The Steelers allow the touchdown in the final seconds and fall to the Cowboys

An all-too-familiar poor start by the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was matched by an equally poor finish by the defense, leading to a disappointing loss to the Dallas Cowboys early Monday morning at Acrisure Stadium

The Steelers, denied a first-half field goal for the second consecutive game, rallied to erase two deficits in the second half, but the defense gave up the winning goal on a fourth-down touchdown pass with 20 seconds to play was eliminated with a 20:17 defeat.

The loss was the second in a row for the Steelers (3-2) and came on a night when the opening kickoff was delayed nearly 90 minutes due to lightning strikes and heavy rain.

Until the last five minutes, it looked like the 67,380 paying spectators would be worth the wait.

Justin Fields threw two touchdown passes in the second half, the latter a 6-yard toss to Pat Freiermuth for a 17-13 lead with 4 minutes, 56 seconds to play.

The Cowboys, unable to score a touchdown in the red zone all night, went 70 yards on 15 plays and scored the winning touchdown on Dak Prescott’s 4-yard pass to Jalen Tobert on fourth-and-goal.

“There’s a fine line in our business between drinking wine and crushing grapes, and this is an example of that,” coach Mike Tomlin said after his team’s second straight three-point loss in as many weeks.

For the second straight year, the Steelers waited until the second half to score a touchdown. But unlike last weekend in Indianapolis, when the Steelers never had a lead, they were up 10-6 and 17-13.

And this time, a defense that forced three turnovers failed to get the final big stop needed.

The Cowboys gained 445 yards against the NFL’s second-ranked defense, nearly doubling the Steelers’ modest 226-yard performance. Prescott finished the game with 352 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys had 86 of their 109 rushing yards after halftime.

“These games in the NFL are so close. It could be a single play here or there,” outside linebacker TJ Watt said. “But obviously there is a body of work, a body of work, that we need to look at again. It wasn’t just about one performance tonight.”

On the winning drive, the Cowboys converted twice on third down – they were 9 of 15 for the game in such situations – and were within 1 in the final minute. Elandon Roberts forced a fumble on a second-down run, but Prescott fell on the ball and lost 3 yards.

“That’s the difference,” Tomlin said.

After throwing incompletely into the back of the end zone on third down, Prescott found Tolbert at the goal line on fourth down. Tolbert beat safety DeShon Elliott on the play.

“I thought we did it,” Elliott said. “It’s up to me, man. I gave up two touchdowns tonight. It’s up to me.”

The Steelers found themselves in man coverage, which the Cowboys combatted by having Tolbert run a cross route across the goal line.

“I have to get through traffic,” Elliott said. “They let out a man-beater, and the man-beater hit the man.”

Fields may have made his last start before Russell Wilson is allowed to return from a calf injury. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 127 yards and had touchdown passes to Connor Heyward and Freiermuth in the second half.

Fields left the game for two plays on the first drive of the third quarter after he was hit in the head on a play, leading to a roughing-the-passer call. He returned in time to complete a six-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Heyward. It gave the Steelers a 10-6 lead.

On the next possession, the Cowboys entered the red zone for the fourth time. And for the third time they came away empty-handed. Isaiahh Loudermilk blocked Brandon Aubrey’s 28-yard field goal attempt to maintain the 10-6 lead.

The Cowboys didn’t miss their next opportunity, rushing 90 yards on 16 plays to take a 13:51 lead. Prescott’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Rico Dowdle with Elliott in coverage with 13:51 remaining. The Cowboys converted three times on third down, and a hold call on slot corner Beanie Bishop prevented a sack on third down by Cameron Heyward.

Prescott’s second interception and third turnover of the game opened the door for another comeback. The Steelers gained 63 yards on 12 plays and took a 17-13 lead on Fields’ 6-yard touchdown pass to Freiermuth with 4:56 left.

At the start of the drive, the Steelers were 1 of 9 on third down. They converted twice and once on fourth down. George Pickens gained 22 yards on a third-down reception, his second of the game, and a late punt out of bounds brought the ball to the Dallas 6. Two plays later, Fields threw a shovel pass to Freiermuth for a touchdown.

It was the first points the Steelers scored after a takeaway.

“We have to get better,” Tomlin said. “In some of these cases you’re at plus three. Man, it shouldn’t come down to that. There’s no doubt we didn’t do a lot of things well enough to secure the win.”

Once again the stated goal of getting off to a fast start was not achieved as the Steelers trailed 6-3 at halftime.

For the second straight year, the Steelers conceded a field goal in the first 30 minutes. They have scored just two first-half touchdowns in five weeks and are averaging 6.4 first-half points.

After getting a 41-yard field goal from Chris Boswell on their first drive, the Steelers totaled four first downs and 32 net yards over the remainder of the half. They were also 1 of 7 on third downs.

Fields also had another fumble and lost the ball at the end of a 14-yard sack. He recovered the ball, with the Cowboys unsuccessfully denying that they had gotten to him first.

Prescott had 188 yards passing in the first half, but also had two turnovers. He lost a fumble on a sack and threw an interception at the Steelers’ 2 as the Cowboys tried to extend their 6-3 lead.

“If you look at this game, there were a lot of ups and downs, a roller coaster ride,” Cameron Heyward said. “We had good games, bad games. Watching this game gives you a kick out of yourself. We had some golden opportunities.”