Big Ben Challenges Cowboys as 'America's Team'

Ben Roethlisberger and DeMarcus Lawrence both issued bold comments following the Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game.

The Dallas Cowboys came up short, 24-19, against the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday's NFL Week 9 action. The Cowboys did not hold onto their 10-point fourth-quarter lead, falling to 2-7 on the season (and elevating to the No. 3 spot in the 2021 NFL Draft.)

[READ: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Cowboys 24-19 Loss to Steelers]

[READ: Cowboys QB Andy Dalton Expected to Return As Starter Following Bye Week]

Reflecting on a game that many predicted to be a blowout, the Cowboys locker room was mostly positive and optimistic. In the opposing locker room, meanwhile, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger uttered some headline-grabbing words.

“We know that everybody is coming for us," Roethlisberger told reporters. "I don’t want to take any shots at anybody, but if you didn’t know who America’s Team was then you should’ve seen the stands and all the Terrible Towels. Dallas might be America’s Team but we are the World’s Team.”

Both the Steelers and the Cowboys have massive fan bases and each showed up in a big way on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. It was the highest attended game so far this season, with 31,700 fans there.

Roethlisberger continued with a compliment ...

“That’s a good team. I don’t care what their record says," Roethlisberger said of the Cowboys. "That might be the best pass-rush defense that got after us. I give them a lot of credit.” 

Also of note during the postgame press conferences, DeMarcus Lawrence was not shy regarding the penalty called on linebacker Jaylon Smith. An illegal contact penalty was called on Smith, erasing a would-be-turnover in the fourth quarter.

"I don't know where that came from but that's very unacceptable, especially in a close game like that," Lawrence said of the penalty. "The frustrating part is that it wasn't in our control and I'm not the one to complain but that was total BS on that last call."

Mostly, the Cowboys seemed happy to be trending in the right direction against one of the best teams in the league. 

Next is Dallas' bye week, with its next game at Minnesota on November 22.