Linebacker James Harrison took to the field shirtless during warmups even as temperatures hovered in the low-30s, a nod to one of Shazier’s pregame rituals. When Roosevelt Nix drilled Moore on the opening kickoff, Nix lifted his jersey to show the T-shirt most of the Steelers wore at some point during the night.
They’re not exactly intimidated by the prospect of facing Tom Brady and company.
First, those officials. Walt Anderson’s crew was flag-happy as usual. The Bengals, with a boost from multiple personal fouls, set a franchise record with 13 accepted penalties against them for 173 yards. The Steelers got a good share, too, with seven going against them for 66 yards.
Strangely, Alfred Morris and Rod Smith have done an admirable job running the ball in Elliott’s stead. The issue simply has been one less explosive playmaker (Elliott) for a team devoid of them in the passing game.
Dez Bryant has disappeared in most games. Terrance Williams, a surprise re-sign in the offseason, has only flashed as a shaky No. 2. Cole Beasley hasn’t been close to the slot machine. For some reason, Brice Butler remains criminally underused on the outside. Venerable tight end Jason Witten, who did his best to rally the Cowboys with his pregame meeting, simply has little left in the tank beyond being a reliable very short passing target.
The Cowboys were a perfect complementary team last season, and they were expecting the same kind of things to fall into place this year. With little inspiring depth, they were not prepared for injuries or suspensions throwing one or two wrenches that could derail everything.
There was Elliott, and there was Lee, and there were the two previous games left Best Quality Cheap Jerseys tackle Tyron Smith missed, too. Earlier in the season, David Irving was a big Cheap Authentic Hockey Jerseys defensive line loss for four games.