Previewing Steelers’ 2024 Opponents: Dallas Cowboys

With the 2024 NFL schedule announced, I want to go through each of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponents and dive deep into the makeup of each team, including a recap of their offseason moves, key storylines to watch, and their series history against the Steelers. Today we will be looking at Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys entered the season with an “all-in” mentality, or at least that is what Jerry Jones said. They have gone 12-5 in the regular season for three-straight years, but that has produced just one playoff win and two disappointing first-round losses in the Wild Card round. The clock is ticking on their core of players with Dak Prescott entering the final year of his contract. They still have decisions to make on him and WR CeeDee Lamb. The “all-in” mentality made a lot of sense, but it didn’t exactly play out that way in free agency.

Here is a summary of their most significant additions and departures from this offseason:

Additions:
– ILB Eric Kendricks
– RB Ezekiel Elliott
– RB Royce Freeman

Departures:
– WR Michael Gallup
– RB Tony Pollard
– CB Stephon Gilmore
– OT Tyron Smith
– EDGE Dorance Armstrong Jr.
– S Jayton Kearse
– LB Leighton Vander Esch
– EDGE Dante Fowler Jr.
– C Tyler Biadasz

Draft Class:
– OT Tyler Guyton
– EDGE Marshawn Kneeland
– iOL Cooper Beebe
– ILB Marist Liufau
– CB Caelen Carson
– WR Ryan Flournoy
– OT Nathan Thomas

They will be in a similar situation to the Steelers, counting on multiple rookie offensive linemen. Tyron Smith has been staple of that offensive line for years and Tyler Biadasz was solid at center. But the Steelers got higher draft picks at both positions, and thus might have a better chance of things working out early on.

The run game hasn’t been as threatening since Pollard and Elliott were on the roster together, but as Elliott returns, Pollard has signed elsewhere. They have their WR1 and WR2 figured out, but the depth is running thin and could turn into an issue if any injuries occur. On defense, they are entering the season with a completely overhauled ILB room, as well as a new defensive system under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

In terms of individual matchups, Joey Porter Jr. versus CeeDee Lamb will steal the show as Porter looks to add another top talent to the list of players he has shut down.

Cowboys 2023 record: 12-5
Cowboys three-year split: 36-15
Cowboys-Steelers series record: 17-16 (Cowboys)
Series record in Pittsburgh: 9-8 (Steelers)
Most recent matchup: 24-19 Steelers (2020)

Cowboys 2023 by the numbers:
Offense–
Scoring:  29.9 PPG (1st)
Passing: 265.8 Yds/G (1st)
Rushing: 113.5 Yds/G (15th)

Defense–
Scoring: 18.1 PPG (30th)
Passing: 192.1 Yds/G (5th)
Rushing: 114.1 Yds/G (5th)

This is the biggest test for the Steelers over the first half of their schedule. It should serve as a good litmus test in many ways. Can the revamped secondary keep up with the Cowboys’ passing attack? Does the defense have a chance at being a top-5 group in the league? Can the Steelers avoid costly turnovers? Many of these questions will be answered in Week 5. The Steelers front seven should have plenty of opportunities to disrupt the Cowboys with a young and inexperienced offensive line. This would be a huge statement win for the Steelers if they can pull it off. How much better would you all feel about the final eight games of the schedule if the Steelers can knock off a top quarterback and one of the better teams in the league?