It's only been 45 years since the Steelers' legendary rivalry with the Cowboys began in the annals of Superbowl History in the batter for America's soul. You had the spit-polished Dallas Cowboys, who claimed to be America's team but could play as a bunch of thugs when needed.
Then you had the Pittsburgh Steelers, a true blue-collar team built from the ground up by head coach Chuck Noll that was taught to play smash-mouth football by his mentor Paul Brown. By contrast, the Steelers felt the Dallas moniker of America's team, if anything else, stopped at the borders of Pennsylvania.
In the end, The Steelers upstaged the Cowboys twice in 1975 and 1978, only losing to them once in 1995, long after the '70s rivalry ended. Not that the rivalry has ever gone away, but the Steelers always feel they have something to prove to the rest of the country when the two teams ever play, either in the regular season or the postseason. Some of that bad blood resurfaced in the Steelers Sunday night loss to the Cowboys. Surprisingly, George Pickens made a statement to the Cowboys, right or wrong.
George Pickens sent a message: Steelerswon't be intimidated at home
In 1975, Cliff Harris made the crucial mistake of taunting Roy Gerela when he missed a field goal. Under today's rules, referees would have flagged Harris for taunting, but there were no such penalties in 1975. As a result, since the refs would not penalize the actions of Harris, Jack Lambert decided he would, by throwing Cliff Harris to the ground
Many fans don't realize Lambert came close to ejection for his move, but in the end, it worked. It got the Steelers fired up and eventually knocked off Dallas for their second championship of the decade.
Fast-forward to 2024. The Steelers played Dallas at home and lost in the game's waning seconds. The loss can be blamed on any number of factors, including bad play calling by Arthur Smith, Justin Fields' inability to open up a devastating passing attack in the second and third quarters of the game, and horrible game management by Mike Tomlin on Dallas' final drive of the game.
The Steelers did have the game's final play, but they lacked having the Stanford Band on the field to make it a successful play. Thus, Dallas preserved their last-minute victory. Then, in a classless move, Dallas player Jourdan Lewis opened his mouth as time ended. He could have been humble and walked to the locker room off the field. But no, he had to continue to taunt George Pickens.
He called Pickens a weak wide receiver. So Picken grabbed him by the face mask and threw him to the ground, ending the altercation. Lewis tried to intimidate the Steelers following their win, but Pickens would have none of it. Pickens sent a message like Lambert did nearly half a century ago: Do not come into Accrisure Stadium and intimidate us; you won't like the outcome.
Lewis assuredly did not like the outcome. However, he won't have an opportunity to get revenge anytime soon unless the Steelers and Cowboys meet in the 2024 Superbowl, which seems highly unlikely at best.
Still, many in the media have called for Pickens's suspension by the NFL, which seems ludicrous at best. Is this not still football? Is this still not a legendary rivalry in the NFL? Suspend Pickens for defending the Steeler's reputation. Even the NHL realized, with its attempts to civilize the game of Hockey from its brutal ways of the 1970s, they needed to allow some extracurricular activity on the ice or else you would have guys swing sticks at each other.
Hence, the NFL should realize that when the Steelers play the Cowboys, both will try to intimidate; it's part of their history and is the essence of football. Now, if the NFL wants to fine Pickens, sure, hit him financially to send a message. If they move to suspend him, though, then Jack Lambert's now infamous quote about Brian Sipe may have a bearing on the 2024 NFL. Just put Jordan Lewis in a dress, and the problem is solved.