Pittsburgh Steelers fans are very aware that their favorite team always plays in close games. Watching the Steelers is a good way to crank your anxiety up. Whether they’re winning or losing, it never feels like the game is over until the clock hits zero. However, analyst Stephen A. Smith believes the Steelers should blow the Dallas Cowboys out this weekend.
“I expect the Steelers to do their thing,” Smith said on a recent episode of his podcast. “Offensively, I think they should be formidable enough. Defensively, I think they should have a field day with the Dallas Cowboys. This is not a game that the Dallas Cowboys should win.
“It shouldn’t be close. The Steelers will make it close because that’s just what they do: trying to give everybody a heart attack. But it shouldn’t be close. It really, really shouldn’t.”
Smith is correct that everything is lined up for the Steelers to have a great day against the Cowboys. For starters, the Cowboys are missing two of their best players on defense. Edge rusher Micah Parsons is one of the few players on T.J. Watt’s level, and he won’t be suiting up in this game. Advantage, Steelers.
Also, the Cowboys have been terrible trying to defend the run this year. Besides, when they played the New York Giants, who already have a non-existent running game, they got destroyed on the ground. Even the Cleveland Browns, whom they steamrolled in Week 1, almost ran for 100 yards against the Cowboys. This lines up perfectly for what the Steelers want to do on offense.
However, none of that means anything until the game starts on Sunday. The Steelers were supposed to be able to run well against the Indianapolis Colts, too. They’ve lost games against far worse teams. Since Mike Tomlin has been their coach, the Steelers always seem to find themselves in one-score games.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has also never beaten the Steelers in the regular season, but every loss has been by only one score. When the Steelers played the Cowboys in 2020, quarterback Dak Prescott did not play. Despite that, the Steelers still barely won the game.
Smith seems to understand how the Steelers operate, though. He knows the Steelers probably won’t run away with this one. There’s still a good chance they do, but looking at their history, it’s unlikely. It would certainly make for a nice night if the Steelers crushed the Cowboys in primetime, though. In a perfect world, that’s the result we’d get.
