By Nathan Lee
Cowboys Start Strong, Falter Late Against Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 24-19.
The Steelers improved to 8-0 and remain as the only undefeated team in the NFL. The Cowboys fall to 2-7 yet are still in contention for the NFC East.
Seventh-year quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who has bounced around practice squads and the bottom of NFL rosters since getting drafted in 2014, got his first NFL start on Sunday for Dallas.
Cowboys Shock Steelers Early
The Cowboys came out firing on both sides of the ball in the first half.
Gilbert threw eight completions in eleven attempts for 103 yards and the first Cowboys touchdown since Week 6, throwing a 20-yard touchdown to rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb. Gilbert also led the Cowboys offense to two field goals in the half to put the Cowboys up, 13-0.
The Steelers were slow to score, at first. Dallas stopped Pittsburgh from scoring on their first four drives, forcing three punts and stopping Pittsburgh on an important fourth and one in the other.
Pittsburgh finally got their offense going when Ben Roethlisberger led the offense down the field for a touchdown. Two plays later, Pittsburgh cornerback Cameron Sutton forced a fumble that the Steelers turned into a field goal. The Steelers went into halftime down on the scoreboard, 13-9, but in rhythm with nine points on their final two drives.
Steelers Steal a Victory
The Cowboys started the second half strong once again.Two Greg Zeurlein field goals increased the lead to 19-9.
Roethlisberger, back after the leg injury, led the Steelers to another touchdown, this time a 31-yard pass to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Chris Boswell’s extra point was blocked, so the Cowboys were still up, 19-15.
The Cowboys looked like they had another score in them, driving all the way to the Steelers 5-yard line. Then, on third-and-goal, Gilbert threw an interception under pressure to Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Cowboys never scored again.
Dallas thought they got the ball back on a Tyrone Crawford strip-sack, but linebacker Jaylon Smith was called for illegal contact, and the Steelers went on to kick a field goal.
Late in the fourth quarter, Dallas thought they stopped the Steelers again on a third-down incompletion, but Jaylon Smith was called for roughing the passer, giving the Steelers another first down.
Roethlisberger led the Steelers down the field and threw an 8-yarder to tight end Eric Ebron for the go-ahead touchdown. After missing the two-point conversion, the Steelers were up, 24-19.
With less than a minute left, two huge completions of 32 yards and 20 yards from Gilbert gave the Cowboys one last shot to score, but they were not able to get it in the endzone before time expired as the Steelers pulled off the 24-19 comeback victory.
Cowboys Stats
Gilbert went 21-for-38 for 243 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. His 72.6 passer rating is the best passer rating by a Cowboys starting quarterback since Dak Prescott went down in Week 5.
Star running back Ezekiel Elliott, nursing a hamstring injury, had 51 yards on 18 carries. Backup Tony Pollard had 57 yards on 9 carries. However, neither scored a rushing touchdown.
Dallas’ offensive line played better Sunday, only allowing two sacks for the first time since Week 5 and helping the Cowboys gain a season-high 144 rushing yards.
The Cowboys held the Steelers to 46 rushing yards, the lowest amount the Cowboys defense has allowed all year. However, they could not stop Roethlisberger from throwing for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
Steelers Stats
Running back James Conner only had 22 rushing yards on 9 carries, but it did not matter due to Roethlisberger’s fantastic performance.
Roethlisberger threw 29 completions for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 42 attempts. His top three receivers all got their share, and seven receivers had at least two catches.
Smith-Schuster led the game in receiving yards with six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Chase Claypool led the team in receptions with eight catches for 69 yards. Diontae Johnson added 77 yards on six catches.
Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble and caught an interception, which both led to key Steelers field goals.
What’s Next
The Cowboys played well on Sunday, leading the only undefeated NFL team for 46 minutes and 41 seconds. Unfortunately, multiple fourth quarter mistakes, such as the interception and the numerous penalties, led to the Cowboys’ downfall.
Next week, the Cowboys will be on a bye. In Week 11, they will play the Minnesota Vikings, who have won the last two games behind running back Dalvin Cook and his 369 rushing yards over that span.
The Steelers will try to stay undefeated against the Cincinnati Bengals, their AFC North rival.
