FRISCO, Texas – Here is what we know heading into Cowboys-Steelers for the 31st time in regular-season history on Sunday night at what's now called Acrisure Stadium, the Cowboys having won the last meeting in Pittsburgh, 35-30, and leading the all-time series, 16-14.
No Micah Parsons.
No DeMarcus Lawrence.
Never more this season Sam Williams.
No DaRon Bland.
No Brandin Cooks.
Questionable Trevon Diggs at cornerback but encouraging for Sunday.
Questionable Caelen Carson at cornerback, coming along slowly.
No bueno.
That means it is time. Time for the Cowboys to become offensive with so many missing parts and possibly more on defense. Maybe even past time.
High time for the Cowboys to kick this offense into high gear, one of last year's 12-5 regular season saving graces after having led the NFL with an average of 29.9 points a game. They finished fifth overall in total offense, averaging 371.6 yards a game, and were third in passing offense, averaging 258.6 yards a game.
Dak Prescott first in the NFL with 36 touchdown passes.
Dak second in QB rating at 105.9.
CeeDee Lamb tops the NFL with 135 receptions.
CeeDee second in receiving yards, 1,749.
CeeDee second in yards from scrimmage, 1,862.
Six offensive Pro Bowl players, including first-year kicker Brandon Aubrey, 36 of 38 and the NFL's leading scorer, 157 points.
But so far after four games in 2024 – the Cowboys 2-2, a game behind the 3-1 Washington Commanders but tied with the Eagles for second in the NFC East – the Cowboys offense is just chugging along, scoring 24.25 points a game. However, 25 points is the high in the past three games after scoring 33 in the opener against Cleveland.
Sure, the Cowboys beat the Giants, but only 20-15, the defense holding New York to five field goals, and the offense, when it comes to scoring touchdowns, just two. They have only scored nine touchdowns overall, that's but 2.25 a game. Never good when the field goal kicker(Aubrey), the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month, has kicked more field goals (12) than the offense has scored touchdowns (9) this early in a season.
Just got to be better, or as Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said this week going into this game against the 3-1, defensive-minded Steelers, "Every time we touch the football, we've got to generate points."
Let's second that notion.
Just look at the difference between last year's aforementioned offensive numbers and this year's after just four games.
Offensive rank: 13th.
Run offense: 32nd.
Points: 11th, 24.3 a game.
Third-down conversions, 15th, just 40 percent when they were at 48.3 percent last year.
And those touchdowns: 9, but one of those KaVontae Turpin's 60-yard punt return, where last year they scored 57 touchdowns, so far only on pace after four games to score 38.
So what's the deal?
First of all, the offensive line has not performed to a high level, and maybe that should have been expected since they are starting rookies at the two most important positions up front: Tyler Guyton at left tackle and Cooper Beebe at center. And it's not that they are dragging the line down, but it's a combination of getting all five guys playing together, and then getting in rhythm with the running backs. Rico Dowdle is starting for the first time, and they are getting limited run-game snaps (85) in general. This always was going to be a work in progress.
Then the passing game. And this is no excuse, since the Cowboys' average of 255.5 yards a game ranks fourth in the NFL, comparable to their third-place finish in 2023. It's just that they have only generated six passing touchdowns in four games. Last year, remember, there were 36.
Maybe Lamb missing training camp is a bigger deal than it seemed. Then there's been the sore knee of Cooks, who now will miss at least one game, maybe two, with the knee infection after receiving pain-relieving injections. And say what you want about Michael Gallup, but the rest of the wide receivers in his absence have needed to move up in the pecking order, that along with tight end Jake Ferguson having missed one game.
Then there have been the penalties, 17 of the team's 32 have been on offense for 138 yards, predictably drive killers. So when you are only converting 40 percent of your third downs, another number then becomes troubling, as McCarthy pointed out this week: time of possession."Nowhere near close to where we were last year," the head coach said.
Well, let's see: Last year while gong 12-5, the Cowboys averaged 31:48 time of possession. This year after four games, 28:12. That's a 3:36 difference. Conservatively a good one possession a game.
Now, there were signs of improvement against the Giants, the Cowboys having an opportunity to score on five of eight full possessions and coming away with two touchdowns, two field goals and Aubrey's shockingly – for him – missed 51-yard field goal, his first career miss that wasn't blocked or bounced off an upright (48 of 51).
But having said all this about the need for the Cowboys offense to step forward, this won't be easy against a Steelers defense giving up an average of 8.25 points a game before the Colts slapped them with 27 in Game 4. Also, factor in no Cooks, meaning the likes of Jalen Tolbert, Turpin, Jalen Brooks and now rookie Ryan Flournoy must pick up the slack. Oh, and then there is this: 79 percent chance of thunderstorms Sunday evening, that after 50 percent chance during the afternoon.
And guess what? Grass field.
So maybe the key to winning against all these odds, though the Steelers are only 2.5 point favorites, will be complementary football. Control the ball on offense, which generally means running well on a wet turf; converting third downs to prolong possessions; and defensively stopping the run, though remember without your two starting defensive ends, in order to get off the field.
The Cowboys beat the Steelers, 35-30, the last time playing in Pittsburgh, the rookie seasons of Dak and Ezekiel Elliott, and over an eventual 11-5 Steelers team. While great nostalgia, along with the three Super Bowl meetings between the franchises and the fact McCarthy is heading back to his hometown where those Terrible Towels will be waving – but not for him, considering the roughly 30 family and friends he's needed tickets for – none of this will factor into a game in which the Cowboys would like to establish their first winning streak of this young season, matching the second longest going back to last year when five straight was their best.
But still, to do so, knowing the defense will be shorthanded, got to score points. Touchdowns preferably. And they expect to have their hands full with All-Pro outside linebacker/defensive end T.J. Watt and the menacing defensive lineman Cameron Hayward.
"We have to play our game, run our offense," McCarthy said of the challenge going up to Pittsburgh, knowing his offense must step it up. "We have to play at a very high level."
And considering what's missing on defense, yep, it's time.
