Ben Roethlisberger Shakes off Injury to Lead Steelers to 24-19 Comeback Win over Cowboys

The Steelers offense sputtered and stalled in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys and Ben Roethlisberger left the game early with a left knee injury.

But in the second half, Roethlisberger got back into the action and got his team back into the game, leading the Steelers to a three second-half scoring drives, including the game-winning touchdown to Eric Ebron with under three minutes to play in what became a 24-19 Pittsburgh victory.

The Cowboys got the ball back with two more chances to regain the lead, but Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt combined to sack Dallas quarterback Garrett Gilbert on fourth down to stop the first effort and Minkah Fitzpatrick knocked down the final heave for the second weak in a row.

The Steelers fell into a quick early hole, ceding 13 consecutive points to Dallas to start the game while the Pittsburgh had drives of nine plays for a punt, three plays and a punt and seven plays and a turnover on downs.

With the Steelers down two scores, Roethlisberger was injured on the Steelers’ penultimate drive of the first half, but stayed in the game and directed the team offense to pay dirt, connecting with James Washington for a 17-yard score to put the Steelers on the scoreboard.

After Roethlisberger’s injury, the Steelers got the ball back on the first of two Fitzpatrick turnovers and Chris Boswell set a team record with a 59-yard end-of-half field goal.

In the second half, Roethlisberger shook off the pain of the injury and the slow start. After a pair of Dallas field goals made the 19-9 Cowboys, Roethlisberger found JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 31-yard catch-and-run score.

Another Boswell field goal drew the Steelers to within one, setting up the final scoring drive, that carried the team 64 yards over six plays in just 1:57.


Roethlisberger finished 29 of 42 for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Smith-Schuster was his most prolific receiver, grabbing six catches for 93 yards. Diontae Johnson caught six for 77, including a pivotal long run down the left side to set up the Ebron score. Rookie Chase Claypool had eight catches os 13 targets for 69 yards.

The Steelers overcame several special teams miscues, including allowing two long returns that led to Dallas field goals, missing one extra point and getting another blocked.

With the win, the Steelers improved to 8-0, which is the best start to a season in franchise history. The Steelers wrapped their season-long three-game road swing with three straight one-score victories over the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys.