If there’s one thing fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers know, it’s that no game is over until the clock hits zero. Even their latest game against the Indianapolis Colts proves that. Down by 17 at one point, they almost came back and won the game. The reverse is also true. No matter how much they’re leading by, the Steelers seem to love making fans anxious until the last minute. Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy expects a game like that this weekend.
“Even going into the game without the weather, if you just look at the numbers, I think the way they wanna play with running the football and the way they’re playing defense, especially at home,” McCarthy said Friday on radio station 105.3 The Fan. “The point totals have been really low at home, and traditionally always have been.
“This is a game we gotta really make sure we max out every series. I do think, historically, when you play this team, I know for me personally, there’s a great chance that this is gonna come down to the last series of the game.”
Unfortunately, McCarthy is probably right. There are factors at play that should help the Steelers win in convincing fashion, but nothing is guaranteed in the NFL. With the Cowboys having a bad run defense, the Steelers should be able to run the ball and control the clock. However, they were supposed to be able to do that against the Colts too.
McCarthy has lots of experience in close games against the Steelers. He’s played the Steelers four times in the regular season as a head coach, and he’s lost to them every time. All of those losses have come by one-score as well, including when the Steelers played the Cowboys in 2020.
However, McCarthy does have one win against the Steelers, and it’s the one that matters the most. As head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. That was also a one-score game, but unfortunately, it was the Packers who came out on top. The Steelers made it a fight until the very end and McCarthy undoubtedly remembers that.
Hopefully the Steelers can continue keeping McCarthy winless against them in the regular season. History does say this game will come down to the wire though. With quarterback Dak Prescott at the helm, the Cowboys should be taken seriously, even with all their bad injury luck. McCarthy is also a Pittsburgh-native, so he’ll surely be motivated to finally win in his hometown. Do not get comfortable watching this one.
