Cowboys facing tough Week 5 test against Steelers

The history between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most documented in the NFL.

The two teams have met three times in the Super Bowl. With Dallas winning the last meeting nearly 30 years ago after the Steelers narrowly won the first two.

Pittsburgh’s two championship wins were by a combined eight points. Dallas’ was a 10-point win.

All three were classics.

While neither team is expected to compete for a Super Bowl this year, the Week 5 matchup between the two in Pittsburgh could be a great battle.

Against The Steelers

Including the Steelers 2-1 Super Bowl record, Dallas holds a 17-16 overall record against Pittsburgh. This dates back to the 1960s when both were NFL teams.

The Cowboys went 9-7 against the Steelers prior to the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

Pittsburgh was the first team Dallas played in 1960 when they joined the NFL. The Steelers had to rally with two second-half touchdowns.

They escaped the Cotton Bowl with a 35-28 victory that day.

After the merger the Steelers – along with Baltimore and Cleveland – joined the AFC and the regular season meetings were fewer.

The teams have evenly split the 14 regular season games played since the merger.

At home, Dallas is 9-6 against Pittsburgh, with a 381-316 scoring advantage. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers are 8-7 and hold a slim 303-302 scoring edge in regular season matchups.

In the big game though, Pittsburgh is 2-1 despite the Cowboys outscoring the Steelers 75-73 overall.

Pittsburgh won the last meeting between the teams in 2020 at AT&T Stadium, a 24-19 victory. The Steelers scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Dallas won the last time the teams played in Pittsburgh – a 35-30 victory in 2016 on a 32-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott with nine seconds left in the game.

The Cowboys hold the longest win streak in the series at seven straight (1965-1972) while the Steelers longest win streak was five if you include the two Super Bowl wins (1976-1982) or three if you don’t.

Week 5 History

This will be the first time the two teams have met in the fifth week of the schedule.

Dallas comes into the game with a 33-26-2 overall record in Week 5 contests. They are 23-9-1 at home but just 10-17-1 on the road.

They missed their Week 5 game in 1982 due to the strike and they’ve had two bye weeks fall on Week 5 – 2011 and 2012.

The two ties came in the 1960s. The first in 1964 at home against the Giants and the second in 1966 on the road in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

Dallas lost in Week 5 to the 49ers on the road last year in a blowout.

They did defeat the Rams on the road the year before and have won their last two home games on Week 5 – both against the Giants in 2020 and 2021.

Oddly enough they have had multiple win streaks of three straight years with a win – as well as multiple streaks of three straight years with a loss – during Week 5.

But never more than that.

Not surprisingly, the Giants are the team they’ve faced the most in Week 5, holding a 6-3-1 record against New York.

The Eagles are second at nine game, with Dallas up 6-3 in those contests. Washington is third at six games and a 4-2 advantage to the Cowboys.

The good news is that neither the Packers nor the Cardinals aren’t on the schedule for Week 5.

Green Bay is 4-1 against Dallas in Week 5 games. With Arizona close behind at 3-1-1.

My Prediction

(based on rosters as of today)

Both teams are going into the season with a lot of questions. But Pittsburgh’s defense will likely be the determining factor.

The Cowboys slip below .500 once again.

Predicted season record: 2-3.