Dallas, TX
Cowboys vs Steelers: Each team’s X-factor player for Week 5
The Dallas Cowboys walk in to Week 5 looking like the “great unknown.” With a lengthy list of injuries, young guys hoping to step up, the bottom line still remains Dallas is trying to get back above .500 early in the season.
The Steelers won’t be an easy matchup as they present a lot of unique challenges the Cowboys struggle to contend with, but with a tough schedule on the horizon, every game is vitally important to Dallas if they are hoping to do something significant this season.
Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele is in for a long night Sunday as he prepares to face off against T.J. Watt. The Steelers pass rusher does the majority of his work form the defenses left side, which has him locking horns with Steele for much of the night.
The two have matched up before with Steele holding up well, but an encore performance is needed in Week 5. How Steele is able to answer the bell this week and key Dak Prescott upright will go a long way in determining if Dallas has a chance on Sunday night.
Look for Watt to find some success, as he naturally does each week. But how Steele and this game plan is able to limit him this week has a chance to tell it all after Week 5.
Pittsburgh Steelers X-factor: Najee Harris
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The Steelers running back room is banged up right now with Jaylen Warren out and Cordarrelle Patterson missing the game as well. Those absences put the burden on Najee Harris’ shoulders as he looks to develop and sustain a running game against this poor Cowboys rush defense.
The Steelers will be limited in their options beyond Harris with former Cowboy Aaron Shampklin in line for some carries, but Dallas can expect to see Harris get the lion’s share of the work.
Harris has struggled a bit to get going this season in the new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s system, but with the Cowboys reputation for being poor against the run, and Pittsburgh coming off of a tough loss to the Indianapolis Colts, there is a real chance they will look to come in and try to force the run a little bit.
Quarterback Justin Fields has done some nice things this season, but he hasn’t been consistent enough for them to lean heavily on the passing game. If that is the case once again, we can expect to see a healthy dose of Harris on Sunday night and Dallas better be ready to answer the call.
What Drake London’s new deal could mean for George Pickens
Falcons WR Drake London is now the NFL’s third-highest paid wide receiver in AAV, signing a four-year, $141 million extension with $100 million guaranteed and $35.26 million per year.
London, who is 25, is the same age as Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, and both are heading into their fifth seasons in the NFL. Pickens too was seeking a long-term contract, but the Cowboys told him and his representation that would not happen this offseason, and he instead signed his $27.3 million franchise tag that keep shim under contract for the 2026 season.
Pickens’ one-year deal on the tag makes him the 17th highest-paid wide receiver in the league in AAV. Should Pickens go out and post a year similar to his 2025 campaign where he had more than 1,400 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, a deal similar to London’s may be in the ballpark of what Pickens could seek. For reference, CeeDee Lamb is the league’s fifth-highest paid WR at $34 million annually. If Pickens surpasses him and is closer to London’s $35 million per year mark, he and Lamb would become the highest-paid WR duo in NFL history, surpassing the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who currently combine for $69 million per year. – Tommy Yarrish
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Garland Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abby Policastro and Marissa Aulbaugh prosecuted the case.
“This verdict should send a clear message to drug dealers that we will dismantle any effort to peddle deadly fentanyl in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their dedicated collaboration in taking thousands of fentanyl pills off the streets of Dallas.”
If the Dallas Cowboys want to get over the hump and back into the playoffs in 2026, they’ve got to see a massive improvement in the defense.
Owner Jerry Jones was brutally honest with just how much the Cowboys were held back by their defense in 2025, and the numbers very clearly spell that out.
How does a Cowboys team that ranked top 10 in passing, rushing and points on offense still miss the playoffs?
Well, Dallas also ranked 30th in total yards allowed, 32nd in passing yards, 23rd against the run and 32nd in points against, that’s how. That putrid showing rightly cost Matt Eberflus his job, which set the stage for Dallas to hire Christian Parker.
It also set the stage for a total overhaul of the defense, with Dallas making many additions to that side of the ball, including at corner, where the Cowboys were bad on the boundary and in slot last season.
Fow now, we’re more focused on the boundary competition, as the Cowboys appear set to roll with Caleb Downs in the slot.
Cowboys’ CB competition is crucial for 2026
The Cowboys won’t have much hope for a playoff appearance if the cornerback play doesn’t improve. Of the 10 teams that landed in the bottom 10 in passing yards allowed last season, only two of them made the postseason.
Of course, the pass-rush played a part in that, and while Dallas has made multiple additions to that group this offseason, there really aren’t any guarantees with Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence or Donovan Ezeiruaku.
If that trio fails to improve a pass-rush that was tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025, the cornerbacks become even more crucial.
DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel did not play well in 2025, and while the former appears safe for now when it comes to a starting job on the outside, his leash could be short if he struggles again.
Revel, on the other hand, isn’t locked into a starting job on the boundary and is competing with Durant and Caelen Carson. It’s also worth keeping an eye on who finishes in second in that battle because that player could replace Bland if he struggles or gets hurt again.
There is hope Revel can bounce back now that he’s another year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in his final year in college and can enjoy a full offseason, but we’ll have to see it first before we can believe it.
“It’s very beneficial,” Revel said of having a normal offseason. “Just because I can clean up a lot of things, a lot of errors I didn’t see last year, or I did see last year, that I could clean up this year.”
“My knee is 100%, so now it’s time to focus on situational ball and I’ve got to see what I need to fix or get better at,” Revel added.
When training camp kicks off next month, we’re going to be locked into watching the battle at cornerback because it could very well make or break Dallas’ entire 2026 campaign.
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