Cowboys 1st & 10: A ‘Rivalry’ or an ‘Event?’
A Cowboys-Steelers history lesson and game preview ... Is this a 'rivalry' or an 'event'
1) Rivalry?
Quick — name the Dallas Cowboys’ top five rivals? Do the Pittsburgh Steelers make the list? Not for me.
I grew up a Cowboys fan in the 1980s, and I can name my five top Cowboys rivals rather easily. Philadelphia. Washington. The New York Giants. After that it’s Green Bay, though the Packers were nothing like they were in the 1960s at that time. And, San Francisco? As I grew up in the 1980s and the 1990s, the Niners and Cowboys played some epic NFC Championship games.
To this day, when I put my Dallas Cowboys fan hat on, I can’t stand the Niners.
But the Steelers - today's afternoon foe at AT&T Stadium - don’t make my list. Perhaps that’s because when I started watching the Cowboys in the 1980s, the two games that defined a Cowboys-Steelers rivalry had already passed — Super Bowls X and XIII. Let’s not undersell those games, though. I didn’t see them live (I was basically a toddler), but they were epic and memorable, whether you’re a Cowboys or Steelers fan (although a little more memorable if you’re a Steelers fan).
When NFL.com ranked all 52 Super Bowls a few years ago, Super Bowl X was No. 15 (that’s the game with the incredible Lynn Swann catch) and Super Bowl XIII was No. 1 (that’s the game with the agony of defeat drop by Cowboys tight end Jackie Smith in the end zone). The Sporting News had Super Bowl XIII at No. 10. Athlon Sports ranked All 54 Super Bowls in February and had Super Bowl X at No. 18 and Super Bowl III at No. 16. Both rosters were loaded with Hall-of-Famers in those two games.
Sure, the Cowboys avenged those two losses somewhat with the win in Super Bowl XXX, but no one confused those Steelers with the 1970s Steelers. Plus, the Cowboys were polishing off three Super Bowl wins in four years (those used to happen around here, you know).
The ‘rivalry’ here is built around those three games, frankly. And we can certainly add the ‘America’s Team’ conversation to that ‘rivalry’ argument (Note: I had the same conversation with Dave Wannstedt at Big 12 Media Days two years ago that he related on the Fox Kickoff show last weekend).
There’s three meaningful, world championship games, and these franchises’ status as two of the game’s marquee attractions. These days, the Cowboys and Steelers meet every four years and we resurrect those incredible games of the 1970s and treat the matchup like it’s a Marvel movie. So maybe it is less a ‘rivalry’ and more of an ‘event,’ and an incredible one at that in the eyes of NFL fans.
But it wasn’t always that way.
The Cowboys and the Steelers have always been in the NFL, of course. But before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the two franchises played each other at least one a year, if not twice. In fact, the Steelers were the Cowboys’ first regular-season opponent at The Cotton Bowl in 1960. Then, the following year, the Cowboys hosted the Steelers again and won their first regular-season game. From 1960-64 the Steelers had a 6-3 edge. But in 1965, as the Cowboys drafted their way into the upper echelon of the NFL, things changed. The Cowboys won seven of the eight meetings from 1965-69. The Cowboys played in back-to-back-NFL Championship games. The Steelers watched. In fact, by 1969, the Cowboys had four playoff appearances in their first decade. The Steelers had one. And the Steelers had been in the NFL since 1933.
When the Steelers agreed to move to the AFC for the merger in 1970, the franchise started to finally turn into the Steelers we know today. Head coach Chuck Noll took over in 1969. The Steelers had a run of drafts the Cowboys of today would be envious of (Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, ‘Mean Joe’ Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Mel Blount, need I go on?) and by Jan. 18, 1976, the Cowboys and the Steelers were doing something they never did in the old NFL — play each other for a championship.
For those two teams, it must have been like seeing someone you used to go to high school with. The Steelers and Cowboys hadn’t played each other in nearly four years.
If there was a rivalry on the level of a Washington or a Philadelphia, the passage of time may have eroded it somewhat. For more than three decades, a regular-season matchup with the Steelers came as a surprise to Cowboys fans when the opponents were announced each spring. Once the NFL went to the current eight-division format, every NFL team got on a regular schedule and that meant the Cowboys would see each AFC team once every four years. Sunday’s game is the fifth meeting between the two teams since that schedule format began (and in a presidential election year, no less).
In fact, if you really dig in, Sunday’s game is only the 33rd time the Cowboys and Steelers have played each other (for perspective, the Cowboys-Washington game a few weeks ago was No. 121 between the two teams). The Cowboys have a 17-15 edge over the Steelers. But while both were members of the old NFL from 1960-69, they played each other 16 times. Sunday’s game means the Cowboys and Steelers, as members of the NFC and AFC, will finally pass their 1960s matchups, and it only took 50 years to do it.
So Sunday’s game is absolutely an event. And most of the Steelers fans I know are whetting their appetite for a win on Sunday.