Texans Hold Off Jaguars
Quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-25, in an AFC South showdown.
The Texans improve to 2-6, while the Jaguars fall to 1-7 on the season.
In Week 5, the Texans won their first meeting with the Jaguars 30-14 in Week 5 for their only win of the season prior to this week. The Jaguars have not won a game since defeating the Colts in Week 1.
The rookie sixth-round pick Jake Luton from Oregon State got the start at quarterback for the Jaguars in place of Gardner Minshew, who is nursing multiple fractures in his thumb.
Fast Start in the First Half
The Texans came into the game with the third-worst scoring defense in the league, a defense once riddled with injuries. However, the Jaguars came in with the second-worst scoring defense. Within the first three minutes it appeared the game was headed towards a shootout.
The Jaguars scored on the third play of their first possession with a Jake Luton 73-yard bomb to DJ Chark, Jr., but just three plays later, Deshaun Watson threw a 57-yard catch-and-run to Brandin Cooks for a Texans touchdown.
After that, the offenses slowed down. In the first half, Watson led the Texans to two field goals, and James Robinson scored a touchdown for the Jaguars. With Josh Lambo missing the Jaguars extra point afterwards, the score was tied, 13-13.
With 30 seconds left in the half, the Texans scored a touchdown on the heels of a defensive pass interference call on C.J. Henderson. Then, as time expired, Lambo kicked a 59-yard field goal to cut the Texans’ lead to 20-16.
Too Little, Too Late for the Jags
After the initial 73-yard touchdown, Jake Luton did not make a huge impact, going 9-for-16 for 59 yards the rest of the first half.
On the Jaguars’ first drive of the second half, Luton threw an interception in Texans’ territory. The Texans turned it into points when Watson threw a 77-yard touchdown to Will Fuller to go up 27-16, although Watson admitted the play clock had expired when they snapped the ball.
Both the Jaguars offense and defense contributed to a comeback over the last 21 minutes. Luton and Robinson led the Jaguars to a field goal while the Jaguars defense held the Texans offense to just 50 yards on the next three drives.
Luton was impressive on the final drive, throwing five completions in six attempts for 67 yards. He ended it with a 13-yard run for a touchdown, but he could not complete the two-point conversion to Chark, and the Texans escaped with a 27-25 win.
Watson Leads the Texans in Passing and Rushing
Although he did not throw for 300 yards for the first time since Week 3, Deshaun Watson still put the team on his back, throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns without any turnovers while running for 50 yards.
Duke Johnson added 41 yards and a touchdown on the ground filling in for David Johnson, who left in the first quarter with a concussion.
Fuller had 100 yards on five catches, most notably the 77-yard touchdown. Cooks also used a 57-yard touchdown to propel him to an 83-yard, three-catch performance.
Luton Impresses in Debut
The Jacksonville defense was a force to be reckoned with, but they still could not stop Watson from throwing and scrambling just enough to win the game. Jacksonville got two sacks and five QB hits, but there were many occasions where Watson was able to outmaneuver the defense and get positive yardage.
Luton threw for 304 yards and scored one passing and one rushing touchdown in a fantastic NFL debut. It remains to be seen whether he will get the start next week, especially with Minshew’s thumb injury.
Robinson added 99 rushing yards and a touchdown. Chark had 146 receiving yards on seven catches, including the initial 73-yard touchdown. Chris Conley also had seven catches for 52 yards.
Josh Lambo made both of his field goal attempts, including a 59-yarder, but a missed extra point in the second quarter arguably cost the Jaguars a chance to win in overtime.
What’s Next
The Texans are 2-2 since firing Bill O’Brien as the head coach and general manager. Interim coach Romeo Crennel has been criticized for some of his decisions, but he has gotten his team into the win column.
The Texans also have one of the easiest schedules remaining, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. There is not a reason fpr Houston to tank the season considering that O’Brien traded their 2021 first- and second- round picks as part of the trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
They will travel to Cleveland to play the Browns next Sunday at 12:00 p.m. on FOX.
The Jaguars will travel to Green Bay to play the Packers next Sunday at the same time on FOX.
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