Who stood out in the Dallas Cowboys Week 9 loss?
Another week and another loss for the Dallas Cowboys as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in NFL Week 9. While they were major underdogs in this game, the Cowboys should be praised for making it a contest.
They came out ready to play as Garrett Gilbert got the start as they’re still waiting for Andy Dalton to return from the COVID-19 list. Gilbert had his share of good moments and was quite the upgrade over Ben DiNucci who started the week prior.
Gilbert finished with 243 yards on 21-of-38 passing but had an interception at the absolute worst time and then couldn’t get them down the field once Pittsburgh took the lead. Still, he gave them a shot and they even had the lead for the majority of the game.
What was most surprising was the play of the defense. They had given up just nine points leading into the fourth quarter — but then their struggles were back on full display with Pittsburgh scoring 15 in the final 15 minutes.
It was a frustrating loss for the Cowboys, mostly because they should have won this one. Here we look at a few studs and duds in their seventh loss of the year.
Dud: Mike Nolan
Yes, the Dallas defense was better in this game but that was until they needed a stop. With the game on the line, the Cowboys defense continued to make mistakes as Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch both had crucial penalties that set up the Steelers.
Then on the deciding drive, the secondary again had more holes than swiss cheese. On top of that, it was another game with no turnovers, which has been a major issue outside of their outing against the Eagles in Week 8.