The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-2 with their upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. It may seem strange to say this about a team that has won 60% of their games this year, but this win is the first that really gives cause for hope for the rest of the season. Given the opponent and other circumstances, it was the first win of 2024, forcing Dallas to dig deep to succeed.

In Week 1, the Cleveland Browns were little more than a sparring partner. While they had an elite defense last season, it hasn’t been nearly as good this year. And thanks to injuries to the offensive line and QB DeShaun Watson’s ongoing struggles, Dallas was able to bully an opponent that couldn’t even put up its gloves.

The win over the New York Giants wasn’t that one-sided, but that’s just because it came down to who could play worse. Dallas was barely able to defeat its NFC East rivals, largely thanks to Dak Prescott, who wasn’t even at his best and was a better quarterback than Daniel Jones. Beating the Giants by a narrow margin was hardly cause for celebration.

Although Pittsburgh has its problems, they were a far more respectable opponent. They entered Sunday night with a 3-1 record, home field advantage and an overwhelming majority of analysts expecting them to win. When the game was delayed an hour due to weather, it felt like certain doom for a Cowboys team whose mental toughness has rightly been questioned this year. The field conditions also appeared to have suited the Steelers’ style of play.

Then came the injuries for Dallas. With Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence and Caelen Carson already missing, the Cowboys defense lost Marshawn Kneeland early in the game. With Brandin Cooks missing his first game since going on IR, Dallas also had to sideline Tyler Guyton and Zack Martin was sidelined for a time.

We knew the Cowboys were in an uphill battle heading into the game, and the climb only got steeper with the different circumstances. When Dallas allowed turnovers and a blocked field goal to rob them of points on three separate drives, it felt like they had shot themselves in both feet. We just kept waiting for the Steelers to finally take advantage.

But they didn’t. Despite everything, including themselves, the Cowboys just kept fighting. Mike Zimmer continued to find ways to make MacGyver a capable defense despite limited resources. After a month of hard sledding and limited options, Rico Dowdle was in attack mode at every touch. Jalen Tolbert fought his way back onto the field despite obvious pain and scored the game-winning touchdown. And despite his own mistakes and the brotherly tensions with his star receiver, Dak Prescott stepped up at the last minute to seal the deal for his team.

We haven’t said this much lately, but we give Mike McCarthy credit for the heart his team showed. We still saw some classic McCarthy blocks, making stupid decisions about when to call and when not to call, or not daring a shot into the end zone on 3rd-and-long when you’re already within range of Brandon Aubrey is located. But when we saw Dallas show little fight (until very late) in losses to New Orleans and Baltimore, and this game had plenty of reasons to go the same way, we saw a different personality in the team’s performance.

Does it mean anything for the future? It could be; It’s amazing how teams respond to new trust or the feeling that the outside world doesn’t believe in them. Dallas has both to offer this week and is still considered an underdog ahead of the big NFC showdown with the Detroit Lions. But if they build on what they did in Pittsburgh, particularly in the running game, then the Cowboys could finally find the balance they need to be consistently competitive.