Steelers-Cowboys close encounters extend beyond 3 Super Bowl matchups

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys meet, they do so as frequently as a presidential election.

The outcome often is just as hotly contested.

Two of the NFL’s most historic franchises have played six times in the regular season since their most recent Super Bowl matchup in January 1996. The past five games have been decided by seven points or fewer.

Not a bad way to keep relevant a rivalry that takes place in four-year cycles.

Five decades after the Steelers won Super Bowls X and XIII at the Cowboys’ expense and nearly 30 years after the Cowboys exacted a measure of revenge in Super Bowl XXX, the latest installment takes place Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.

“You can’t talk about the NFL without talking about these two teams,” Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “They have their Troy Aikmans and Emmitt Smiths. We have our Joe Greenes, Jack Lamberts, Troy Polamalus, you can go down the list.

“It’s brewing for a good game.”

Surprisingly, for two teams whose legacy has involved 355 combined prime-time appearances since the 1970 merger, this is just the second time the Steelers and Cowboys will meet under the lights.

The Cowboys own the most prime-time victories with 106. The Steelers are second at 98. Yet, this will be the first time since 1982 that they will play at night.

With the Cowboys holding a 17-16 edge in the overall series, counting postseason, the Steelers will have a chance to pull even.

“It’s a responsibility to represent the black and gold, and I would imagine the guys in Dallas feel the same way,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “You can’t put a price tag on standards and legacy, and both organizations have that. We walk on the ground that’s been paved for us by those that have come before us, and so we feel really blessed and honored to do so.”

Although the rivalry was born out of those Super Bowl encounters in the 1970s, the Steelers and Cowboys have played some memorable games during the regular season.

Here are five:

1. Nov. 13, 2016: Cowboys 35, Steelers 30

Erase the final 42 seconds from existence, and Ben Roethlisberger pulls off one of the most dynamic comebacks in team history. With the clock running inside the final minute and the Steelers at the Dallas 15 while trailing 29-24, Roethlisberger motions like he is going to spike the ball.

Instead, Roethlisberger fakes the spike and hits Antonio Brown in stride in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. The former Heinz Field erupts in adulation anticipating the end of a three-game losing streak.

Roethlisberger, though, leaves too much time on the clock. Rookie QB Dak Prescott moves the Cowboys across midfield, and a personal foul on safety Sean Davis puts the ball on the 32. Ezekiel Elliott breaks free up the middle, evading a Jarvis Jones tackle, and goes the distance with 9 seconds left.

It is the fourth lead change of the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger finishes with 408 yards passing.

2. Dec. 16, 2012: Cowboys 27, Steelers 24 (OT)

The Steelers win the coin toss in overtime and have a chance to drive for the winning score. But on the second play, Roethlisberger is intercepted by cornerback Brandon Carr at the Steelers 37.

Carr returns the ball inside the 1, falling short of the end zone by inches. After Tony Romo takes a knee to provide better field position, Dan Bailey kicks a 21-yard field goal that sends the Steelers to their fourth loss in a five-game span.

Roethlisberger throws two touchdown passes and has 339 yards passing. Romo also has two touchdown passes and throws for 341 yards but doesn’t have an interception on his stat sheet.

3. Dec. 7, 2008: Steelers 20, Cowboys 13

Deshea Townsend’s 25-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:40 left snaps a tie and sends the Steelers to a victory that is aided by a 17-point rally in the fourth quarter.

A Jeff Reed field goal midway through the fourth brings the Steelers within a touchdown. Roethlisberger ties it with 2:04 left when he throws a 6-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller.

Two plays later, Romo makes a costly mistake on a throw to Jason Witten. Townsend intercepts it and races for the score that stuns the Cowboys.

“What a beautiful game, and I mean that,” Tomlin says afterward.

4. Oct. 17, 2004: Steelers 24, Cowboys 20

Roethlisberger, then a rookie, engineers his second career fourth-quarter comeback when he helps rally the Steelers from a 20-10 deficit.

His 7-yard touchdown pass to Jerame Tuman pulls the Steelers within three with 11:48 left. A strip sack/forced fumble by James Farrior with 2:20 left sets up the winning drive at the Dallas 24.

Jerome Bettis caps the comeback with a 2-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds to play. Vinny Testaverde drives the Cowboys to the Steelers 30, but his last-gasp heave into the end zone is broken up by Russell Stuvaints.

5. Sept. 13, 1982: Steelers 36, Cowboys 28

The only other prime-time meeting between the franchises must make the list. It also is deserving.

It is the regular-season opener in Dallas and is contested on “Monday Night Football” with Frank, Howard and Dandy Don in the booth.

Trailing 14-13 at halftime, the Steelers score 20 unanswered points in the second half, including Terry Bradshaw’s second TD pass to Jim Smith in the game and third overall.

Down 33-14 in the fourth, the Cowboys trim the deficit to one score on a pair of Danny White touchdown passes. Without the benefit of a 2-point conversion in those days to help the Cowboys, the Steelers need a field goal to put the game out of reach.

Rookie kicker Gary Anderson, cut by Buffalo days earlier and signed by the Steelers, boots a 40-yarder to seal the win. It’s his third field goal of the game and begins a 13-year run with the franchise.