Carney: Four Key Matchups To Watch In Steelers-Cowboys

It might not be the same type of matchups from years past between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, featuring a number of superstars and Hall of Famers, but Sunday night’s primetime game between the two historic rivals — their first primetime matchup since 1982 — will feature quite a few big-name players in today’s NFL.

Entering the matchup, the Steelers are coming off a frustrating loss and have to rebound in a big way, while the Cowboys are just trying to stay afloat early in the season as they try and figure out a new scheme defensively while working in new, young pieces on offense.

It’s not the matchups of the past like Big Ben Roethlisberger against Tony Romo, but this one still carries plenty of juice for both teams and both fanbases.

There will be games within the game to watch, like the turnover battle, tackling battle and more. Make sure to keep an eye on key individual matchups, though. There are plenty of them this week top to bottom in all three phases for the Steelers against the Cowboys in primetime.

Below are my four key matchups to watch on Sunday night.

STEELERS C ZACH FRAZIER VS. COWBOYS NT MAZI SMITH
Two high draft picks will go at it snap after snap Sunday night between the Steelers and the Cowboys. That would be Steelers’ rookie center Zach Frazier against second-year Cowboys’ nose tackle Mazi Smith.

This will be the first time Frazier will be tested by a true nose tackle in the NFL, which is a bit concerning considering some of the snapping issues that Frazier and quarterback Justin Fields have had this season, whether that’s Fields under center or in the shotgun.

Frazier has been arguably the Steelers’ best offensive lineman through the first four weeks, particularly in pass protection. He’s starting to find his footing as run blocker and is looking like one of the better centers in the NFL, period. Smith has been good in recent weeks for the Cowboys and is a strong, squatty body type that can anchor at the point of attack and clog things up. It’s the first real test for Frazier from a true nose tackle perspective.

COWBOYS WR CEEDEE LAMB VS. STEELERS SECONDARY
Though the Cowboys will be without No. 2 WR Brandin Cooks, they still have superstar CeeDee Lamb, who is a nightmare for opposing defenses. One would think with just one true threat at receiver that it would be easy to negate Lamb, but that’s not the case due to the Cowboys moving Lamb around quite a bit, searching for advantageous matchups.

On the year, Lamb has aligned in the slot more (88 snaps) than he has on the boundary (61 snaps). The Cowboys do a great job of moving him around, isolating him on linebackers and safeties on the inside. When he’s out wide, they find a way to get him into 1-on-1 looks without safety help. It’s something to see on tape.

The Steelers have a talented secondary, though, and need to get a lid on Lamb. It doesn’t seem like they’ll travel Joey Porter Jr. with Lamb when he’s in the slot, so the Steelers will have to be mindful of matchups. That means Donte Jackson will have to be on his toes, and Minkah Fitzpatrick will have to be that lurker in the secondary and have eyes on Lamb at all times, especially in passing situations.

It’ll be very interesting to see how the Steelers try and take Lamb out of the game with the secondary. They’ve had success in the past of taking guys out of games, like Cooper Kupp and Ja’Marr Chase. Lamb could be next.

COWBOYS LT TYLER GUYTON VS. STEELERS OLB NICK HERBIG
Last week Nick Herbig had a key matchup against Indianapolis LT Bernhard Raimann, and he came up short. He was also dealing with an ankle injury, so it’s understandable that he was limited after the early portion of the game.

But now, entering Week 5, Herbig needs to have a strong performance as the starting outside linebacker in place of Alex Highsmith. Herbig struggled against the run and really didn’t generate much of a pass rush in his first start. Now he’ll go up against a rookie in Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton.

Guyton has struggled early on in his career, allowing a sack in every week so far. He’s also given up 11 pressures and has been called for 7 penalties. He was a right tackle in college at Oklahoma but made the switch to left tackle in the NFL. It’s been a challenging move.

He will have his hands full with Herbig. This is a perfect opportunity for the second-year pass rusher to have a bounce back game and make an impact like many expected last week.

STEELERS SPECIAL TEAMS VS. COWBOYS SPECIAL TEAMS
This feels like a broad matchup, but it’s a key one within this game. The Steelers and Cowboys have two game-changing special teams units under Danny Smith and John Fassel. It helps having two elite kickers in Chris Boswell and Brandon Aubrey, and strong-legged punters in Bryan Anger and Corliss Waitman.

Add in two dynamic return men in Calvin Austin III and KaVontae Turpin, and it really heightens things on special teams. Turpin already has a punt return for a touchdown on the year and Austin had a big 30-yard return in Week 4 that should have led to points, but ultimately didn’t.

Boswell and Aubrey can hit from anywhere on the field, seemingly, and are as automatic as they come. Smith and Fassel know how to scheme up and call perfectly-timed punt blocks and fakes, too. It might not be the flashiest matchup like Dak Prescott and Lamb against the Steelers’ defense, or Justin Fields in primetime against the Cowboys, but someone on special teams is going to change the game Sunday.