National Football League

Far From Perfect

Updated Nov. 9, 2020 10:38 p.m. ET

While the Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-0 for the first time in franchise history, their unblemished record only tells part of the story.

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were barely able to survive the Dallas Cowboys (2-7) on Sunday to remain undefeated.

Trailing by as many as 13 points and never holding a lead until the final moments, Pittsburgh (a 13.5-point favorite at kickoff, via FOX Bet) eked out a win with a little under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The 24-19 victory for Steel City strongly resembled the same kind of comeback the week prior in Baltimore.

The Steelers' ground game was ineffective, and it took two quarters for the passing attack to wake up.

Sunday, the team had just 46 rushing yards on 18 carries against a team that allowed 133 rushing yards to Philadelphia (3-4-1) and 208 rushing yards to the Washington Football Team (2-5).

Pittsburgh's James Conner "led" the franchise with nine attempts for 22 yards, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had his team’s longest run, a 8-yard route for a first down.

Not to mention, over the last three games, Pittsburgh has just 188 total rushing yards (averaging 62.6 yards per game), good for 27th in the NFL over that time span.

Big Ben finished the day with 306 yards, three touchdowns and a 113.8 passer rating, but like his team's record, his stats paint a false picture.

Pittsburgh's first-half plays included: punt, turnover on downs, punt, and then finally a touchdown with a little over two minutes remaining.

But later, Roethlisberger found life, and led his third fourth-quarter comeback win this season (Houston, Baltimore) and second-straight fourth-quarter comeback victory on the road.

However, arguably the defense is the reason to celebrate, as Minkah Fitzpatrick saved the game – for the second consecutive week – breaking up a pass in the end zone on the final play to preserve the win.

Over the last four contests, Fitzpatrick has 19 tackles, two interceptions (including a pick-six), four passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Fitzpatrick plays are large role in why Pittsburgh's defense is elite. They are tied for most interceptions in the league (11) and tied for second in takeaways (15).

The defense is allowing just an average of 20.1 points per game (fourth) and 214.6 passing yards per game (fifth).

However, fourth-string Dallas quarterback Garrett Gilbert threw for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception, playing well-enough on Sunday to hang around with the only undefeated team left in the league.

The Cowboys had only scored 22 total points (one touchdown) in their first three games without Dak, and with Gilbert in the driver's seat, the team scored 19 points against Mike Tomlin's defense.

And ESPN's Steven A. Smith argues Pittsburgh will not be successful come the playoffs because of the holes still remaining in the franchise's game, including the defense and run game.

"I think that they will have a really good regular season and then they will get bounced out in the first round of the playoffs if they continue to play the way that they are playing."

Only three of the Steelers' eight wins have come against teams with winning records (Cleveland, Tennessee, and Baltimore) and just two have come by double digits (the Browns and the New York Giants).

Because of the close wins and inability to dominate a full 60 minute contest, FOX Sports analyst Colin Cowherd isn't buying into the Pittsburgh hype.

"They overwhelm a lot of their mistakes. They are 8-0 but this is why I struggle to buy into them, they are close against everybody ... you have to blow out more teams."

However, Vegas still likes Steel City's chances, as Pittsburgh has the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl (+550), behind just the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs (+350).