Steelers and Cowboys are hurting in different ways heading into prime-time showdown

Dallas (2-2) at Pittsburgh (3-1)

Sunday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, NBC

BetMGM NFL Odds: Steelers by 2

Series record: Cowboys lead 17-16

Against the spread: Cowboys 2-2; Steelers 3-1

Last meeting: Steelers beat Cowboys 24-19 on Nov. 8, 2020.

Last week: Cowboys beat the New York Giants 20-15 in New Jersey. Steelers lost to the Colts 27-24 in Indianapolis.

Cowboys offense: overall (13), rush (32), pass (4), scoring (11)

Cowboys defense: overall (26), rush (27), pass (20), scoring (27)

Steelers offense: overall (22), rush (10), pass (22), scoring (22)

Steelers defense: overall (2), rush (3), pass (8), scoring (2)

Turnover differential: Cowboys plus-1; Steelers plus-2.

Cowboys player to watch

QB Dak Prescott is coming off his sixth career game with a completion rate of at least 80% and a passer rating of at least 120. His next one will pass Tony Romo for the most in franchise history. Prescott is fourth in the NFL in yards passing per game at 268 and is getting no help from the NFL’s worst rushing offense. His only other meeting with the Steelers, also on the road, was the eighth of 11 consecutive Dallas victories in 2016, a franchise-record streak for a single season. Prescott was on his way to winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Steelers player to watch

WR George Pickens. The third-year pro is flourishing into one of the NFL’s top targets even without much help from the players behind him on the depth chart. Pickens is ranked in the top 20 in the league in targets (29) and receptions (20) despite drawing heavy interest from opposing defenses each week. It’s a testament to Pickens’ talent, his chemistry with QB Justin Fields and first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s play design that Pickens is finding favorable matchups and open space to work on a weekly basis. With Dallas’ pass rush likely compromised, Pickens may have plenty of chances to create the kind of “splash” plays that have become his specialty.

Key matchup

Pittsburgh’s offensive line vs. Dallas’ defensive front. The Steelers have one of the league’s youngest lines, even with veteran left guard Isaac Seumalo expected to return after missing a month with a pectoral injury. The right side of the line features rookie center Zach Frazier, rookie guard Mason McCormick and second-year tackle Broderick Jones, who has endured a roller coaster opening month. They will face a Dallas front missing its two best pass rushers with All-Pro Micah Parsons (ankle) and end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) sidelined by injuries.

Key injuries

The Cowboys will be without three starters. In addition to Parsons and Lawrence, WR Brandin Cooks is out with a knee injury. Parsons will miss a game because of injury for the first time in his four seasons after sustaining a high ankle sprain against the Giants. Lawrence is on injured reserve after also getting hurt against New York. … CB DaRon Bland is eligible to return, but won’t play yet, after having surgery for a stress fracture in his foot late in the preseason. … Steelers LB Alex Highsmith will miss his second straight game with a groin injury. … Right guard James Daniels became the third lineman to go on injured reserve when he tore his Achilles tendon last week against Indianapolis. … QB Russell Wilson (calf) is improving but expected to miss a fifth consecutive game. … RBs Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) and Jaylen Warren (knee) are also likely out, leaving not much behind starter Najee Harris.

Series notes

The rivalry was built in the 1970s when the Steelers swept a pair of Super Bowl showdowns with the Cowboys in games featuring plenty of Hall of Famers on both sides. Dallas returned the favor by beating Pittsburgh in Super Bowl after the 1995 season. … This is the seventh regular-season meeting since 1997. The teams have split the previous six games.

Stats and stuff

Dallas coach Mike McCarthy’s Pittsburgh homecoming is also a chance to reach 170 victories, which would tie Pete Carroll, Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan for 15th all time. … The Cowboys held the Giants to just 26 yards rushing, their fewest allowed in a game since 2015. That was after New Orleans and Baltimore combined for 464 yards on the ground the previous two weeks. … Prescott has a .703 winning percentage in prime time (26-11), one of four QBs at .700 or better with a minimum of 25 starts since 1970. The others are Pro Football Hall of Famers Steve Young (23-7), Joe Montana (22-8) and Peyton Manning (47-18). Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (23-10, .697) can get there with a win over New Orleans on Monday night. … Rico Dowdle appears to have overtaken Ezekiel Elliott as the primary back in Dallas’ struggling running game. He has 19 carries over the past two games to just eight for Elliott, a two-time rushing champ in his first Dallas stint from 2016-22. Neither has been able to get the rushing attack going. The Cowboys are last in the NFL at 75.3 yards rushing per game and 29th at 3.54 yards per carry. … Elliott needs 15 yards for 9,000. … All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb is still looking for his first 100-yard game but has had at least 90 yards twice. He is eighth in the league in yards receiving at 316. … LB Eric Kendricks is one of two players in the NFC with at least eight tackles in each of the first four games. Washington’s Bobby Wagner is the other. … The Steelers are off to their best start since 2020 when they won their first 11 games. … Fields is coming off the best statistical performance by a Steelers QB in six years. He racked up 367 yards of total offense (312 passing, 55 rushing), ran for two scores and threw for another against Indianapolis. It was the most total yardage by a Pittsburgh QB since Ben Roethlisberger passed for 380 yards against New Orleans in 2018. … The Steelers would like to get off faster starts offensively. A better running game early wouldn’t hurt. Harris is averaging 3.0 yards per carry in the first half and 3.4 yards per carry overall, the worst mark of his career. … Pittsburgh’s defense is smarting after getting gashed early by the Colts. Indianapolis bullied the Steelers defensive front, racking up 133 yards rushing. Pittsburgh had allowed an average of 71 yards on the ground over its first three games. … Steelers LB T.J. Watt was held without a sack for the first time this season against the Colts. Watt has three sacks on the season and 99 1/2 in his career. If he finds his way to Dak Prescott on Sunday, Watt will become the second-fastest player in league history to reach 100 sacks (108 games) since it became an official statistic in 1982. … Pittsburgh star S Minkah Fitzpatrick hasn’t created a turnover since Week 16 of the 2022 season.

Fantasy tip

Either tight end might be a decent option. Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth’s targets have gone up each of the past two weeks and he caught his first touchdown pass of the season last Sunday against Indianapolis. Dallas TE Jake Ferguson was held in check against New York last week but presents a matchup problem for pretty much any defender.

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