If the weather delay before kickoff wasn’t already enough, the actual game between the Cowboys and Steelers felt like an eternity just due to how close it was all night long. The Cowboys emerged victorious, though the calendar had already flipped over to Monday by the time the final whistle blew.

In a game this close, just about every play had the feeling of “this is going to be a big one.” These five plays, though, were especially impactful in determining the final outcome. Spoiler alert: three of them came on that final offensive drive.

Dak Prescott fumbles in the red zone early

The Cowboys offense was off to a hot start in this one, moving up and down the field fairly well. Tied up at 3-3, the offense was putting together another impressive drive and reached the red zone before too long. Points seemed guaranteed, even if it was only three of them.

Then Dak Prescott made the cardinal sin of holding the ball a little too long. He had been using a quick trigger all night, but this play saw him take a little longer, which was all T.J. Watt needed to do T.J. Watt things.

It was a terrible way to end the first quarter, and it robbed the Cowboys of points in a game where scoring was hard to come by. A quicker decision from Prescott and Dallas takes the lead here, but instead the Steelers keep things tied up.

Dak Prescott’s second red zone turnover keeps game close

Prescott had an uncharacteristically high variance game in this one. He made some crazy plays but also paired it with some really bad turnovers, the second of which also came in the red zone.

Up 6-3 and running a two-minute drill before halftime, Prescott navigated the offense down into the red zone. Once again, points seemed a sure thing, especially when Prescott looked CeeDee Lamb’s way. But then this happened:

There seemed to be some sort of miscommunication between Prescott and Lamb, and the turnover was the result. They had a chance to take a two-score lead with a touchdown here, but the turnover kept things tight, which allowed the Steelers to play the game on their terms.

Jake Ferguson breaks tackle to convert big third down

The Steelers scored a touchdown to go up 17-13 with just under five minutes left in the game, and everything came down to the final drive from Prescott and the offense. Some hard running from Rico Dowdle helped move things along, but Prescott needed to step up.

Facing a third and nine at the Pittsburgh 32, Prescott fired a short pass to Jake Ferguson. The tight end caught the ball short of the sticks, but the angle of the catch allowed Ferguson to shake off the would-be tackler and turn upfield for the first down.

Were it not for this move from Ferguson, the Cowboys would’ve been looking at an extremely high leverage fourth and short call. But Ferguson did what he often does, which is break tackles and make moves after the catch.

Hunter Luepke screen narrowly avoids disaster

On the very next play, the Cowboys had a fresh set of downs and were just 22 yards away from taking the lead. That’s when Mike McCarthy dialed up a screen pass to Hunter Luepke, hoping to catch the Steelers’ aggressive pass rush off guard.

It worked, but just by that much. T.J. Watt almost immediately beat Terence Steele, and he was a half second away from blowing up Prescott. The quarterback flipped the ball to Luepke with just enough time to avoid the sack, and the versatile fullback did the rest.

It’s easy to imagine what happens if Prescott holds the ball a fraction of a second longer. In fact, that exact scenario was the first play on this list. Best case scenario, Prescott gets dropped for a sack and the Cowboys are put in a second and long with under a minute to go. The quick thinking from Prescott was huge here, and Luepke’s powerful running after the catch made the play all the better.

Dak Prescott recovers Rico Dowdle’s fumble

Speaking of Prescott rescuing the Cowboys from disaster, he more than atoned for his mistakes earlier in this game on the Cowboys’ final drive. Following a Prescott run that went right down to the goal line, McCarthy called for a Dowdle run, likely hoping to reward the running back for his career night with a score.

As Dowdle took the handoff, he launched forward and extended the ball, a risky play. That risk hit right away, as the ball was knocked loose and fell out onto the ground. Prescott saw the ball fall near him and immediately leapt onto it with no regard for his own safety. Steelers safety Miles Killebrew did the same, missing out by just a hair, and instead drilling Prescott.

Had Killebrew gotten there first, this game is over right there. Quick thinking from Prescott, and a gutsy dive, saved the Cowboys from a tragic defeat. Two plays later, he hit Jalen Tolbert for the game winner and delivered another win for his team. That moment wouldn’t even be possible without this fumble recovery, though.