Mistakes cost Steelers in last-second loss to Cowboys, 20-17

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers feel like they beat themselves Sunday night.

The offense held a late lead, but the defense couldn’t make it stand as Jalen Tolbert caught a four-yard touchdown from Dak Prescott on fourth-and-goal in the final 30 seconds to help Dallas defeat Pittsburgh 20-17.

“It came down to one play,” Steelers DT Cam Heyward said. “They were on the right side of it.”

Pat Freiermuth caught a 6-yard touchdown from Justin Fields in the final five minutes to give Pittsburgh a brief 17-13 lead, but the advantage was short-lived.

Pittsburgh’s No. 2-ranked defense forced three turnovers and blocked a field goal, but allowed 445 yards and couldn’t keep Tolbert out of the end zone on the final play of the Cowboys’ last drive, as he capped a 15-play, 70-yard series. Pittsburgh has lost two straight after a 3-0 start.

Dallas converted a pair of third downs on the winning drive to set up first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Rico Dowdle fumbled at the 1-yard line on second down, and Prescott jumped on the loose ball. Tolbert then beat DeShon Elliott to the pylon two plays later for the winning touchdown.

“We had to stop them on that one play,” Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said.

Fields finished 15 of 27 for 131 yards with touchdowns to Freiermuth and Connor Heyward.

Dallas held Fields and the Steeler offense to just 226 yards of total offense despite playing without top pass rushers DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) and Micah Parsons (ankle), an All-Pro who missed a game because of injury for the first time in his career. Marshawn Kneeland, who started because of the injuries, also left in the first quarter with a knee injury.

Still, Pittsburgh only managed a first-half field goal and 89 yards of total offense, as Dallas held a 6-3 lead at the break. Pittsburgh scored fewer than 10 first-half points for the fourth time in five games.

“We know how important fast starts are,” Heyward said. “You want to finish strong, you want to play a complete game, but we didn’t do that. We fell short.”

The fifth-highest crowd for a Steelers game had to wait for the Sunday night showdown between two of the NFL’s marquee franchises because of a nearly 90-minute weather delay. Thunderstorms made their way through downtown Pittsburgh shortly before the opening kickoff.

Neither team scored a first-half touchdown, but Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt became the second-fastest player in league history to reach 100 sacks on the final play of the first quarter.

Pittsburgh took a 10-6 lead with a touchdown on the first possession of the second half. Fields briefly left the game after Tyrus Wheat was called for roughing the passer. But Kyle Allen sparked the drive with a 19-yard completion to Freiermuth on second-and-5 from midfield. Fields capped the six-play, 72-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Heyward.

The Cowboys took a 13-10 lead early in the fourth quarter following a mammoth 13-play, 90-yard drive that spanned 8:32. Dallas converted four third downs and Dowdle capped the series with a sliding 22-yard reception from Prescott near the front pylon.

Pittsburgh capitalized on a Prescott interception and took a 17-13 lead in the final five minutes.

The Steelers converted a fourth-and-1 and later had a first-and-goal from the 6. Fields gave Pittsburgh the lead with a six-yard shovel pass to Freiermuth, but the defense couldn’t keep the advantage.

“We have to bounce back quickly,” Freiermuth said. “Obviously, we lost two in a row, but we have to go to Vegas next week and put it all together.”

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt talks to reporters following an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys won 20-17. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talks to reporters following an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys won 20-17. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (1) celebrates his touchdown catch with running back Rico Dowdle (23) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys won 20-17. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, front, is stopped short of the goal line by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick during the second half of an NFL football game, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys won 20-17. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) dives in for a touchdown on a pass from quarterback Justin Fields during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., right, puts a stiff arm on Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson after making an interception during the second half of an NFL football game, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys won 20-17. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, left, talks to line judge Tim Podraza (47) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A former Polish justice minister who faces prosecution in his homeland over alleged abuse of power said Monday that he has been granted asylum in Hungary.

Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party that ran Poland between 2015 and 2023. That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to far-away locations.

Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government came to power more than two years ago with ambitions to roll back the changes, but efforts to undo them have been blocked by two successive presidents aligned with the national right.

In October, prosecutors requested the lifting of Ziobro's parliamentary immunity to press charges against him. They allege among other things that Ziobro misused a fund for victims of violence, including for the purchase of Israeli Pegasus surveillance software.

Tusk’s party says Law and Justice used Pegasus to spy illegally on political opponents while in power. Ziobro says he acted lawfully.

Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has hosted several politicians close to Law and Justice while Polish authorities were seeking them.

In a lengthy post on X Monday, Ziobro wrote that he had “decided to accept the asylum granted to me by the government of Hungary due to the political persecution in Poland.”

“I have decided to remain abroad until genuine guarantees of the rule of law are restored in Poland,” he said. “I believe that instead of acquiescing to being silenced and subjected to a torrent of lies — which I would have no opportunity to refute — I can do more by fighting the mounting lawlessness in Poland.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday that Hungarian authorities have granted asylum to “several” individuals who would face political persecution in Poland, according to his ministry. He declined to specify their names.

In an English-language post on X, Tusk wrote that “the former Minister of Justice(!), Mr. Ziobro, who was the mastermind of the political corruption system, has asked the government of Victor Orbán for political asylum.”

“A logical choice,” he added.

FILE - The leader of the Polish junior coalition partners Zbigniew Ziobro, speaks to reporters alongside in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)