The Pittsburgh Steelers did not bounce back in Week 5, dropping a game where both teams had plenty of self-inflicted wounds. Falling to the Cowboys 20-17 at home in prime time, the Steelers had to make one fourth down stop to seal the game and instead surrendered the winning touchdown and drop their second game in a row.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers Week 5 loss to the Cowboys.

+2

Although the Steelers turnover margin was officially +2, it wasn’t that way in reality. The Steelers technically had one turnover on the final play of the game where they were scrambling and attempting a ton of laterals in desperation. It really did not factor into the outcome. Additionally, the Steelers blocked a field goal which, in essence, acts as another takeaway although it is not one officially. So even though the Steelers ended up on the right side of this number, the fact that it was more realistically a +4 makes it even worse that they lost the game.

89

Once again, the Steelers got off to a slow start offensively in Week 5. Despite putting points on the board on their opening drive, they were the only 3 points the Steelers scored in the first half. Having only 89 yards of offense the first 30 minutes, the Steelers had 70 rushing yards in the first half and only 19 net passing yards with 35 yards through the air but losing 16 yards on sacks.

18:40

The Steelers defense got worn down in this game. One of the biggest factors, outside of losing two of their four outside linebackers due to injury, was how much the Cowboys held onto the football. Dallas had 18:40 time of possession in the second half compared to the Steelers 11:20 and ran 44 offensive plays compared to the Steelers 27.

1

Even though they only surrendered 20 points, the Steelers only forced one punt by the Cowboys in the entire game. It was on Dallas’ second possession where they went three and out, mainly aided by 15 penalty yards against them. The punt occurred with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter and the Cowboys punter never saw the field, at least for that job, again. The punt was 45 yards with no return.

22:23

Where the Steelers ultimately came up short was over the last 22:23 of the game. When the Cowboys received a punt from the Steelers that went into the end zone but also had a holding penalty called against them, they began at their own 10-yard line. Prior to this possession, the Steelers had only surrendered six points. But this possession, which ultimately ended in the fourth quarter as it was 8:32 off the clock on 16 plays, finished off with a touchdown. After a Steelers three and out which lasted less than a minute, the Cowboys took over at their own 14-yard line but ultimately threw an interception where the Steelers took over at the Pittsburgh 37. Although the Steelers had their best drive of the game which was 12 plays for 63 yards and a touchdown, it went back to the Cowboys for another 15 plays for 70 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Over the last 22:23, the Cowboys scored 70% of their points and had 15 of their 25 first downs. They also held the ball for 15:34, which was approximately 70% of the time.

2

In the second half of Sunday night’s game, the Steelers only stopped the Cowboys on third down on 2 of their 9 plays. The first stop on third down in the second half was on a third and 17 with the Steelers holding the Cowboys to a field goal attempt that was ultimately blocked. The other third down stop came in the final minute on third and goal on the Steelers 4-yard line where they ultimately surrendered the touchdown on the next play on fourth down. Simply put, the Steelers could not get off the field, particularly in the second half, as the Cowboys had a 78% conversion rate.

3

When looking at the offensive drives of both teams, the Steelers only had 3 that netted them more than 30 yards in the game, all of which ended in points. The Steelers moved the ball 52 yards for their opening field goal, 72 yards for their first touchdown, and 63 yards for their final touchdown. Unfortunately, the Steelers only held the Cowboys to less than 30 yards on 3 of their 9 drives, two of which were the first two drives of the game. The only other drive the Steelers held the Cowboys to under 30 yards was their interception in the fourth quarter.

15 vs. 6

Part of the problem with the Steelers offense is the lack of explosive plays. The Steelers only had 6 plays which gained 10 or more yards, not including penalties, in the entire game. This was against a Cowboys defense that has been struggling and was missing several key players. On the other hand, the Cowboys offense managed 15 plays in the game that went for at least 10 yards.

9-17

In all, the score to this game could have been so much worse. The Steelers actually held the Cowboys on three of their red zone trips where they did not get any points with two of which being from turnovers and the other from the blocked field goal. If the Cowboys convert all three of those drives merely into three points each, they would have had an additional 9 points. If the two drives which ended in turnovers would have finished in touchdowns, the Steelers could have surrendered as much as 17 additional points had they not blocked the field goal as well.

0

For the second-straight week, this number remains zero as the Steelers did not increase their win total for the 2024 season. While the score could have been so much worse, the defense found a way to keep the Cowboys to only 20 points. But the Steelers offense could not take advantage of a depleted Cowboys defense and did not get the job done enough to win the game.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 5 loss in perspective. The slow start on offense continued as the Steelers early-season winning streak has now turned into a losing streak.

So what numbers from Sunday night’s game stand out to you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.