The Pittsburgh Steelers could have misplaced their final sport, however they’re nonetheless on prime of the AFC North. They play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, and though they’re lacking some key gamers, they Cowboys are nonetheless a proficient staff. There’s additionally a ton of historical past between each these groups, one thing that Mike Tomlin appears excited take pleasure in.
“The energy of the manufacturers is one thing that’s to be revered,” Tomlin mentioned Tuesday throughout his weekly press convention by way of the staff’s YouTube channel. “I respect that day-after-day. After I get out of that automobile on this car parking zone, it’s a duty to signify the Black and Gold. I’d think about the fellows in Dallas really feel the identical approach. You possibly can’t put a price ticket on requirements and legacy, and each organizations have that.
“We stroll on the bottom; it’s been paved for us by those who have come earlier than us. We really feel actually blessed and honored to take action. I’m certain that that will likely be mirrored in the way in which that each groups play this weekend.”
The Steelers and Cowboys are two of the NFL’s most storied franchises, and so they share a deep historical past that spans many years. For 2 groups in several conferences, it’s superb simply how linked these two groups have been.
The guts of this rivalry will be traced again to the 1975 season, when the Steelers performed the Cowboys in Tremendous Bowl XX. Each groups had been full of star energy, led by two of the NFL’s best coaches of all time. Each groups had already gained a Tremendous Bowl, with the Cowboys having misplaced a second one.
The Steelers had been coming off their first Tremendous Bowl victory, making an attempt to develop into the second staff to ever win back-to-back Tremendous Bowls. Their aim was to launch a dynasty, and to try this, they needed to get previous the Cowboys. Each groups had been vying to be the premier staff of the Seventies, however it was the Steelers who got here out on prime, 21-17.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the 2 groups met within the Tremendous Bowl as soon as once more. In 1978, the Cowboys and Steelers competed in Tremendous Bowl XXIII, with the Cowboys having captured their second championship at this level. It was an opportunity for Dallas to avenge its earlier loss, and it was additionally the primary Tremendous Bowl rematch. Requirements and legacies had been on the road.
Whichever staff gained would even be the primary to win three Tremendous Bowls. The stakes couldn’t have been increased, and the Steelers got here out on prime once more, 35-31, cementing themselves because the staff of the last decade. The Cowboys could have the “America’s Group” moniker however that’s solely as a result of the Steelers are Pittsburgh’s staff.
After all, the Steelers have taken their losses on this rivalry too. The Cowboys managed to lastly beat the Steelers in a championship sport, holding off Pittsburgh, 27-17, in Tremendous Bowl XXX. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Steelers, who had struggled since their Seventies dynasty ended.
That win additionally gave the Cowboys their fifth Tremendous Bowl victory, a mark that the Steelers had desperately been making an attempt to achieve. It was a reversal of their earlier matchups, with the Cowboys now cementing their very own dynasty within the Nineties.
Together with the postseason, the 2 groups have performed 33 instances, with the Cowboys main the sequence 17-16. The Steelers gained the groups’ final matchup in 2020 and now have an opportunity to tie the sequence. Possibly that provides slightly extra pressure to this upcoming sport. That file isn’t instantly associated to them, however like Tomlin says, all of them signify the brand.
We’ll see if the Steelers can repeat the historical past of the Seventies and defeat the Cowboys. The rivalry has cooled off slightly bit since then, however that historical past will ceaselessly hyperlink these two franchises. Primarily based on Tomlin’s phrases, it seems like this sport gained’t lack depth, which is nice. This can be a big-time matchup in primetime, and the Steelers have an opportunity to show that the lights aren’t too brilliant for them.
