ARLINGTON, Texas — Just when it looked like the Steelers would add another chapter to the ledger of road stinkers against teams with losing records, they used some fourth-quarter fortitude to extend the best start in franchise history.
Trailing by 10 entering the final quarter, the Steelers scored 15 unanswered points to take their first lead and made a last-second defensive stand for the second week in a row to pull out a 24-19 victory against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
The win, witnessed by thousands of Terrible Towel-waving fans, improved the Steelers to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history, snapping a tie with the 1978 team that finished 14-2 and brought the franchise its third Lombardi Trophy.
“We’re humbled and honored to be that group,” said coach Mike Tomlin, who clinched a nonlosing season for the 14th consecutive season. “It was not without its trials today.”
Despite owning a 2-7 record and losing their fourth in a row, the Cowboys held 13-0 and 19-9 leads behind journeyman quarterback Garrett Gilbert. The fourth quarterback to start for Dallas this season, Gilbert drove the Cowboys to the Steelers 23 in the final seconds. His pass to the end zone as time expired was batted down by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
It was the second game in a row Fitzpatrick sealed a win with a pass breakup either in the end zone or at the goal line.
“We feel if you execute and do your job, we’ll come out on top,” said Fitzpatrick, who also had an interception in the end zone and a fumble recovery.
Shaking off a knee injury that forced him to the locker room late in the first half, Ben Roethlisberger threw a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ebron with 2:14 remaining to give the Steelers their first lead, 24-19.
Facing a team that had given up an NFL-high 34.4 points per game, the Steelers didn’t score a point until late in the first half and had just nine entering the fourth quarter.
Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to James Washington and JuJu Smith-Schuster to help the Steelers claw back in it.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys fought,” Roethlisberger said. “We didn’t do what we wanted to do today. We didn’t control the ball. We didn’t convert on third downs a lot, but we found ways to win. We have to stop playing so ugly on offense.”
It wasn’t pretty on defense or special teams, either. A week after the Baltimore Ravens gouged the defense for 265 rushing yards, the Cowboys gained 144 on the ground. The Cowboys converted 8 of 17 times on third down and possessed the ball more than 33 minutes.
On special teams, Chris Boswell made a franchise-record 59-yard field goal, but it was preceded by a false start on a 54-yard attempt that he missed. Boswell also missed two extra points — one was wide left, the other blocked — and the Steelers gave up a 73-yard punt return and 64-yard kickoff return.
With those gaffes in mind, Tomlin didn’t call on Boswell to attempt a 33-yarder on fourth-and-1 and 43 seconds remaining. James Conner lost 4 yards, and the Cowboys used the final 38 seconds to add some more drama to the outcome.
“We had struggled so much with our field-goal group entering the game that I didn’t feel good about it,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers had just 67 yards of offense in the first half when they got the ball back with 3:46 remaining. Roethlisberger directed a drive that was capped by his 17-yard touchdown pass to Washington.
Roethlisberger was in the locker room when Boswell’s 59-yard field goal pulled the Steelers within 13-9 at intermission.
“There were no issues with his availability,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers came out of halftime determined to win or lose with Roethlisberger’s right arm. After their second play of the third quarter, the Steelers didn’t attempt another run until they tried to exhaust the clock with 1:37 remaining.
Using a four-receiver, one-tight end formation for much of the second half, Roethlisberger completed 15 of 23 passes for 195 yards and fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 31 yards to Smith-Schuster and 8 to Ebron. He finished 29 of 42 for 306 yards.
“We said, ‘Listen, let’s go to work,’ ” Roethlisberger said. “The line blocked hard, and I can’t say enough about the skill guys and the way they were able to do things on the fly.”
Smith-Schuster bulled into the end zone to complete his 31-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter that pulled the Steelers within 19-15.
The Cowboys used Rico Dowdle’s 64-yard kickoff return to start their next possession at the Steelers 36. Gilbert moved the ball to the 5 before his throw into the end zone was intercepted by Fitzpatrick with 11:45 remaining.
Boswell’s 43-yard field goal with 7:11 left pulled the Steelers within 19-18 on a drive that was extended by two personal fouls against the Cowboys. The first negated a strip sack in which Roethlisberger lost a fumble.
The Steelers forced a punt and took over at their 21 with 4:11 left. Aldon Smith was called for roughing the passer on a third-down incompletion. A 42-yard catch-and-run by Diontae Johnson set up Ebron’s 8-yard touchdown in which he hurdled a defender to reach the end zone.
“Every time we’ve faced adversity, we fight,” Ebron said.
The Steelers would have to fight a few more times before the historic victory was secure.
“We understand the job is not done,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “But I’m glad we’re in this position where everyone is looking at us.”
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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