Dak was the hero, but the Cowboys defense deserves the credit for their dramatic win over the Steelers

If the Cowboys had played like a team without a lead on Sunday night, that would have been understandable.

They lost edge rushers Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr. to Dan Quinn and Washington in the spring; lost Sam Williams for the season in Oxnard, California; lost Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence last week in the battle for victory against the Giants; and lost rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland in the first quarter against Pittsburgh.

It's difficult to take six edge rushers away from a team in that span without seeing significant consequences. Still, the Cowboys' defense actually had more sacks than Pittsburgh, even though Dallas was much more vulnerable to passes than the Steelers on Sunday night. Yes, Dak Prescott became a hero in the final seconds, scoring the game-winning touchdown on Jalen Tolbert with 20 seconds left to give Dallas a 20-17 win. But the defense kept the Cowboys alive through the first three quarters, as Prescott struggled mightily with two interceptions – one was a very poorly thrown ball at the goal line – and missed another scoring opportunity.

The Cowboys' defense prevented Pittsburgh from gaining significant momentum through these mistakes. A team without Parsons and Lawrence at the top, without Daron Bland and rookie Caelen Carson at corner made enough plays to shut down the Steelers' running game and put the home team within 17 points of the win.

It was only natural that NBC Football night in America The crew praised the fact that the Steelers and Cowboys were the only teams to ever meet in three Super Bowls. Just seeing the two iconic uniforms in prime time brings back memories for fans of both teams – at least for those of us who have been around for a while. Dallas and Pittsburgh have actually played in three Super Bowls. They came during the Ford, Carter and first Clinton administrations.

This wasn't a stellar performance by either team, as both teams were more hoping to be considered playoff contenders this season than Super Bowl contenders. A few uneven moments were perhaps forgivable after both waited out a lightning-quick delay of 1 hour, 23 minutes, meaning the fourth quarter didn't begin until after midnight Eastern Time.

While Pittsburgh expected to start this season with Russell Wilson at quarterback, his calf injury sidelined him for the first five weeks, leaving former Bears first-round pick Justin Fields to take over. While no one will mistake Fields, an excellent runner, as one of the game's best passers, he was efficient enough through the first four weeks to post at least a 90 passer rating in all three Steelers victories and the club's most recent loss to the Colts achieve week.

Fields managed two touchdown throws to keep the passer streak going, but efficiency really wasn't his calling card Sunday night. The Dallas defense forced five punts and contained lead receiver George Pickens. Fields had to distribute the ball to other wideouts and tight ends as Pickens was limited to two catches for 29 yards until he made a short grab on the final lateral play that resulted in nothing more than a fumble recovery for the Dallas defense.

Fields' final numbers were 15 for 27 for 131 yards. That's 221 fewer yards than Prescott managed against a much healthier defense that was certainly more successful than the Cowboys' unit in the first month of the season.

With Rico Dowdle saving Dak at times by keeping drives alive and allowing the reception on one of two Prescott TD passes, the Cowboys actually outscored Pittsburgh on the ground, something probably no one would have predicted based on recent results. The Cowboys' defense held Najee Harris to 42 yards and a 3.0 average and limited the elusive Fields to 27 yards on six carries.

We know the competition the Cowboys will face in the coming weeks will be more formidable on the offensive side. That starts with Detroit on Sunday at AT&T Stadium and certainly includes the 49ers, even though San Francisco currently (unfortunately) has a worse record than the Cowboys. Atlanta, Houston, Washington, Philly – all of these offenses are scheduled for November, when the Cowboys will likely have Parsons back. Lawrence's return could occur sometime during this time.

Meanwhile, on Sunday night, the Cowboys got three sacks from the unusual group of tackle Linval Joseph, finishing tackles from Chauncey Golston and Tyrus Wheat, and tackles from Osa Odighizuwa and Carl Lawson (half-sack each). It's a makeshift group that Mike Zimmer has brought together to win back-to-back road victories.

Suddenly, the Cowboys' once-powerful offense can only score 20 points per game. Suddenly – this applies to the Cowboys' defenses against New York and Pittsburgh – that's enough to get the Cowboys back above .500 and start thinking about how to make the road ahead less daunting.

Photos: Cowboys rally for comeback win in rainy Pittsburgh

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More from the Cowboys' win over Pittsburgh

– Five takeaways from the Cowboys-Steelers: Dak Prescott leads Dallas to a dramatic win

– Tenacious Dak Prescott survives costly mistakes to lead the Cowboys to victory in Pittsburgh

– Dak was the hero, but the Cowboys defense deserves the credit for their dramatic win over the Steelers

– Tim Cowlishaw’s Cowboys-Steelers report card: Don’t underestimate the significance of this road win

– National reaction to Cowboys-Steelers: Dallas creates a late-night thriller in Pittsburgh