One was looking for insurance last week. She told me she would trade a win last week for a win over the Cowboys this weekend. The Steelers were playing the Ravens last week, and she hates the Ravens like Cowboys fans hate the Eagles. I told her she could keep her win over the Ravens because the Steelers were unlikely to need to sacrifice it to beat the Cowboys.
So while this may not be a ‘rivalry’ on the level of Cowboys-Eagles, there is still plenty of hate to go around one of the NFL’s best ‘events.’
2) Cowboys Blitzcast: 'Musical Chairs' QB & Progress On D
The Dallas Cowboys are playing "Musical Chairs'' at QB ... but may be making progress on D.
Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys Blitzcast by Drunk Sports and DSP Media in partnership with CowboysSI.com. Colby Sapp and Timm ‘IndyCarTim’ Hamm are your hosts as we discuss all things Dallas Cowboys and all things NFL.
You can join the Blitzcast crew at Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco each Thursday night starting at 7 p.m. for sports talk and all the Stonebriar Cocktails from our private Blitzcast Bar. Join the show LIVE, on Facebook, YouTube, or Periscope, or listen at CowboysSI.com!
The loss at the Eagles game went about like we thought it would, with bad quarterback play on both sides of the ball but with the Eagles’ defense holding a little longer than the Dallas D, resulting in a win for Philadelphia. But this thing was a lot closer than it should’ve been.
But now comes a different Pennsylvania Problem: The undefeated Steelers.
Listen to the Blitzcast right here.
3) Check out the Cowboy Maven Top 60 All-Time Dallas Cowboys
We published our Top 60 Dallas Cowboys of all-time as part of our celebration of the Cowboys’ 60 seasons in Dallas. We presented the Top 60 in groups of five. We hope you enjoyed the series and if you have an opinion, take them to our Cowboy Maven community or hit me up on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard.
If you missed any of the stories in our Top 60, just click on them below.
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 56-60
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 51-55
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 46-50
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 41-45
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 36-40
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 31-35
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 26-30
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 21-25
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 16-20
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 11-15
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 6-10
➡️ Cowboys Top 60 Greatest Players: Nos. 1-5
4) T.J. Watt Almost A Cowboy?
It's true. A phone call away.
➡️ How Close Was Steelers' T.J. Watt To Joining Cowboys?
Fish details how it didn't happen.
5) Injury Excuses For McCarthy?
Michael Irvin isn't buying it.
➡️ Cowboys' Irvin Rips McCarthy Apologists
Are the Cowboys "more hurt'' than other NFL teams? "Show-me!'' Irvin does not care.
6) Locked On Cowboys Podcast This Week
The team at the Locked On Cowboys Podcast had a busy week.
First, hosts Marcus Mosher and Landon McCool break down the film from the team's loss versus the Eagles. And that was … is fun the right word?
Next, Mosher and McCool answered your Twitter questions, including who will start at quarterback for the Cowboys in Week 9, some positives heading into the 2021 season (that's what we call a "look ahead''!) and so much more!
Finally, hosts Marcus Mosher and Landon McCool dug into the Cowboys with a visit with Christopher Carter of the "Locked On Steelers'' as they preview the upcoming matchup between these two historic teams.
Click above for the links to these great podcasts.
7) Things that will help you this Sunday vs. Pittsburgh
If you’re still getting ready for Sunday’s game with Pittsburgh, here is some great content to get you prepped:
➡️ Cowboys vs. Steelers Betting Odds & Trends
➡️ Are Cowboys 'America's Team' Because Steelers Turned Down Nickname?
➡️ Cowboys Won't Do 'Fantasy Football Nonsense' In O-Line (But Will At QB)
➡️ Zeke Watch: How Much Is Cowboys RB Practicing? (Not Much)
➡️ Locked On Cowboys: Injury Update & Slowing Big Ben
➡️ Source: Cowboys First-Team Reps All Going to One QB
8) Do you really want OBJ?
A couple of games ago Cleveland wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tore his anterior cruciate ligament, ending his season (and wrecking my fantasy team, but that’s another story). Beckham’s injury jump-started a rumor mill in Cleveland and around the NFL as to whether the OBJ experiment is truly working in Cleveland. If it’s not, then the Browns may be looking to move him. As NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport tweeted, Beckham may have played his last game in a Browns uniform.
So, that led to speculation about ‘where’ OBJ may end up, if that’s the case. Our Mike Fisher helped connect the dots and, I didn’t even know Beckham had family here.
9) Whitt's End: Cowboys QB Tryouts? Is This 'America's Team' or 'American Idol'?
Don’t look now, but in the middle of a season the Dallas Cowboys are holding American Idol auditions for one of the most prestigious jobs on the planet.
For 69 consecutive games — dating back to 2015 – they had one starting quarterback.
Now, in the span of 28 days, they’ll have four. Dak Prescott. Andy Dalton. Ben DiNucci. CooperRushGarrettGilbert.
Come to think of it, Simon Cowell might be a better talent evaluator than Mike McCarthy.
Read Whitt’s End by clicking here.
10) Tweet Of The Week
Wanna talk Cowboys? Hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard and Fish at @FishSports
