The Dallas Cowboys secured a hard-fought 23-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, climbing to 3-2 on the season despite facing numerous challenges. From penalties and turnovers to weather disruptions, the Cowboys overcame adversity to capture their second straight win and build momentum heading into Week 6.
Head coach Mike McCarthy was quick to praise his team’s performance, calling it their “best game of complementary football” so far this season.
“I think yesterday was our best game as a football team, our best game of complementary football,” McCarthy said on Monday. “When the offense has the ball longer than the defense, that’s a good thing.”
The Cowboys controlled the clock, which McCarthy believes was key to the win. While quarterback Dak Prescott threw the ball 42 times, the ground game also played a major role, with Rico Dowdle having a career day as part of the team’s 31 rushing attempts—right in line with McCarthy’s goal of around 30 per game.
Despite the victory, McCarthy acknowledged that there’s plenty to clean up, particularly when it comes to penalties and turnovers. Dallas was flagged 11 times and committed three turnovers, a ratio that would normally spell disaster. However, the team’s defense—despite being shorthanded—stepped up in a big way, keeping Steelers quarterback Justin Fields under control and giving the Cowboys offense opportunities to bounce back.
“We got a number of trips to the plate where the ball was distributed properly,” McCarthy added. “Those were the things that are very important every week. … Talking about complementary football — how many times do you lose the turnover ratio like we did, down three like that, and win the game? That’s a huge, huge credit to the fight and the resiliency of our football team.”
Looking ahead to their Week 6 matchup against the Detroit Lions, the Cowboys will need to clean up their mistakes if they hope to keep their win streak alive. But for now, they’ll take the victory and use it as a stepping stone to continue building toward the rest of the season.
As McCarthy reminded everyone, winning in the NFL is never easy, and the Cowboys aren’t about to apologize for getting the job done—even if it wasn’t perfect.
