Post-Cowboys thoughts

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A lot is going to be made of a statement Ben Roethlisberger made following this 27-24 overtime loss.

After saying that he blamed himself for this loss, Roethlisberger said when asked why tight end Heath Miller wasn't a bigger part of the game plan in the second half, "I don't think we called the right plays to get him the ball."

Notice that Roethlisberger said WE. He didn't say the coaches. He didn't say the offensive coordinator. He said WE.

That is because Roethlisberger was probably as responsible for the playcalling in the second half as offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Let's take a look at the second half.

The Steelers' first series was two Jonathan Dwyer runs and an incompletion to Dwyer in the flat on which Roethlisberger bounced the ball to Dwyer for what would have been at least a 10-yard gain.

On their second possession, they again ran three plays, but this time one of those plays was a 60-yard gain to Mike Wallace. No chance to throw to Miller there.

Their next series again ended with a touchdown, so did it matter that they threw no passes to Miller?

After that, it was pretty much Roethlisberger calling plays until the overtime period, when his first pass went to Miller.

So was Roethlisberger blaming Haley, himself or both?

Look for Roethlisberger to clarify that statement on Wednesday.

@ I thought there was a lot to like about this game for the Steelers. They went into Dallas - which owns one of the top passing attacks in the NFL to go along with a solid pass rush - and while the Cowboys had some success throwing the ball and rushing Roethlisberger, neither of those things was the deciding factor in this game.

@ While Roethlisberger blamed himself for this loss, so, too, did Antonio Brown.

Brown made three critical errors in this game.

The fumbled punt was the biggest one, as it completely changed the momentum.

But he also failed to field a punt with less than two minutes remaining that cost the Steelers at least 15 yards in field position, then ran out of bounds on third-and-26, rather than staying in bounds and forcing Dallas to use another timeout.

Neither of those last two miscues cost the Steelers this game, but both could have easily been the difference.

@ Will the people calling for Mike Tomlin's head just chill out? He's not going to be fired, nor should he be fired.

This team has dealt with a number of crippling injuries, such as the aforementioned ones heading into this game.

And yet if they win their final two games, they will be in the playoffs. In fact, there's a good chance that if they win their final two games, they could win the division.

Here's how: If the Steelers finish in a three-way tie with Baltimore and Cincinnati at 9-7, they win the AFC North based on a better head-to-head record, 3-1, against those teams.

Sure, the Steelers have struggled of late, but it's nothing getting some players back healthy wouldn't fix.

Mike Adams should be back to play right tackle this week, and the running game could certainly use his presence.

There's also a chance that Ike Taylor could be back as well - though I'd put that at around 50-50 right now.