The Steelers were the ones on the right side of a defensive battle on a cold Sunday evening in Pittsburgh, winning at home 20-13 against the Dallas Cowboys. Cornerback Deshea Townsend intercepted a Tony Romo pass with just under two minutes left in the game and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to put the Steelers ahead to stay. The defensive score came on the second play after the Steelers tied up the game 13-13 on a 6 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to tight end Heath Miller. The Cowboy defense stymied the Steeler offense most of the afternoon, holding them to just 70 yards rushing and 274 total yards. The Cowboys also made a huge goal line stand on 4th and 1 from the one yard line, early in the fourth quarter which was almost a huge turning point in the game. The Steeler defense played well and only gave up a few big plays. The score was tied 3-3 at halftime, but the Cowboys were the ones to make the better adjustments at halftime, scoring 10 unanswered points before the Steelers could get their offense on track. The win moves the Steelers to 10-3 and a game and a half ahead of the Baltimore Ravens who play on Sunday night. The Steelers will travel to Baltimore next week. Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 17 for 33 passing for only 204 yards and took several ill advised sacks before getting on track late in the game. Santonio Holmes lead all Steeler receivers with 3 catches for 82 yards.
