Mike Tomlin declared emphatically that his Steelers defense did not let rookie Ezekiel Elliott score a 14-yard touchdown that put Dallas ahead by five points with 1:55 left in their game Sunday.
It would not have been a bad strategy had they done so, because it allowed Ben Roethlisberger enough time to lead his own touchdown drive that put the Steelers back in front with 42 seconds to go.
Too much time, it turned out.
Yet, the problem for the Steelers defense all day in a rollicking Heinz Field was that it did look as if it allowed Elliott to run through them on other occasions. Those included his 32-yard touchdown dash with nine seconds left that gave the Cowboys (8-1) their eighth consecutive victory, 35-30, and sent the Steelers (4-5) to their fourth loss in a row.
Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher, carried 21 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He took another screen pass 83 yards for a score. It offset one of Roethlisberger’s better days — he completed 37 of 46 passes for 408 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions and it looked as if he had rallied them to another comeback victory.
Except it was not because Dallas rookie quarterback Dak Prescott was nearly his equal and because the defense played poorly in all kinds of manners that prompted some stinging accusations by Tomlin that they lacked discpline. Again.
“For us, just not enough discipline and detail in our play to be victorious,’’ the coach said. “It’s not mystical, it isn’t OK, we won’t accept it, we can’t accept it and it was the case.”
Despite all the big plays against them — including a 50-yard touchdown catch by Dez Bryant, who beat rookie Artie Burns in single coverage on a third-down blitz by the Steelers — the outcome probably came down to a facemask penalty.
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