The Steelers and Dallas Cowboys clash in Pittsburgh for Week 5’s Sunday Night Football matchup. To preview the game, I chatted with David Halprin of Blogging the Boys to get the latest on Pittsburgh’s upcoming opponent.
You can read my questions and his answers below:
1. The Cowboys have two massive injuries defensively, with DeMarcus Lawrence on injured reserve and Micah Parsons expected to miss the Steelers game. How much will this affect the Dallas defense, and can you tell us a bit about the players who will be filling in on the Cowboys’ pass-rush?
This is a huge problem for the Cowboys as DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons are clearly the best players on the defense besides Trevon Diggs, and the depth at defensive end, especially in the pass-rushing department, is very thin.
The Cowboys lost Sam Williams for the season early in training camp and he was expected to be the third defensive end in the rotation. So essentially Dallas will be without their top three defensive ends they expected to have this season. Luckily the Cowboys spent a second-round draft pick on Marshwn Kneeland in the 2024 draft and he will now be elevated to one starter.
Kneeland’s game looks a lot like Lawrence’s in that he’s not a bendy speed rusher, but more of a power guy with some pass-rushing moves and a good run defender. He’s shown some promise in the rotation so far this season.
The other side will probably have either veterans Chauncey Golston or Carl Lawson starting, with the other as the third defensive end. Golston is “just a guy” who has been with Dallas since they drafted him in 2021 and shouldn’t be expected to provide much pass rush. Carl Lawson will be elevated from the practice squad and has plenty of skins on the wall with the Bengals, but hasn’t made much of an impact with Dallas this season. It’s not a promising situation and will require defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to get creative.
2. The Steelers’ run game hasn’t been efficient this year, and almost all of their offensive spark has come from the up-and-down play of quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver George Pickens. How do you think the Cowboys defense will scheme to shut down the Pittsburgh offense?
Dallas had been abysmal in their run defense until last week against the Giants when they shut down New York’s rushing attack. But historically the Cowboys have struggled with dual-threat quarterbacks and without Lawrence and Parsons, that could be even more true.
Dallas will probably use rising star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown as a spy on Fields to try and slow down his runs and scrambles. Overshown has great quickness and tackles with authority. DC Zimmer had Trevon Diggs travel with Malik Nabers some of the time last week, so he might employ more of the same to try and take Pickens out of the game as much as they can.
If the Cowboys play assignment football and don’t leave huge gaps along the line on defense like they did last week, they stand a chance of being okay. But if they lose their discipline like they did against the Ravens and Saints, Fields will look like a Pro Bowler out there.
3. The Cowboys’ rushing offense has been incredibly ineffective through four weeks this season, averaging a league-worst 75.3 yards per game. What’s the main culprit behind the lack of production, and is there any chance the Cowboys can turn it around against the Steelers?
The Cowboys running game is what it is; I wouldn’t expect any great change in its effectiveness. Dallas let Tony Pollard walk in free agency and didn’t really add a talent that would scare defenses. Rico Dowdle has been a backup in Dallas for a while and is an okay back and will likely get most of the work.
Ezekiel Elliott is no longer the back he once was and is used situationally now. The blocking hasn’t been awful as the Cowboys break in two rookies on the offensive line, but it also hasn’t been opening huge holes. Basically it is a lot of mediocrity at best. The one issue has been that for two of the four games, the Cowboys fell behind so fast that they had to abandon the run game early. So that has impacted the volume stats. Overall, though, it is a very weak part of the Cowboys team.
4. Quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb both signed massive deals ahead of the season. Have they been playing to the level of their costly salaries so far in 2024?
To this point they have not played up to their abilities. Last season Prescott and Lamb were deadly, one of the best combinations in the league. So far this year, it has been much more inconsistent. Lamb held out of almost all of training camp so he probably came into the season a little rusty and the timing between him and Prescott hasn’t looked as crisp.
Last week against the Giants we started to see more of their game, with Prescott having an extremely efficient game. They are both starting to get into a groove and they will probably make up the bulk of the offense as well as tight end Jake Ferguson.
5. Despite the loss last week, the Steelers are slim home favorites against Dallas (1.5 points per FanDuel). Give us your score prediction for Sunday night and your reasons for choosing it.
It’s hard to think that the Cowboys will go on the road and win this game. They are missing Parsons and Lawrence, along with starting corner DaRon Bland and WR2 Brandin Cooks. That feels like just too much to overcome for a team that has been mediocre at its best this season, and in other games has looked abysmal. There really is no confidence in this team at the moment, and they will likely struggle this week. Steelers 24 – Cowboys 17.
Source link
