PITTSBURGH – Please, let's comprehend Cowboys 20, Steelers 17.
Get it, but a three-point win. Get it, moving to 3-2, one of nine teams at 3-2 come Monday morning in the NFL, yet four others with more victories after Week 5. The Cowboys only good enough for second place in the NFC East.
But this win is much more than analytical numbers that come from beating an erstwhile 3-1 team that was playing at home here Sunday night at a soggy Acrisure Stadium before 67,380 with water-logged Terrible Towels waving in their faces.
Start with the rain. No wait, the deluge thunderstorm delaying the start for 1 hour and 26 minutes, the intensity chasing fans from their seats.
Then there is this: Just who the Cowboys didn't have playing, and understand everyone in the NFL has injuries, and no one feels sorry you. But still.
No Micah Parsons.
No DeMarcus Lawrence.
No DaRon Bland.
No Sam Williams.
No Caelen Carson.
No Brandin Cooks.
No Marshawn Kneeland four plays into the game, meaning the rookie defensive end starting out of necessity meant the Cowboys were playing without their top four defensive ends. And from the looks of things upon MRI results on Monday and leaving the stadium on crutches, Kneeland might be lost for an extended period.
They lost starting rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton with 9:32 left in the second quarter, necessitating starting left guard Tyler Smith moving to left tackle and second-year undrafted free agent T.J. Bass playing left guard. And if that were not enough line dancing, Zack Martin left momentarily with cramps with 12:22 left in the game, resulting in Brock Hoffman entering at right guard.
Now consider they were also flagged for 11 more penalties; turned the ball over three times; lost one coach's challenge; had at least two unfavorable spots; fell behind twice – the second time with 4:56 to play, 17-13; had a field goal attempt blocked; and went 1-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
Oh, and they didn't even have Snoop Dogg on their side.
Yet they won. Beat them Steelers.
"Yeah, I mean, as I said, resilient," Dak Prescott emphasized afterward. "Resilient."
Still more than that. Prior to the game, including days leading up and for more than two hours on an NBC pregame show forced to kill time during the storm delay, all the talk was about how the Steelers were going to be too physical for these Cowboys. How they were going to run down their throats, Steeler-style. That they were going to be too shot-and-a-beer Pittsburgh-style tough for these finesse Cowboys.
Steel City, you know.
Well, let me tell you a thing or two. The Cowboys ran for a season-high 109 yards, Rico Dowdle leading the way with a career-high 87 yards. He had two catches for another 27 yards, one a diving 22-yarder for a touchdown. And the Steelers' Justin Fields-led offense, well, not only just 92 yards rushing, averaging 3.5 a carry, but only 226 total yards. Cowboys? Oh 445, Dak piling up 352 of them passing.
And you want tough, buddy boy? It was the Cowboys deemed playing too physical, incurring not one, not two, but three personal fouls for being too rough. Two of them, though, were rather ridiculous. The first one on Tyrus Wheat, yeah. Did you even know the second-year undrafted free agent was on the team? Wheat played 60 percent of the snaps out of necessity with their top four defensive ends out with injuries, easily the 35 snaps more than his career total going into the game. He lambasted Fields, who charged across the back of the pocket to escape pressure and throw a pass just before getting Wheat-ed. And the second one on Wheat being thrown from center field when he pushed back on a Steeler roughhousing him on the ground in the pile.
Oh again, you know on that Cowboys' game-wining 70-yard touchdown drive, ending with Dak firing a crossing pattern to Jalen Tolbert from 4 yards out for the winning six? Well, they ran for 25 of those yards, and one of the big plays was the 18-yard screen pass to fullback Hunter Luepke down to the Steelers 4. Yeah, the Cowboys roughhousing with a fullback in the land of Rocky Bleier and Jerome Bettis.
Plus, Dak had to get down and wet when Dowdle had the ball knocked out from the 1 when diving in the air for the goal line. The Cowboys quarterback had to recover the fumble at the 4 after having scrambled the previous play for 3½ yards when lunging for the pylon.
Big Boy pants plays.
Think about it again, the Cowboys did this playing all eight offensive linemen at least one snap (Asim Richards reporting eligible on the goal line), and repeatedly lining up with two tight ends, three tight ends, and with a fullback to help holding off the likes of T.J. Watt, Cam Hayward and Nick Herbig.
And they survived.
Once again proving early season perceptions have the lifespan of an Instagram.
And here were two more problems the Cowboys vowed to fix heading into this game. Third-down conversions and time of possession, easily intertwined. The Cowboys came into the game converting just 40 percent of their third downs, and were averaging 27:03 time of possession.
Well, in this game the Cowboys converted nine of 15 third downs (60 percent) and hogged the ball for 32:29, that despite turning the ball over three times. Of their nine drives, five of them lasted for at least eight plays, with highs of 16 and 15, both in the fourth quarter and both turning into touchdowns, including the game winner.
Speaking of winning, and that's two straight, matching their second-longest streak over these past two seasons, game balls going to Dak, to Dowdle and to Mike McCarthy, who finally came home to Pittsburgh and left with a victory over the team he loved growing up.
In the end, McCarthy, too, was using the words "resiliency" and "composure."
And he knows these Cowboys, playing without a slew of guys that everyone knows but having to rely on not-yet known names such as Wheat, Amani Oruwariye, Bass, Hoffman, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Marist Liufau, as well as players starting to familiarize themselves with you guys like Tolbert, DeMarvion Overshown, Dowdle, Mazi Smith, Golston and KaVontae Turpin, as a receiver (4 catches, 50 yards). That's just how delicious this win was.
"That's a helluva, helluva win for us," McCarthy exclaimed.
Sure is, considering who played because of who couldn't play. Considering who they played, where they played and having to overcome at times how they played.
And, of course, don't minimize just hanging out and refocusing when the time came to play. Yep all of that.
Fist bump.
"And know we're ready to go home and get some lunch," Dak said, knowing it was going to be an early-morning arrival with folks already heading to work by time their charter landed at DFW.
No kidding, the charter flight back to DFW touched down at 4:50 a.m. Pulled up to the charter site at 5. Got luggage and to the car at 5:15. Home for me at 5:45. To bed at, uh, don't ask.
As Dak said upon heading out of the interview room, "And now we're ready to go home and get some lunch."
And figuring you can comprehend that part, too.
