roethlisberger touchdown passes and this one will get out of hand.
I have the Steelers running away with a 34-10 victory to keep their undefeated season going.
