Cowboys vs. Steelers score: Pittsburgh takes over in second half, knocks off Dallas in Hall of Fame Game

Two of the NFL's most storied franchises met to kick off the 2021 NFL preseason slate

You've waited months for a taste of NFL football, and you got it from two of the most legendary teams in the world of sports, even if it wasn't the most attractive outing by either in the 16-3 victory by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Dallas Cowboys. As this year's preseason gets underway, it pits veterans who are on the bubble and up-and-coming talent against each other, and two players who stand to do big things for their respective organizations were put on center stage on Thursday night -- namely first-round picks Micah Parsons and Najee Harris. 

Parsons got his feet wet with a fumble recovery before being pulled early, and Harris ended his first NFL preseason game with seven carries. From there, it was all about seeing if the Cowboys quarterback unit is solid behind Dak Prescott, and it proved it mostly is -- key word here being "mostly". The Cowboys got more evidence that Garrett Gilbert is what they want at QB2, but Cooper Rush showed why he might stick around a bit longer in August, especially after seeing second-year quarterback Ben DiNucci continue his 2020 struggles in a situation where he simply can't afford it. 

And for the Steelers, who are in a similar QB situation behind Ben Roethlisberger, it was Josh Dobbs tossing their only passing touchdown while Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins failed in that regard, although no Pittsburgh quarterbacks threw an interception. In the end, it was a messy, low-scoring game for much of the affair -- until the Cowboys got messier and the Steelers took full advantage. 

Why the Steelers won

If you can consistently take the ball away, you're probably going to win the game. Granted, the goal for both teams was to escape healthy and get as much film as they can on rookies, bubble guys and depth players, but there's still a win-loss column in August -- even if it's deleted come September. The Steelers took this win because of mostly poor play by Dallas' third-string quarterback DiNucci, who was accountable for many a poor throw in the second half, made worse at times by the Cowboys' inability to keep the edges of the offensive line from collapsing on a regular basis. That's also a nod to Pittsburgh's defense, though, because a pocket doesn't collapse if there's no one good enough to force it to. 

And when the Steelers got momentum in the second half, they never looked back, adding on points to make sure DiNucci and the Cowboys didn't mount a preseason comeback.

Why the Cowboys lost

Simply put, there wasn't any offense, or rather there was a complete absence of big plays that forced the issue. Gilbert was efficient with the exception of a fumble in the red zone -- finishing his evening with 104 passing yards on 9-for-13 passing, and Rush at least kept pace with 70 passing yards on 8-for-13, but neither tossed nor ran for a touchdown and the only points scored in the first half was a field goal (the only one) by punter-turned-kicker-but-still-also-punter Hunter Niswander. The offense was inept and special teams wasn't much better, the latter also allowing a big return that helped set up the Steelers to put more points on the board. 

There are positive items to be taken away from this game by Dallas, but the ability of their backups to score wasn't one of them, and it put too much pressure on the defense to make a play after Parsons and Co. left the game. 

Turning point

There were barely any points on the board to speak of to this point, but the Cowboys had a 3-0 lead, at least. That was until DiNucci sailed this pass into a ton of coverage and rookie safety Donovan Stiner put it in his pocket -- the interception setting the Steelers up to take a 6-3 lead (before Sam Sloman missed the extra point).

Play of the Game

It wasn't a game filled with highlights, but the Steelers had most of them. The aforementioned interception could easily have also been the play of this game, but kudos to Pittsburgh for turning a great throw by Rush to wideout Malik Turner into a forced fumble and immediate recovery. Takeaways were the name of the game for Mike Tomlin's bunch on Thursday.

Parsons wants more

"it was bittersweet that I didn't get to play a lot... I am going to build off of it." - Micah Parsons 

What's next

The Cowboys will get ready to face the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13 at State Farm Stadium, while the Steelers prepare to suit up on Aug. 12 against another NFC East foe when they visit the Philadelphia Eagles. 

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:52 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

DiNucci is making a lot of sidearm throws as he fades off his back foot. Not the best form. Needs to step into his throws more.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:46 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

The competition is obviously different from the start of the game to now, but Dobbs is looking like better of Pittsburgh's three quarterbacks. Again, it's against worse competition, but still noteworthy.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:43 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Tough bounce, but you just can't let that happen if you're Reggie Davis. Better off just letting that one settle down before trying to make a play on it.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:31 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Dobbs with maybe the most impressive throw of the night. Had pressure in his grill and threw a perfect ball to Simmons.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:31 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Lot of fans filing out now, mostly the ones wearing blue and white.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:30 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Haskins finished his night completing 8-of-13 throws for 54 yards.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:26 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Dobbs now in for the Steelers. Good night for Haskins, but IMO didn't drastically outplay Mason.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:24 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

The broadcast just showed Chase Claypool celebrating the fourth-and-1 stop for Pittsburgh. Seemed to be in good spirits and healthy after going down earlier in the game.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:20 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Pressley Harvin with a 51-yard punt. Making a strong case to win the job as the Steelers' new starting punter. He also had a punt that was downed at the one-yard line earlier in the game.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:16 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Interesting to see the fall of Jaylen Samuels. Had over 400 scrimmage yards in each of his first two seasons, but fell off in 2020. Now relegated to second-half work in the preseason. Thought he showed flashes to be a solid pass-catching back.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 10:05 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Strong throw there by DiNucci with a man in his face. Saw the open man on broken coverage and put it on him while fading back on his back foot.

[Aug 5, 2021 at 9:57 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

A FIELD GOAL HAS BEEN MADE!

[Aug 5, 2021 at 9:51 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Ben DiNucci doesn't seem like he's long for this Cowboys roster. Looks like the same quarterback we saw in 2020.