On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed in the first NFL preseason match in two years, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 16-3, in the Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio. The Steelers used a strong second-half performance to record the win and grab their fourth victory in the annual preseason game.
Even though most of the starters for both franchises did not play in this contest, the fans in attendance were still all excited for the clash between two of the NFL's most popular teams. People might have missed seeing the Hall of Fame Game which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steelers and Cowboys combine for just three points in the first half
The crowd's intensity did not translate to good football as both sides struggled to put some points on the board in the first half. Mason Rudolph, who started for the Steelers, had an early opportunity to give Pittsburgh the lead in the first quarter, but an errant handoff to Chase Claypool past the 50 resulted in a fumble, giving the ball to Dallas.
That allowed Cowboys fans to see quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was starting in place of Dak Prescott. He took over at his own 48 and drove Dallas down the field, but the Cowboys' drive fizzled just when it seemed they would score a touchdown. Pittsburgh linebacker Alex Highsmith came up with a sack, and defensive back Tre Norwood broke up a pass to force the Cowboys to settle for a 29-yard field goal try by Hunter Niswander.
Those were the only points scored in the first half as the Cowboys and Steelers sputtered with their drives and missed several field goal chances. Pittsburgh fans had something to cheer for in the second quarter when Garrett connected with Claypool for a 45-yard pass, but the drive stalled again, with Sam Sloman missing the ensuing 49-yard field goal to add more misery to the Steelers.
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Steelers pull away in the second half as Cowboys were held scoreless in the final 30 minutes
When Dwayne Haskins took over as quarterback, Momentum swung Pittsburgh's way with four minutes to go in the first half. The Steelers grabbed a 6-3 lead with less than 11 minutes to go in the third quarter after Kellen Ballage scored a four-yard rushing touchdown.
Sloman missed the ensuing extra point but made amends with a 48-yarder later that period to give the Steelers a 9-3 advantage. Josh Dobbs sealed the victory for Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter, connecting on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Simmons for the final score of 16-3.
The Cowboys may have lost this game badly, but that was expected given 16 of their key players remained in their training base in California and did not make the trip to Canton. Their recent first-round pick, linebacker Micah Parsons, did see some action in the Hall of Fame game, as well as right tackle La'el Collins.
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