The Dallas Cowboys will leave Texas for Pennsylvania some time today to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Dallas looks to create a winning streak after defeating the Giants in New York last Thursday night.
Pittsburgh was undefeated before falling to Joe Flacco and the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday to fall to 3-1 on the season. The Steelers have surprised many with their strong start behind would-be backup Justin Fields.
Fields was acquired in the offseason to learn and develop behind veteran Russell Wilson, but Wilson has been sidelined with a calf strain with no timeline for return. Pittsburgh’s offense has been just enough to get the Steelers to their 3-1 record, leaning on a strong and opportunistic defense.
Both teams will be tested in this inter-conference matchup. In order to come out with a victory, the Cowboys must be bold versus the black and gold.
It’s Friday, and that means it’s bold predictions day. Please keep in mind that these are bold predictions. They are meant to seem far-fetched but are still in the realm of possibility.
Dak Prescott Will Lead the Cowboys in Rushing
This is a bold prediction because Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott has only 21 yards rushing on seven carries so far this season. Prescott’s utilization in the ground game has been nearly completely deleted from the playbook since his gruesome injury during the 2020 season.
I’ve seen Dak scramble several times since then, and I don’t believe his lack of rushing attempts has anything to do with his ankle, physically. It’s more like Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff want to protect him from further injury.
However, we have seen what a good rushing game from Prescott can do for the offense, and at this point in their running back situation, it wouldn’t hurt to expand the playbook a bit and add the threat of Prescott’s legs to a defense’s game plan.
Dak Prescott has rushed for more than 35 yards in a game 14 times in his career, and the Cowboys are 12-2 in those games. It’s not necessarily the amount of rushing yards that puts pressure on the defense, but just the threat alone can open up running lanes that have been closed off so far this season.
Sadly, 35 yards rushing will likely be enough to lead the entire team, but it is what is necessary to help the offense move the ball against the Steelers’ defense.
Steelers’ Rush Attack Will Be Stifled
On the other side of the ball, the Dallas Cowboys look to build on a great defensive performance against the New York Giants. Dallas’ defense has been criticized for lack of effort and poor execution this season, allowing 474 yards rushing in a two-game span to the Saints and Ravens.
Something changed in New York last Thursday night, and the defense held the Giants to just 26 yards rushing on 24 attempts. Devin Singletary is nowhere near the caliber of rusher that Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, or Lamar Jackson are, but neither are the Steelers’ running backs.
Pittsburgh’s lead back is Najee Harris, who is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry on the season. Utility player Cordarelle Patterson has done well with his carries, but has only been handed the ball 14 times. Jaylen Warren appeared poised to take the RB1 job from Harris last season, but has hardly touched the ball this year.
Even though Harris leads the team in rushing yards, Fields is still the biggest threat. Cowboys’ DC Mike Zimmer will likely spy Fields, contain him in the pocket, and force him to beat the defense with his arm instead of his legs.
The defense continues its efforts to stop the run, and the Steelers will finish the day under 50 yards rushing for the game.
Jake Ferguson Will Have a Career Day
With the news that Brandin Cooks would be sidelined with a knee infection suffered during a procedure after the game in New York, it immediately drove the stock up of the Cowboys’ top playmakers: CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson.
If the offense is going to have any success on Sunday night, it will likely have to be through the air. You don’t have to be an NFL coach to know that the Steelers will double-team Lamb, but they won’t be able to afford to double Ferguson as well.
Ferguson will have plenty of targets and plenty of opportunities to show the NFL world that he is one of the up-and-coming superstars at his position. Believe it or not, Ferguson has yet to surpass the century mark for receiving yards in his young career.
Not only will he surpass that mark this Sunday night, but he will haul in 10+ catches and get over 150 yards receiving with at least one touchdown. That should be enough to leave Pittsburgh with a victory.