Eatman: Cowboys survive this 'Beautiful Mess'

PITTSBURGH – There's an old country song by Diamond Rio that describes this game to perfection.

When you factor in everything that happened, from the injuries leading up to the game, to the weather delay, to the turnovers and then the dramatic final minute of play, this most certainly could be described as a "Beautiful Mess."

Yeah, some people will call it ugly, but not me. This was downright beautiful. And no, it wasn't because of the consistent level of elite performances. It was beautiful the way this Cowboys team simply found a way to win.

Yeah, if you can't appreciate the way the Cowboys win this game – with the players they won it with – and the way it went down in the second half – then I'm truly sorry for you.

I've said it too many times already this year, but this is who your 2024 Dallas Cowboys are going to be.

It's not going to be perfection. It's not going to be a thing of beauty for four quarters. They're going to have to fight, scratch, claw, maybe bite or punch their way for everything they can. And even with that, it might not be enough. They were one play away from this not being enough on Sunday night against the Steelers. Yet, they found a way.

And honestly, it would've been a damn shame had the Cowboys not won this game because they were definitely a better football team from start to finish.

Right before kickoff, I leaned over to a couple of colleagues and shared my thoughts that the Cowboys were not only going to win, but by a comfortable margin. I had this feeling they were going to just somehow figure out a way to overcome every obstacle imaginable and still be head and shoulders better than the Steelers.

In a way, I was right. They definitely controlled the game and if they could simply execute in the red zone, this game might not have been close at all.

I just wondered if Justin Fields was really good enough to beat this team. As it turned out, Dak Prescott and the offense were the ones getting in their own way – with turnovers and penalties and miscues that led to blocked field goals and everything else.

The Cowboys were up 6-3 at the half and it should've been like 17-3. But it wasn't. And that's exactly what this team is going to deal with all season long, I'm afraid.

Let's go back to Dak. He wasn't played his best ball by any means. An interception before the half was mind-boggling. He also took a sack and last a fumble before that. Then in the fourth qurater, he fired a deep ball to a receiver who wasn't open and that was picked off.
Dak was off on some other throws throughout the night but in the fourth quarter, there he was with the ball in his hands, needing 70 yards to the end zone for the score.

That's what the Cowboys paid him to do – go lead the team down the field and win.

And that's what he did. Who would've thought his best play of the night would be diving for a loose fumble to save the possession and save the game on second-and-goal? But that's the type of winning plays a good team has to have.

On third down, Dak's throw to Tolbert was low and fell incomplete. But it set up the dramatic play at the end where he fired the ball back to Tolbert, who made the biggest catch of his career for the game-winner.

Again, this thing wasn't pretty, but who said it would be?

First of all, it's Pittsburgh. They don't play pretty-ball up here. It's rough and tough and always has been. You have to match their toughness step for step if you have a shot to win.

And when you factor in the Cowboys lost not just one pass-rusher in Micah Parsons, but then DeMarcus Lawrence as well, and then … are you kidding me? Marshawn Kneeland goes down on the first drive and he's out for the game?

The Cowboys are rushing the passer with Carl Lawson and Tyrus Wheat, along with Chauncey Golston? Yet, they figured out a way.

On offense, Tyler Guyton goes down and that forces a shift on the line where Tyler Smith kicked out to left tackle and T.J. Bass stepped in at guard. And then Zack Martin goes down for a while and Brock Hoffman had to play.

If you had told me back in training camp the Cowboys would go to Pittsburgh and try to move the ball with an interior line that existed of Bass, Beebe and Hoffman, I would've said something like, 'well, I hope Micah Parsons and D-Law dominate on defense and maybe DaRon Bland gets a pick. Or maybe Brandin Cooks can stretch the field with deep passes……. What's that? They're all out, too??'

Yeah, they found a way. Looked pretty beautiful to me.