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Cowboys vs. Steelers Best Bets for Sunday Night Football in Week 5 (Target the Steelers Offense)

Looking at three best bets to consider for Sunday Night Football. 

By Shelby Dermer

Sep 8, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) runs against the Atlanta Falcons after a catch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Sep 8, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) runs against the Atlanta Falcons after a catch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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Thursday Night Football offered one of the most exciting games in the NFL so far with an overtime shootout in the NFC South between Atlanta and Tampa Bay. 

Could we have another high-scoring matchup in the next primetime affair? The Dallas Cowboys will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers for Sunday Night Football. 

Sitting at 3-1, the Steelers are currently 2.5-point favorites and the total of the game is sitting at 44. 

Here are three best bets to consider for the matchup.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Cowboys vs. Steelers Best Bets for Sunday Night Football in Week 5 

  • Cowboys-Steelers OVER 44 
  • George Pickens OVER 54.5 Receiving Yards 
  • Justin Fields OVER 46.5 Rushing Yards 

Cowboys-Steelers OVER 44 (-108)

Before we get into a few props to take, there’s a play on the total with this over, which has hovered above and below the key number of 44 for the last few days. 

Through three weeks, there was a preconceived notion that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing low-scoring rock fights all season long. However, in Week 4, there looked to be some cracks in the foundation of that defense as the Colts racked up 5.6 yards per play with a combination of Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. 

The Steelers didn’t quite face a murderers’ row of quarterbacks over their 3-0 start where they allowed just 26 total points. Dallas has an awful rushing attack (more on that later), but Dak Prescott is good enough to find the holes in this secondary. 

On the other side, Justin Fields was let loose against Indianapolis, throwing for 312 yards, running for a team-high 55 and totaling three touchdowns. If there’s a weak spot to Pittsburgh’s offense it’s been in pass protection (20th in win rate), but Dallas will be without star Micah Parsons (ankle) and the defense under veteran Mike Zimmer is ranked 25th in yards allowed and 28th in scoring. 

There’s a chance this game could get loose based on the Steelers' first three-week games and a Dallas defense that was able to hold New York to five field goals last week. 

George Pickens OVER 54.4 Receiving Yards (-120)

Pickens’ props are still being set like he’s a disgruntled No. 2 receiver in a lackluster offense. He’s simply not. With Diontae Johnson out of the picture, Pickens is the clear-cut No. 1 receiver for Pittsburgh and the favorite target for Fields.

Pickens has 29 targets this season, no other Steelers’ wide receiver has more than 10 (CalinAustin III). Tight end Pat Friermuth has 20. Pickens, who is averaging 14.2 yards per catch, is building off his strong performance to end the 2023 season. Going back to last year, Pickens has gone over this receiving prop in 7 of 10 games. 

He is averaging 71 receiving yards per game this season. The only time he’s gone under this prop this season was a 2-29 line in Week 2 when he was blanketed by Denver superstar Patrick Surtain II, who is working on a second first-team All-Pro season thus far. Pickens, coming off a 113-yard performance in Week 4, has a chance to feast on this Dallas secondary the same way Malik Nabers (12 catches, 115 yards) and Wan’Dale Robinson (11 catches, 71 yards) did on Thursday Night Football. 

Justin Fields OVER 46.5 Rushing Yards (-110)

With Jaylen Warren (knee) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) not yet practicing, we haven’t seen props for Najee Harris pop up, so we’ll go with Fields. There just has to be a bet against this Dallas rushing defense in your portfolio. 

There could be a misconception that the Cowboys' run defense is fixed after holding Devin Singletary to just 24 yards on 14 carries as they turned the Giants one-dimensional. The Giants have struggled to run the ball all year, though, ranking 30th in yards per game (85.3). Dallas didn’t solve its run defense issues in a short week. This is still a defense that allowed a combined 557 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground through the first three weeks. 

Since props for Harris are not available, we’ll turn to Fields, who has gone over this prop twice in four games and is coming off a 55-yard performance in Week 4. Dallas ranks 27th in rushing yards allowed to quarterbacks this season with the majority of the damage done against them courtesy of Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson (126 yards combined). Fields can put up similar numbers and with three rushing touchdowns over the last two weeks, his anytime touchdown prop (+145) is worth a look, too. 

Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.

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