In the Cowboys first matchup with the Eagles, Terence Steele had a performance for the ages, and not in a good way. Dallas’ cornerstone RT had arguably the worst game of his young career, giving up four sacks, one hit, seven hurries and 12 pressures to the Philadelphia pass rush.
He offered less resistance than the 1940 French army and routinely opened Dak Prescott to punishment inside the pocket. On a scale of 0-100, Pro Football Focus awarded his pass protecting efforts a grade of 15 for the day. His protection score out of true pass sets was an almost unfathomably low 6.3, challenging the infamous Chaz Green game of 2017.
In a game that was literally determined by inches, Steele made no excuses.
“It’s really just came down to me, my fundamentals,” Steele said after the game. “Just staying true to it. I got a little sloppy there at the end.”
The noise of no one arguing with his self-critique was deafening. It was Dallas’ biggest game of the season and one they were in prime position to win in the final minute. While a handful of plays, penalties, and bad bounces all shared fault, Steele took the lion’s share of blame from fans.