The Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry is the match up that made me a Dallas Cowboys fan. You may know by now that on January 28th, 1996, I was brought into this world during the afternoon – and the Cowboys brought their fifth Super Bowl to Dallas that night, defeating the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
Flash back to yesterday, and another thrilling meeting between these two teams has Cowboys Nation’s confidence in America’s Team higher than ever. To celebrate these wins, not only do we wear polos on Monday for #VictoryPoloMonday, but I gather up the best silver and blue related tweets for a celebratory #TweetBreak.
These are some of the funnest things I get to write. Away we go.
An Emotional Game for Dez Bryant
Dez Bryant – a respected leader with the Dallas Cowboys – has faced tough, and sometimes warranted criticism throughout his career. This season, his lack of on-field production with rookie QB Dak Prescott has turned plenty of heads.
On this Sunday at Heinz Field, Bryant earned all of the respect he needed. Learning of the passing of his father when the team landed on Saturday, Bryant played this game with a heavy heart.
Dez receiving the game ball from Coach Garrett. #DALvsPIT pic.twitter.com/S3scTt6DIJ
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 14, 2016
Dallas had a clear advantage using Bryant against a weak Pittsburgh secondary, and #88 was targeted early and often. This long touchdown in the third quarter warmed the hearts of sports fans everywhere, and went a long win in the Cowboys coming back for their eighth straight victory.
Dak ????
Dez ????????
TD! ????????#OnlyInTheNFL #DALvsPIT https://t.co/vmwx0xfU97
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) November 13, 2016
Head Coach Jason Garrett has – since his first day as the leader of this team – made every move to ensure that his Cowboys would become a family. Stars like Dez Bryant have made this family atmosphere possible, as the Cowboys are seeing the benefits of togetherness pay off in 2016.
Jason Garrett throwing to Dez Bryant pic.twitter.com/CHBEel3DKo
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 13, 2016
Thank you Kavon and you are exactly right… we are a family https://t.co/2gwjxkkhQl
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 14, 2016
Are we sure they are rookies?
Of course, the main story coming out of this win was once again the performances of rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, who continue to defy all odds in carrying this Cowboys team like no rookies have ever done before.
With under a minute to go, Steelers WR Antonio Brown found the end zone after a fake spike attempt from Ben Roethlishberger. It appeared that the home team was going to come out on top in this back-and-forth affair, and Cowboys faithful were going to be handed a tough pill to swallow.
After Pittsburgh went up with 43 seconds to play, Zeke said he had a brief conversation with Dak on the sideline. pic.twitter.com/PXRgQuQlO5
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) November 14, 2016
Five plays later, euphoria happened. With a pep talk from his backfield partner Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott marched Dallas into field goal range – where Dan Bailey looked poised to try to win this game.
Instead, from 32 yards out, Elliott took a hand off from Prescott and raced all the way to the end zone, crossing the goal line with just nine seconds to play – and improving the Cowboys to 8-1.
@CowboysNation @TheCowboysStar @dallascowboys @CowboyChuck_DAL @rjochoa @ShoreSportsNJ ???????? pic.twitter.com/Pr41KFwEcm
— Rick Ferguson II (@RFerg_ii) November 14, 2016
Ezekiel Elliott on final TD: "They lost a gap, the O-line picked it up perfectly and it parted like the Red Sea. All I had to do was run."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 14, 2016
I danced around my living room (don’t judge, you did the same thing), Zeke got a shout out from fellow-Ohioan Lebron James, and everything was absolutely perfect.
Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!! #CowboysNation @EzekielElliott. ???????????????????? #MVPandROY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 14, 2016
We are so lucky to have #4 and #21 here for a loooooong time.
Big Ben was 9-0 at home against rookie QBs. He is still 9-0 against rookie QBs not named "Dak"
— Babe Laufenberg (@BabeLaufenberg) November 14, 2016
8 Wins? Isn’t that like, double what we had last year?
I’d like to personally apologize for the Cowboys year long nightmare 2015 season, as it was my first year here at Inside The Star and I probably ruined everything. Now, 2015 is just making the dominance of 2016 feel so much better.
The Dallas Cowboys are indisputably one of the best teams in the NFL, and that feels as awesome to write as it does for others to tweet about.
Let’s wrap up this edition of #TweetBreak with a final reminder that Cowboys Nation is on an eight game winning streak.
That 8 – 1 Feeling‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️#DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/aQtI6Et6dr
— Tyrone Crawford ???????? (@TCrawford98) November 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/DemBoyz_News/status/797993996157091844
Great win. 8-1! #CowboyNation
— Jack Crawford (@Sack_Religious) November 14, 2016
Good dub! #8-1 #CowboysNation
— Kavon Frazier (@Kay_BlackSimba) November 14, 2016
To be featured in Tweet Break here at InsideTheStar.com, use #TweetBreak to send in submissions! You can also email me suggestions at Sean.Martin@InsideTheStar.com.
Want to talk more Cowboys football? I’m on Twitter @ShoreSportsNJ!