Steelers 24, Cowboys 20
That was too close. I was granted entry into sacred territory this afternoon when JJ let me watch the Steelers-Cowboys game with him. I knew it was going to be a close game and they were playing in Dallas. Coming in, the Cowboys led the series 16-13, winning their last matchup in 1997 (I think ... that's what I remember reading). Not only that but the Cowboys had just lost to the Giants 26-10 at home last week so they were referred to as "a desperate team." Just before the half, the Steelers injuries started piling up. It was insane. Duce Staley got nailed in the ankle and was seen hopping around during the 2nd quarter. Chad Scott left the game and never came back. And quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came down hard on his knee and was seen sitting on the sidelines with ice on it. Good grief. Antwaan Randle El actually came in as QB for one play after Roethlisberger was injured (for the love of God why can't the star quarterback have last name like Jones ... or at least something with 5 letters or less ... I'm tired of typing it) but then Big Ben rallied and in the 2nd half he was back for more. Roethlisberger's final stats? 21/25 for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns. No wonder he's been Rookie of the Week 3 weeks running. He's now 4-0 as the starting quarterback for the Steelers. And he's only going to get better. With 2:36 left to go in the game, Vinny Testaverde fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Steelers defender Von Oelhoffen (this is ridiculous ... do the Steelers just have team members with the trickiest names to type or what?). Roethlistberger threw a pass to Turman, then Duce Staley ran the ball 5 yards to the Dallas 2. Bring on the Bus. Jerome Bettis gets the ball and takes it over the line for the touchdown. Clock? :34. Whew. It was here that I made probably 1) the dumbest and 2) the riskiest mistake of the evening. Like an absolute idiot (I need to stop thinking out loud, I really do) I was thinking, "Wow, they're going into the bye week 5-1," and it wasn't thinking it that made me an idiot. It was saying it out loud. I thought JJ was going to smother me right there. I've never felt fear when JJ's around ... the same second I said that out loud, I actually felt my body give me the fight-or-flight response. With 1 second left on the clock (which is arguable ... that was the longest second ever) Dallas called timeout. As the clock ran down and I watched Testaverde lob the ball towards the Steelers' endzone I seriously was calculating the distance between me, my keys, my shoes, and the door, thinking to myself, "If I get out of here while he's watching the screen I might be able to spare myself." They didn't catch it. Thank God. Huge win. 5-1. Bye week. Patriots on October 31. Stay tuned. For the full deal visit game stats on nfl.com