|
IRVING, Texas - The December records from the past three seasons are poor enough to make any Cowboys' fan cringe: 2-2 in 2005, 2-3 in 2006 and 2-2 in 2007. With Monday's calendar shift from November to December, it's that time of year again for the Cowboys. And with four games remaining on the schedule against four opponents with winning records, the Cowboys will need to play excellent football to stay afloat in the tight NFC playoff picture. Starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 3:15 p.m. (CST) on Sunday at Heinz Field, the Cowboys' next four opponents have a combined record of 34-13-1.
What's Up?
Even though the Steelers wrecked the New England Patriots, 33-10, this past Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the final score may have been a little deceiving. Late in the second quarter, the Steelers were tied 10-10 and it took a missed field goal and five second-half New England turnovers for the Steelers to finally pull ahead and pick up the 23-point victory. The Steelers compiled 333 yards of total offense and were penalized eight times for 88 yards, two numbers contradicting their 33-point output. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger continued his up-and-down season completing just 17 of his 33 pass attempts for 179 yards. Nonetheless, a win on the road against a 7-5 Patriots squad was impressive and puts the Steelers at 9-3 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
As the Cowboys continue to pick up victories, they also keep piling up injuries. In their 34-9 Thanksgiving Day pummeling of the Seattle Seahawks, running back Marion Barber (toe) and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (knee) suffered injuries which forced them to leave the game early. While neither injury is considered overly serious, they might just be bad enough to keep the two Pro Bowlers out of practice this week and leave their availability for Sunday's matchup questionable up until game time. With six players already on injured reserve (Felix Jones, Mat McBriar, Roy L. Williams, Kyle Kosier, Pat Watkins and Sam Hurd) and several others battling through injuries (Barber, Ware, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Mike Jenkins, Terence Newman and Miles Austin) the Cowboys will once again be shorthanded this Sunday. Even with the injuries, though, Dallas has won four out of their last five games - including three in a row - and are trying to jump ahead of the Atlanta Falcons for the final NFC wild-card spot.
Statistical View
- Steelers safety Troy Polamalu leads the league in interceptions, but aside from his six picks, the play-making Polamalu has yet to force or recover a fumble and ranks just fourth on his team with only 54 tackles.
- Almost a third of tight end Martellus Bennett's 15 catches have gone for touchdowns this season, and if the Texas A&M product can pull down another TD this Sunday, he will become the first rookie in Cowboys' history to catch touchdown passes in four consecutive games.
- In his four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Cowboys cornerback Anthony Henry played the Steelers eight times and broke up 11 passes, compiled 24 tackles and picked up one interception.
- How good is the Steelers' No. 1-ranked defense? Dating back to last season's playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Steelers have gone 14 straight games without allowing an opposing offense to compile more than 300 yards. The Indianapolis Colts were the only team that came close, picking up 290 in Week 10.
Chalk Talk
The Cowboys have been very successful at protecting Tony Romo since the bye week, allowing just one sack in three games. With Pittsburgh's pass-rushing tandem of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley lining up opposite of the Cowboys' offense Sunday, though, that might change. The two pressure linebackers have combined for 25.5 sacks and headline a Steelers defense which ranks first in the NFL with 42 sacks, just two more than the second-place Cowboys.
Combine the Steelers great pass rush with the expected near-freezing temperatures Sunday and it's apparent the Cowboys will need to bring their running game if they want to pull out a victory in Pittsburgh. With Barber's Sunday status still up in the air, though, that might cause a little bit of a problem for the Cowboys offense. However, even when fully healthy, Barber has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry this season and has rushed for more than 85 yards only three times. In the three games since the bye week, Barber has carried the ball 53 times and has netted a long run of only 17 yards. If Barber can't go Sunday, rookie Tashard Choice, who has compiled 147 yards on 30 carries this season, will fill in for the Pro Bowler.
One would think it would take much more than just the 24th-ranked offense in the NFL to compile the second-best record in the AFC, but the Steelers have done exactly that. Averaging a mere 308.2 yards per game, the Steelers offense not only ranks in the bottom third of the NFL, but also finds itself ranked 24th in percentage of passes intercepted with the club's 12. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been intercepted three or more times in a game twice this season and has been sacked 33 times this year. If Ware (knee) and recently-reinstated cornerback Adam Jones can play this Sunday, expect the Cowboys to add to their 40-sack and six-interception season totals.
Connections
Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman, who has been an NFL assistant nine different teams in his career, was part of the Steelers' coaching staff in 1998 ... Steelers assistant secondary coach Ray Horton recorded five interceptions as a free safety with the Cowboys from 1989-92 while winning a Super Bowl ring.
Miscellaneous
Starting with the Steelers' No. 1-ranked defense Sunday, the Cowboys will have to play the three-best NFL defenses in the next three games - Pittsburgh, New York Giants and Baltimore . . . The Cowboys are 2-0 against the AFC North this season, having beaten the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the year . . . Dallas has picked up wins in eight of its last 10 games against AFC opponents . . . After losing five straight games to the Steelers from 1976-1982 - two of those Super Bowl losses - the Cowboys have beaten the Steelers in five of their past seven meetings, losing the last one, though, 24-20 in 2004 . . . After going 2-3 at Pittsburgh's previous home field, Three Rivers Stadium, Sunday's game will mark the first time the Cowboys have played at Heinz Field in the regular season . . . The Cowboys first-ever franchise game was against the Steelers in 1960, resulting in a 35-28 loss for Dallas.
| Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS |
|
