In hindsight, maybe putting the heat on Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott would’ve gotten the Pittsburgh Steelers a win instead of a heartbreaking loss. But as has been the defense’s personality all season, the Steelers have attempted to win by rushing their front four instead of extra people. And so DC Teryl Austin opted against blitzing and stuck with that philosophy for the biggest play of the game, watching Prescott hit WR Jalen Tolbert for the score, lead, and win.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Austin described his thought process.
“You always, you contemplate everything,” Austin said via the Trib’s Chris Adamski. “What would be the best. We went into it and thought our coverage would be good. He was able to make a throw. It was a heck of a throw. It was a varsity throw and catch. Thought we were in good position.”
Austin had plenty of time to mull it over. After a third-down incompletion, the Cowboys and Steelers burned timeouts ahead of fourth down. Dallas did it to give its players, specifically WR Jalen Tolbert (and his sprained Tolbert’s) a chance to catch their breath. Pittsburgh did so after observing the pre-snap look Dallas came out with, forcing the Cowboys to go with another call.
Ultimately, that only helped the Cowboys. Following the timeout, Dallas made sure to chip T.J. Watt and control the Steelers’ pass rush. That gave Prescott time to find Tolbert running across the goal line, gaining a step on SS DeShon Elliott for the score.
On the season, Pittsburgh has hardly blitzed with one of the lowest rates in the league. Austin said those decisions are based on the matchup and how well the opposing quarterback does against the blitz. Prescott is one of the better passers in the face of the rush.
“When you watched Dak against the blitz, I forget what game,” Austin said. “But it maybe [was] a game before, maybe it was Cleveland game. They tried to bring pressure, and he just drifts back and he threw a seven cut to [WR Brandin Cooks]. He knows how to create time and space on the blitz. We just thought it would be better to go with coverage.”
On 3rd and 5 early in the Cowboys’ win over the Cleveland Browns, the Browns’ defense brought pressure. Despite facing an unblocked rusher, Prescott drifted back to, as Austin noted, bought time, and hit Cooks for the touchdown. Dallas would go on to blow out Cleveland in a season-opening win.
Against Dallas, the Steelers blitzed 14.3 percent of the time, six of 42 opportunities. Prescott struggled in those moments, completing 2-of-6 passes for 23 yards. With a thin outside linebacker group struggling to get pressure, perhaps Austin should’ve been more aggressive. There’s always the risk/reward of rushing versus playing coverage and hindsight is the greatest coach of all.
