Recap: Pittsburgh vs. Dallas

By Sports Network

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - DeShea Townsend's 25-yard interception return with 1:40 left gave Pittsburgh two touchdowns in 19 seconds, after going nearly 58 minutes without finding the end zone, and the Steelers earned a 20-13 victory in a heavyweight defensive bout with the Dallas Cowboys from Heinz Field.

Trailing 13-3 close to midway through the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh got a boost from Santonio Holmes on a 35-yard punt return to the Dallas 25. The Cowboys' fifth sack of the game on Ben Roethlisberger on 3rd-and-2 set Jeff Reed up for a 41-yard boot, which glanced off the right upright and through for a 13-6 game with 7:15 left to play.

Dallas was forced to punt, and the Steelers took the ball 67 yards in eight plays, with Roethlisberger converting a 4th-and-1 from the Dallas 23 on a quarterback sneak before tossing a six-yard TD to Heath Miller to tie the game at 13-13, leaving 2:04 on the clock.

Two plays into the Cowboys' ensuing drive, Tony Romo was intercepted by Townsend, who took it back for the score and a 20-13 Steelers lead, as Dallas now trailed with 1:40 left.

Romo picked up 10 yards on a pass to Roy Williams to start the ensuing series, but four straight incompletions sealed the game for Pittsburgh (10-3), which ran out the final 51 seconds.

The Steelers defense logged three interceptions, three sacks and forced a fumble in holding Dallas to 289 total yards of offense -- continuing their season-best four-game winning streak.

With the win, Pittsburgh moved 1 1/2 games ahead of hard-charging Baltimore in the AFC North standings. The Ravens play later Sunday against the Washington Redskins. The Steelers also improved their status in the race to earn one of the two first-round byes for the conference playoffs, as they moved two games up on the New York Jets, who lost to San Francisco earlier Sunday.

Next Sunday's matchup could very well decide the division, as Pittsburgh takes to the road against Baltimore before traveling to Tennessee and hosting Cleveland to close out the season.

Roethlisberger was 17-of-33 for 204 yards and the touchdown to Miller, who finished with three catches for 20 yards. Reed was 2-of-3 on field goal attempts.

Romo hit on 19-of-36 attempts for 210 yards and a TD to Terrell Owens, who notched three grabs for 32 yards. Jason Witten caught six balls for 62 yards.

Rookie running back Tashard Choice ran for 88 yards on 23 carries and made five receptions for 78 yards in making his first NFL start in place of Marion Barber, who did not make the trip to Pittsburgh due to a dislocated toe.

Dallas (8-5) had won three straight games since Romo returned from a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand that forced the star quarterback to sit out a trio of contests. The win streak vaulted the expected Super Bowl contenders back into the NFC postseason mix, but Sunday's loss crushed the Cowboys attempt to gain ground in the race, specifically on the Atlanta Falcons.

Dallas entered this week's play tied with upstart Atlanta for the conference's final Wild Card spot, and the Falcons' loss to New Orleans earlier Sunday presented a perfect opportunity for the taking.

Sunday's loss also started a tough December stretch in which the club plays three of the NFL's premier defenses in consecutive weeks. The Cowboys host division rival New York Giants before Baltimore's second-ranked unit pays a visit to Texas Stadium on December 20. Dallas will finish up the regular season with a visit to division rival Philadelphia on December 28.