Cowboys defense preparing to stop Pittsburgh's explosive offense
11:57 AM CT
Jean-Jacques Taylor
ESPN Staff Writer
The Dallas Cowboys have no idea which Pittsburgh Steelers offense they'll see Sunday at Heinz Field.
Will it be the explosive unit that creatively mixes the run and pass with big plays that has scored 38, 24, 43 and 31 points in Pittsburgh's four victories this season? Or will it be the mistake-prone unit that has scored 3, 15, 16 and 14 points in its four losses?
As you would expect, the Cowboys are preparing to get the best the Steelers have to offer, especially because Pittsburgh has lost three in a row.
Pittsburgh has pretty much everything you want in an offense. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown are among the game's best at their respective positions.
The Steelers should provide the most difficult test to date for the Cowboys defense.
Then again, we thought that would be the case when Dallas faced the Cincinnati Bengals' high-powered offense, but the Cowboys shut the Bengals out until midway through the fourth quarter in the Week 5 matchup.
And we thought the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay passing attack would trouble the Cowboys, but they held the Packers to 16 points in Week 6.
We spend so much time focused on Dallas' dynamic offense that we haven't paid adequate attention to its defense.
The Cowboys don't force many turnovers or accumulate a lot of sacks, but they tackle well, don't make many mental mistakes and have a knack for making plays at winning time.
It helps that the Cowboys' offense leads the league in time of possession at 34 minutes, 4 seconds per game, which is why the Cowboys have been on the field for just 79 possessions this season, the league's lowest total.
All of that allows the defense to play with the speed and relentless effort coordinator Rod Marinelli demands. The Cowboys have allowed only 140 points this season and have not allowed more than 23 in a game.
"We just play," defensive end Tyrone Crawford said. "We play hard, we play fast and we hit.
"We're not trying to prove anything except to Marinelli that we can get some turnovers. That's it."
Stopping the Steelers starts with containing Roethlisberger, who completed 23 of 45 passes for 264 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a loss to Baltimore in Week 9.
The 34-year-old missed Pittsburgh's previous game while recovering from a knee injury, and it showed.
"He's a big-time player and has been for long time, especially extending plays," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He's so big in the pocket that it's hard to get him down.
"He can throw with people around him. He can throw from funny body positions, and he can throw it all over the field. It's hard to get him down, so you have to stay with your man through the down, and sometimes the down lasts a long time."
Brown, one of the game's best receivers, has been targeted at least 11 times in five of the Steelers' games.
He has three 100-yard games but is averaging just 12.3 yards per catch. Bell, meanwhile, had 144 yards in Week 4, his first game back after a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
He has not gained more than 81 yards in the four games since.
"He has no weakness and he has unbelievable cutting ability," Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee said of Bell. "He's as explosive and as complete a back as you'll find. The margin for error for him is extremely small."
These Cowboys are the only team in the league that hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher or receiver this season.
If that streak remains intact after Sunday's game, it'll be another indication these Cowboys are different from every other team Garrett has coached.