IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have a game to play. Again. Their playoff hopes could ride on the outcome. Again. Their opponent is an AFC North team fighting for the same thing. Again.
This time, the Cowboys will be eight days removed from finding out about the death of practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown instead of less than 24 hours. They know defensive tackle Josh Brent will miss the rest of the season after being charged with intoxication manslaughter in the one-car accident that killed Brown.
“This is not a one-game thing,” said fullback Lawrence Vickers, who didn’t hide his emotions before, during or after last weekend’s 20-19 victory at Cincinnati. “We have a task. Regardless of what obstacles or what tragedies and what steps we have, we still have to protect the goal at the end of the day.”
There will be one difference today. This isn’t just any AFC North opponent. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers renewing one of the NFL’s best rivalries for the first time at Cowboys Stadium, where they lost the Super Bowl to Green Bay two years ago.
“I can imagine that it is an important game for the fans for obvious reasons, for legendary reasons,” Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said. “The rich history that the two franchises hold and how they interacted some 30, 40 years ago is something that is timeless and special.”
Like Terry Bradshaw before him, Ben Roethlisberger knows how to beat the Cowboys (7-6). He’s 2-0 against Dallas, including a 24-20 victory at old Texas Stadium in 2004, when he was 13-1 as a rookie. He has two Super Bowl titles, but right now is just trying to get back into game shape in his second start after missing three games with a sprained right shoulder.
Roethlisberger threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns in his return, but most of that came after the Steelers had fallen behind 27-3 to San Diego in a 34-24 loss. Pittsburgh (7-6) has jeopardized its playoff hopes by losing three of four.
“I feel like I took a couple weeks off and it took a little bit to get back into it,” Roethlisberger said. “I think maybe the second throw that I had, I threw it a little short and that was, I think, just a little bit of anxiousness and rust getting back into it.”
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo might not have Dez Bryant on the other end of any of his passes after Bryant broke his left index finger against the Bengals. However, Bryant did catch a touchdown pass that started a fourth-quarter rally after getting injured, and he said Thursday he planned to play.
If the injury forces Bryant out, it will interrupt the best stretch of his career. He has his first 1,000-yard season and has scored at least one touchdown in a career-best five consecutive games. He’s already tied his career high with nine touchdowns this season.
“Dez has been a big part of our team,” Dallas Coach Jason Garrett said. “But like every team in the league, you have injuries and you have to deal with season-ending injuries, you have to deal with injuries game by game, you have to deal with injuries within the game.”
The Steelers will be without running back Rashard Mendenhall for sure against the Cowboys because Tomlin suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team. Mendenhall was inactive the previous two games after getting demoted to third team following a fumble in a loss to Cleveland.
Sports, Pages 31 on 12/16/2012