After a storm almost washed the stadium away, the Pittsburgh Steelers let their lead in the AFC North slip away. They had every opportunity to beat the Dallas Cowboys, but they just couldn’t get out of their own way. Not many players will walk away from that one happy. DeShon Elliott seems particularly upset with himself, blaming himself for the loss.
“I gave up two touchdowns tonight,” Bishop said after the Steelers’ 20-17 loss via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That’s on me.”
The Cowboys only scored two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter, so they were the real backbreakers. The last touchdown especially hurt, coming with barely any time left in the game. Elliott was in coverage on both of them, but it’s tough to say he was totally at fault.
The first touchdown came near the beginning of the fourth quarter, and it’s not immediately clear if Elliott should be given sole blame. Quarterback Dak Prescott escaped the pocket and get on the move, finding running back Rico Dowdle for the score. It’s a good pitch and catch from Prescott and Dowdle, and the Steelers pass rush did not do a good enough job.
The second touchdown was a little uglier. It came on fourth down with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Once again, the Steelers couldn’t really get pressure on Prescott, who found receiver Jalen Tolbert in the end zone. Elliott was in coverage, and he might have been late getting over, but it looks like Beanie Bishop Jr. might have gotten a little lost there too.
Per Batko, Elliott was upset that the defense had multiple coverage busts, but he continued to blame himself over everything.
“Those two touchdowns were on me,” he said. “Without those we win the game.”
Saying one player lost the game is a stretch. That’s usually never the case. Whether teams win or lose, they do it together. There were other plays that impacted the outcome where Elliott wasn’t the problem. The Steelers beat themselves again, but they did it together.
Elliott has been excellent for the Steelers this year. He’s been a key cog, not making a ton of splash plays, but being a solid piece that usually reinforces the defense. He might have had a few bad plays tonight, but that could be said about the entire defense. That isn’t even including the offense, which couldn’t capitalize if those players’ lives depended on it. That failure was a collective group effort.
