Dallas, TX
Dallas Cowboys scouting report: Breaking down the Steelers defense
Don’t look now, but the Cowboys offense seems to be getting into a bit of a rhythm. After scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter against the Ravens, the offense took another step forward against the Giants, most notably with Dak Prescott posting a sky high completion rate and the running backs finally showing some signs of life. But they’ll face a tough defense this week in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have been known for their defense for several decades now, the Steel Curtain enduring as one of the most well-known nicknames in football. Head coach Mike Tomlin is a defensive minded coach himself, and he’s had a steady hand in keeping the defense elite ever since legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau stepped down following the 2014 season. LeBeau’s replacement, Keith Butler, also retired after the 2021 season, leading to the promotion of current coordinator Teryl Austin.
Austin is a seasoned coaching veteran and Pittsburgh native. He attended the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive back and began his coaching career at Penn State. His first full-time coaching job came as the defensive backs coach at Wake Forest under then head coach Jim Caldwell. Nearly two decades later, after Austin had enjoyed several stints in the NFL, he reunited with Caldwell in Baltimore; Austin was coaching defensive backs while Caldwell ran the Ravens offense.
Caldwell parlayed his success in Baltimore into his second NFL head coaching job, taking over the Lions. In turn, he tabbed Austin as his defensive coordinator. Austin very quickly became a hot head coach candidate, as his defenses shined with star players like Ndamukong Suh, Ezekiel Ansah, and Darius Slay. Austin never landed a job, though, and he was on his way out when Caldwell was fired after the 2017 season. Austin then went to the Bengals, replacing current Cowboys run game coordinator Paul Guenther, though he would be fired nine games into what became Marvin Lewis’ final season as the head coach.
Austin then joined the Steelers as a senior defensive assistant, working alongside Tomlin and Butler before being elevated to the top role. Austin’s ascendance did not bring with it a litany of changes, but rather he was promoted because of the continuity he offered. Like Tomlin, Austin hails from a similar school of defensive football that prioritizes fundamentals over scheme.
As such, the Steelers are not a very blitz heavy team. In fact, only six defenses are blitzing at a lower rate than Pittsburgh so far this season. Tomlin and Austin prefer their pass rush get home with just four, instead dropping the remaining seven defenders back into coverage to clog passing lanes. The Steelers tend to use a lot of two-deep safety shells, though Austin has proven adept throughout his career at disguising coverages prior to the snap. They primarily use zone coverage, though Austin has shown a good sense of when to switch things up.
There’s not much that’s been groundbreaking about Austin’s tenure as defensive coordinator, though he’s succeeded in keeping the Steelers right near the top of defensive production. They’ve ranked in the top 12 of the league in defensive DVOA both years he’s been in charge, and Pittsburgh is currently seventh.
Of course, it helps that the Steelers have a handful of superstars on that side of the ball, highlighted by T.J. Watt. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year makes things much easier for Austin, especially with how much attention opposing offenses have to show him. That’s allowed for the Steelers’ rotation of edge rushers opposite Watt – Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith – to get some easy wins in the pass rush. Veteran defensive tackle Cameron Heyward has also remained reliable, leading the team in both sacks and pressures.
While the pass rush has been solid as ever this year – Pittsburgh is seventh in both pressure and sack rate – their run defense has stolen the show. Only the Ravens and Vikings are giving up fewer rushing yards per game, and they have the ninth-highest rate of stuffed run plays. Pittsburgh largely accomplishes this by loading up the box, doing so at the fourth-highest rate in the league.
That can be a risky proposition against high-powered passing attacks, but the quarterbacks this defense has faced thus far are Kirk Cousins (in his first game back from an Achilles tear), Bo Nix, Justin Herbert (playing with a high ankle sprain), and the combination of Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco this past week. So that’s three quarterbacks not at full health and a rookie making just his second career start.
It would be safe to say that Dak Prescott is the best quarterback this defense has faced in 2024, and even safer to say CeeDee Lamb is the most dangerous skill player they’ve faced. That could make Austin rethink his plans of loading the box to stop the run, especially considering Dallas leads the league in pass play rate.
Another thing to consider: Prescott has thrown more passes into tight windows than any other quarterback, with 27.5% of his attempts going into a tight window. Only one Steelers defensive back has forced a tight window throw at or above that rate. In layman’s terms, the Steelers are giving up some fairly easy receptions, though they do a good job of wrapping up shortly after the catch. Prescott has been completing passes even with nothing open, and his offense ranks seventh in yards after the catch.
This won’t be an easy game for the Cowboys by any stretch. Watt facing off against Tyler Guyton is far from ideal, for starters, and this defense is extremely disciplined and assignment-sound. However, there are some holes that can be exploited by Prescott and Lamb, provided they have the time to find those holes. That’s easier said than done, but there is a roadmap to success against this unit. Whether or not they can follow that roadmap will speak to the overall focus and preparation of this roster and coaching staff.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
-
Sports8 minutes agoRyan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
-
World20 minutes agoSchools, shops shut in northern Israel to protest the Lebanon ceasefire
-
News50 minutes agoCommunities launch cleanup after severe weather and tornadoes churn across Midwest
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoGame 21: Tigers at Red Sox, Garrett Crochet battles both Detroit and the weather
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoWhy do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoDallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoDefense dominates, Mensah flashes in Miami’s spring game – The Miami Hurricane
-
Boston, MA3 hours ago
A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
