Cheat Sheet: Steelers vs. Cowboys

SERIES HISTORY

The Cowboys lead this series 17-16, but these two teams have not squared off since 2020, a game the Steelers won in Dallas. Dating back to 1985, Pittsburgh is 7-4 vs. the Cowboys. Between 1960 and 1966, these franchises met 13 times. Of course, the most notable matchups between Dallas and Pittsburgh came in Super Bowls X, XIII, and XXX with the Steelers winning the first two in the 1970s.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• The Steelers are 3-1, including 1-0 at home. Including this game, Pittsburgh has seven more home games on the docket. They've outscored their opponents by 22 points this season. At 2-2, each of the Cowboys' wins this season have come on the road. They have a minus-7 point differential.
• The Steelers are producing 4.9 yards per play. Dallas gives up 5.4. The Dallas offense is producing 5.4 yards per play. The Steelers defense is allowing 4.9.
• Since 2022, the Steelers are 19-4 in games in which they did not throw an interception and are 3-11 with at least one interception thrown. Pittsburgh is 8-1 in games in which it forced multiple turnovers since 2023 and 1-4 when forcing zero turnovers. Over the past three seasons and now including the three games in 2024, the Steelers are 30-7 when they won or tied the turnover battle. Pittsburgh is 1-16-1 when it loses that turnover battle over that stretch with that one win coming in Week 3. Going back to the start of the 2020 season, the Steelers are 22-3 when they don't turn the ball over.
• Pittsburgh is currently plus-2 in turnover differential after going minus-2 in this facet against the Colts. Dallas is plus-1. The Steelers have still only turned the ball over three times in 2024.
• Dallas has surrendered 282 more rushing yards than it has produced in 2024 and is giving up 1.1 yards more per carry. Dallas' opponents have scored six more rushing touchdowns than the Cowboys.
• The Steelers are giving up just 3.7 yards per rush attempt. But they are also producing just 3.7 yards per rush attempt. Pittsburgh does produce 41.7 more rushing yards per game than it allows.
• The Cowboys committed 11 penalties last week. Pittsburgh has committed three more penalties than their opponents this season, but the Steelers' opponents average 15.3 more penalty yards per game than Pittsburgh.
• Dallas possessed the football for only 24:23 and ran just 54 offensive plays in its last game. The Cowboys average time of possession is 27:03, which is 29^th in the league. Meanwhile, the Steelers still have the NFL's second-best time of possession at 33:13. Pittsburgh ran 68 offensive plays last week. The Steelers' opponents are running just 53.8 plays per game, the lowest in the league.
• The Steelers' .045 points per play margin (offense over defense) is 10^th best in the league compared to Dallas (-.022) which is 21^st.
• Since 1970, the Cowboys lead the NFL with 106 primetime wins. The Steelers are second with 98.
• Since 1990, teams that start 4-1 make the playoffs at a 78.5% clip and win their division 53.1% of the time. Teams that start 3-2 make the playoffs 49.7% of the time and win their division at a 25.5% clip.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh is passing the ball on 46.3% of its offensive snaps. Only three offenses are lower. On first downs, just two teams run the ball a higher percentage of the time than Pittsburgh.
• The Steelers use 14 Personnel (2%) and 13 Personnel (17%) at the NFL's highest rate. They are also 28^th in their usage of 11 Personnel (42%).
• Dallas' defense allows 355.3 yards per game, seventh-worst in the league.
• The Steelers are producing just 7.3 points, on average, in the first half of games this year. However, Dallas allows 17 points, on average, in the first half.
• Justin Fields is the only quarterback in the league that has accounted for 100% of his team's offensive touchdowns either throwing or rushing.
• Last week Fields became the third quarterback in Steelers' history with 300-plus passing yards and 50-plus rushing yards in the same game. He is the ninth quarterback in NFL history with those yardage numbers matched with one or more passing touchdowns and two or more rushing touchdowns. That was his second career 300-yard passing game.
