|
IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- It's youthful energy against veteran steadiness when the surging
Pittsburgh Steelers
, behind rookie quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger
, face the
Dallas Cowboys
and 40-year-old signal-caller
Vinny Testaverde
on Sunday.
Roethlisberger took over for an injured
Tommy Maddox
during a 30-13 loss to Baltimore in Week Two, and has shined. The Steelers are 3-0 with Roethlisberger as their starter and have put up 62 points over the last two weeks.
The 23-year-old first-round pick threw for 231 yards and a touchdown in a 34-23 win over Cleveland last week, completing 16-of-21 passes.
Roethlisberger has been backed by a strong running attack as he grows into coach Bill Cowher's ground-oriented attack. Offseason signee
Duce Staley
has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his last three games and scored his first touchdown as a Steeler in last week's victory.
Staley is very familiar with the Cowboys due to his seven years with the
Philadelphia Eagles
. In 10 career meetings with Dallas, Staley has amassed 1,087 total yards and four touchdowns.
Cowher will likely lean heavily on Staley and
Jerome Bettis
against a rush defense that has struggled at times this season. After boasting the top run defense in the NFC last year, the Cowboys have given up 122.8 yards per game on the ground in 2004, 21st in the league.
Testaverde's arm has been relied on a bit less in the past few weeks after opening the season with 50 pass attempts vs. Minnesota. Slowly, the Dallas running game has gained a bit of strength to take some pressure off the 18-year veteran.
In a loss to the
New York Giants
last week, the Cowboys gained 166 yards on the ground but fell, 26-10. Meanwhile, Testaverde's pass attempts have decreased each week as coach Bill Parcells attempts to win the battle in the trenches and hold the football.
Still, Testaverde ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards per game with 254.3 and reached a milestone last week. In the loss to New York, Testaverde moved into sixth place on the all-time completions list, leaping past Hall of Famer Joe Montana.
Dallas running back
Eddie George
will see a host of old foes when he lines up Sunday. George, who recorded his high with the Cowboys last week with 75 yards rushing, has faced Pittsburgh 14 times in his career, gaining 856 yards on the ground and five touchdowns.
Dallas has won the last four meetings in the series, including a 27-17 win in Super Bowl XXX in which Cowher lost to Cowboys coach Barry Switzer. Cowher is 0-3 lifetime vs. Dallas.
Matchup to watch: Cowboys tight end
Jason Witten
faces strong safety
Troy Polamalu
.
Series: Dallas, 15-13.
Next week: Pittsburgh has a bye. Dallas visits Green Bay on October 24.
|
