There is only one way the Steelers can lose to the Cowboys this week

The Pittsburgh Steelers should already have this game in the bag, but there is one way they could lose to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.

I don’t say this often, but with the way the Pittsburgh Steelers have been playing this year, the cat should already be in the bag this week. Mike Tomlin’s 7-0 team will fly to Dallas to face the 2-6 Cowboys in a game that could turn ugly in a hurry.

While this was originally slated to be one of the hardest games on Pittsburgh’s schedule this year, the Cowboys were bitten by a radioactive injury bug early in the season. Since then, star players like quarterback Dak Prescott, and offensive tackles Tyron Smith and La’el Collins have been ruled out for the season with serious injuries.

Prior to their best players dropping like flies, Dallas had a legitimate chance to finish as the top offense in the league in 2020, and Dak was playing like an MVP candidate. They had one of the best young quarterbacks in the league to go with a trio of talented young receivers.

While their wide receivers are still healthy and rearing to go, they will only do a fraction of the damage they did early in the season, as it still hasn’t been determined which quarterback will take the reigns for Sunday’s matchup against the Steelers.

Since losing Prescott, the team has combined for a dismal 22 points over their last three contests against Arizona, Washington, and Philadelphia, and they have been the lowest-scoring team over this span.

There is one way Steelers can lose

The Steelers are no strangers to blowing games against inferior opponents and there seems to be at least one trap game on their schedule every year. Last season, it came against the New York Jets in a must-win contest for playoff contention. In years prior, they lost games they should have won against teams like the Raiders and the Bears.

Though it would appear that Pittsburgh is past losing to bad teams, there is still one way the Cowboys could prove to prevail in Week 9: Winning the turnover battle.

Part of the reason the Steelers have been such an effective team this year is that they have a terrific defense and an offense that hasn’t given the ball away often. While not quite the same player from 5-6 years ago in terms of his arm talent and ability to throw the ball down the field, Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 15 touchdowns as opposed to just 4 interceptions on the season so far.

Anytime you are able to do this while having one of the best defenses in the National Football League, your team is going to be favored in most games. However, one slip up and the Steelers could tarnish their perfect record against an inferior opponent.

Roethlisberger is just two weeks removed from a 3-interception game he had against the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Dallas was able to create 4 turnovers against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, and rookie cornerback, Trevon Diggs, had 2 interceptions.

If there ever is a game the Steelers should just run away with from the start, it’s this one. However, if Pittsburgh gives the ball away, even against a beaten-up Dallas team, this could be anyone’s ball game.