• Fields' 70.6% completion percentage is seventh-best among qualified quarterbacks.
• No receiver in the league has more receiving yards this year without a touchdown than Pickens, even though he is fifth in the league in red zone targets with six and sixth in end zone targets with four. Pickens has received 26.6% of Fields' targets. Only nine receivers have a higher target share, and 15 pass catchers have a higher targets per route run than Pickens. Pickens' 12.9-yard average depth of target is the eighth-highest, while his yards per route run is also eighth. His 50% team air yard share is only behind Terry McLaurin and Malik Nabors.
• Tight end Pat Freiermuth now has 12 career touchdowns. All have come in a red zone. Freiermuth is the only tight end in the league with 4 or more catches in every game this season. He has an 80% route participation the past two weeks after failing to reach that mark in Week 1 or 2.
• During the first two weeks of the season, Freiermuth played just six of a possible 37 snaps out of 12 Personnel. With MyCole Pruitt sidelined the past two weeks, Freiermuth has played 29 of a possible 39 snaps out of this personnel grouping.
• Tight ends are averaging just 2.8 receptions per game against Dallas, which is the fourth fewest.
• Fields has 33 pass attempts when using play action. Only six quarterbacks have more, and all but one (Kyler Murray with 32) have more total pass attempts.
• In Week 4, Daniel Jones attempted 40 passes but was sacked just once. With Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence sidelined, the rest of the Cowboys' defensive players have just four sacks this season.
• Pittsburgh's 16 runs of 10-plus yards is the sixth-most in the league. Dallas has given up 17 such runs. Only four defenses have allowed more. The Steelers 2.69 average rushing yards after contact per carry is only better than the Bears, Dolphins, and Cowboys.
• After giving up 464 rushing yards in Weeks 2 and 3, Dallas held the Giants last week to just 26 yards on the ground for a 1.1 yards per rush average. On designed runs, New York's ball carriers averaged -0.1 before contact while being contacted behind the line of scrimmage on 48% of those rush attempts. Dallas gives up a rushing touchdown every 15.9 carries, 29^th in the league. The Cowboys have the lowest percentage of run play resulting in no gain or a loss at just 10.2%.
• Najee Harris had 13 rushing attempts for just 19 yards last week. But with his receiving yards added in, he had more than 70 yards from scrimmage. Harris now has 70-plus yards from scrimmage in seven straight games.
• The Steelers have a 17.6% success rate on running back runs on first down. Only the Cowboys are worse.
• Fields is scrambling on 10% of his drop backs, the fifth-highest percentage in the league. The Steelers are designing rushing attempts for Fields on 20% of their rushing attempts, the fourth-highest percentage among quarterbacks. As a result, Fields is averaging 9.3 carries per game this season. Fields has the second-most carries (18) and yards (73) on designed quarterback carries. Dallas allows the fourth-most yardage (6.7) per carry on designed quarterback rush attempts.
• Pittsburgh's 43.9% third-down conversion rate is eighth-best in the league, while Dallas' 33.3% is 13^th-best among defenses. Pittsburgh has snapped the ball on third down 57 times this season. Only the 49ers and Patriots have more. Pittsburgh's offense is 21^st in early-down success rate, while the Cowboys' defense is 10^th best. On second downs, Pittsburgh averages 6.1 yards per play - only five offenses are better. On second downs, they average 7.5 yards per pass attempt, fifth-best. The Cowboys give up 7.5 yards on pass on second downs - only four defenses are worse.
• Dallas' red zone defense is only better than Carolina's and Miami's.
• Dallas allows a set of downs to turn into a new set of downs or touchdown 74% of the time. Only six defenses are worse.
• Pittsburgh has generated 12 first downs via penalty compared to just three from its opponents.

