Late Cowboys TD sends Steelers to 4th consecutive loss

The three-game losing streak was over. And then it wasn't.

The Steelers were back in first place in the AFC North. And then they weren't.

A trick pass play with 42 seconds left was going to elevate this game among the Steelers' best all-time comebacks at Heinz Field.

And then it didn't.

A last-gasp drive, aided by a facemask penalty and finished by a 32-yard touchdown run with 9 seconds left, helped the Dallas Cowboys stun the Steelers, 35-30, on Sunday, after a victory seemed almost certain for the home team.

A crowd of 67,737, the largest gathering for a Steelers home game, watched the Cowboys (8-1) rally from a 30-29 deficit in the waning moments to win their eighth consecutive game. The loss for the Steelers (4-5) was their fourth in a row and dropped them a game behind the Baltimore Ravens (5-4) in the division race.

“That's getting your heart ripped out right there,” Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said. “We're going to have to display a lot of mental toughness to bounce back from this one.”

Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL's rushing leader, polished off a 114-yard rushing performance by running 32 yards untouched up the middle to complete the Cowboys' fourth comeback from a deficit in the game.

The Steelers held leads of 12-3, 18-13, 24-23 and then 30-29 after Ben Roethlisberger faked spiking the ball, then turned and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with 42 seconds remaining.

“I guess we left them too much time,” Roethlisberger said.

The Cowboys had the ball at their 48 with 23 seconds left when rookie quarterback Dak Prescott threw a 5-yard completion to tight end Jason Witten. A convoy of Steelers pounced on Witten.

Rookie safety Sean Davis was among them. He got a piece of Witten's facemask, and the 15-yard infraction moved the ball to the Steelers 32 with 15 seconds left.

“I was trying to get him down,” Davis said, fighting back tears. “It was a critical time. Seconds were valuable. I was trying to get him down, poke the ball. He ducked and once I felt my fingers in his facemask, I tried to let go.

“Everything happened so fast.”

The Cowboys were hoping to get kicker Dan Bailey closer for a fourth field goal, but Elliott ended the drama with his touchdown run.

“I don't know what happened,” linebacker Ryan Shazier said. “We had a call, and we thought it would work.”

The touchdown was the second for the Cowboys in the final two minutes. Elliott gave the Cowboys a 29-24 lead when he scored from 14 yards with 1:55 left. That touchdown drive was aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against cornerback Ross Cockrell.

“As a defense, we didn't step up when we needed to,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “Unacceptable.”

The defense was hurt by two other big plays. Elliott took a screen pass 83 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to pull the Cowboys within 12-10. Prescott threw a 50-yard pass to Dez Bryant, who beat rookie corner Artie Burns in single coverage, for a 23-18 lead late in the third quarter. Prescott finished with 319 yards passing, and Bryant had six catches for 116 yards.

“For us, just not enough discipline and detail in our play to be victorious,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “It's not mystical. It isn't OK. We won't accept it. We can't accept it.”

The Steelers scored touchdowns on their first two drives, then didn't get another until midway through the fourth quarter on Le'Veon Bell's 1-yard run. It was the first rushing touchdown of the season for Bell, who also caught a touchdown pass and had 57 yards rushing and 77 receiving.

Roethlisberger finished with 37 completions in 46 attempts for 408 yards and three touchdowns.

Brown was targeted 18 times and had 14 catches for 154 yards. The Steelers, however, failed to convert four 2-point conversion chances.

“Our offense did enough,” Heyward said.

Had Roethlisberger's fake-spike touchdown pass to Brown held up as the winning score, it would have gone down as one of the greatest finishes in Heinz Field history.

Instead, it was one of the most bitter losses for the Steelers, who will try to regroup next Sunday at the winless Cleveland Browns.

“I'm not going to lie at all and say this one doesn't sting,” Mitchell said. “This one, in my eight years of playing, it's a tough one.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.