WHEN DALLAS HAS THE BALL

• Dallas is passing the football on 65.6% of its offensive snaps, the highest percentage in the league. On first downs, only three offenses are passing at a higher percentage.
• The Cowboys use 10 Personnel (9%) at the league's highest rate, 01 Personnel (2.4%) at the second highest rate and are fifth in their usage of 20 Personnel (1.4%) as well as 22 Personnel (3.8%). They are also seventh in their usage of 21 Personnel (11.8%).
• Pittsburgh's defense allows 261.3 yards per game, fourth-best in the league.
• The Steelers allow just four points, on average, in the second half of games this year. That's best in the league.
• The Steelers allowed a season-high 27 points and 358 yards last week in Indianapolis. Coming into that game, Pittsburgh allowed a total of 26 points in three games. The Steelers also gave up eight third down conversions against the Colts compared to seven total against the Falcons, Broncos and Chargers.
• Dak Prescott's 1,072 passing yards ranks only behind Geno Smith and Brock Purdy. He was leading the NFL before Week 4. Last week Prescott only had one incompletion on 19 attempts on early downs with 187 passing yards and two touchdowns on first and second downs. He finished with 221 yards.
• CeeDee Lamb's 316 receiving yards are eighth-most in the NFL. However, his 21.1% team target share is behind 35 other pass catchers. And Lamb's target per route run is 21^st. Lamb's yards per route run is the 13^th highest. He has a 37-game streak going in which he has caught at least four passes. That is the third-longest such streak since 1970 behind on Michael Thomas and Julio Jones.
• Lamb is playing 49.5% of his snaps from the slot. Pittsburgh is 25^th in yards allowed per target (8.2) to slot receivers. The Steelers have allowed 50% of wide receiver receptions to come from the slot, the sixth-highest rate.
• Jake Ferguson injured his knee in Week 1. However, over the past two weeks, he has seen a team target share of 22% in Week 3 and 27% in Week 4. Ferguson ran a route on 79% of Dallas' dropbacks last week, his season high. He has caught 4-plus passes in nine-straight games in which he didn't exit early due to injury. Over his past 10 games, Ferguson averages 7.9 targets per game and has been targeted 18 times over the past two weeks. Ferguson currently leads all tight ends in targets per route run (.29).
• The Steelers are only giving up 23.8 receiving yards per game to tight ends, fifth-best.
• Fullback Hunter Luepke led the Cowboys running backs last week with 13 routes run.
• Pittsburgh has allowed 388 yards after the catch this season, seventh-best in the NFL.
• Prescott has been blitzed on 21.7% of his drop backs. Only six quarterbacks have been blitzed at a lower rate.
• Pittsburgh is recording a sack on 8.8% of opponent's drop backs, the seventh-highest percentage in the NFL. But the Steelers' 20% blitz rate is only higher than six defenses.
• In terms of EPA, the Steelers' run defense is first in the NFL, and their 3.7 yards per carry allowed is better than all defenses except Baltimore. The Cowboys' 75.3 rushing yards per game is the lowest in the NFL and Dallas' 3.5 yards per carry is only better than the Giants. The Cowboys only have two rushing touchdowns. The Cowboys 2.35 average rushing yards after contact per carry is only better than the Bears.
• Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys' leading rusher, but he has only carried the ball 34 times for 134 yards. Ezekiel Elliott is Dallas' second-leading rusher with 24 carries for 81 yards. In Weeks 1 and 2 Dowdle got rush shares of 32% and 33.3%. In Weeks 3 and 4, that jumped to 61.5% and 61.1%.
• The Cowboys have a 16.7% success rate on running back runs on first down, worst in the league. Dallas also has one running back run of 10-plus yards, the lowest in the league.
• Opposing running backs average just 3.46 yards per carry against Pittsburgh, fourth-best in the NFL.
• Dating back to 2020, Prescott has started 54 games. He has 173 rushing attempts during that time for 684 yards. That is an average of 3.2 carries per game for 3.9 yards per rush attempt.
• Pittsburgh's defense is allowing a 31.9% third-down conversion rate, 11^th-best in the league. They also give up just 2.9 yards per rush on third downs, fifth-best. The Cowboys offense is 20^th in early-down success rate. Pittsburgh's defense is seventh-best in this metric. Dallas' 3.1 yards per carry on first downs is only ahead of the Steelers and Browns. The Steelers allow 5.9 yards per play on first downs, seventh-highest in the league, and their 8.0 passing yards given up on first downs is the sixth-highest. However, the Steelers are best in the league on second downs, giving up just 3.3 yards per play. They are also best in the league on second downs against the pass, giving up just 3.2 yards per attempt. Pittsburgh's 3.6 yards per rush attempt on second downs allowed is sixth-best.
• Pittsburgh's red zone defense is tied for fourth-best in the NFL.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• There have only been two missed field goals in Cowboys games this season. The same is true for Steelers games.
• The Steelers have just one kickoff return through four games, and their collective opponents have a 93% touchback percentage.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Jan. 21, 1979: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31, Miami Orange Bowl, Super Bowl XIII

Considered one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time, this Steelers' victory was their third of four Super Bowl wins over a six-year period. Terry Bradshaw was awarded Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 318 yards and four touchdowns, two of which were hauled in by John Stallworth. Lynn Swann and Stallworth combined for 239 receiving yards while the Cowboys' Tony Dorsett averaged six yards per carry en route to rushing for 96 yards, while Roger Staubach threw three touchdown passes of his own.

KEY MATCHUPS

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb vs. Steelers CB Joey Porter - Lamb is unquestionably one of the best wide receivers in all of football and Dallas just paid him accordingly. He will be featured in this passing game as he is every week. Lamb does about half of his work out of the slot, where he might elude Porter, but expect the Steelers best cornerback to spend a great deal of time following Lamb on Sunday night.

Steelers RB Najee Harris vs. Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown - Overshown is a bit undersized, but he flies around the football field and is one of the NFL's most active linebackers. That being said, Dallas' big men haven't protected Overshown well, and if the Steelers can get big blockers to the second level in the run game, he could be overwhelmed. That could open the door for Harris in the interior run game.