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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers had a tough time
choosing the best part of their preseason opener Sunday night: the
performance of cornerback Deshea Townsend or rookie receiver
Plaxico Burress.
|  | | Pittsburgh rookie Plaxico Burress announces his presence with authority with four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. |
For the Dallas Cowboys, the difficult part was finding anything
that went right.
Townsend had two interceptions, returning one 22 yards for a
touchdown, and Burress caught four passes for 60 yards and a
touchdown and set up another as the Steelers drilled the Cowboys
38-10.
Pittsburgh led 14-10 when both teams used frontline players,
then the Steelers broke things open as soon as the second-teamers
took over. They outscored Dallas 31-3 in the second quarter,
getting 24 of the points off four turnovers to ruin the debut of
coach Dave Campo. Neither team scored in the second half.
Townsend broke things open with an interception return that made
it 24-10 with 4:53 left before halftime. The Steelers added two more
touchdowns before halftime on a 29-yard pass Kent Graham to Malcom
Johnson and a 2-yarder to Burress.
Burress, Pittsburgh's top draft choice, came in on the second
series and Kordell Stewart went to him on three of the next six
snaps.
Stewart's first play was a high ball that Burress pulled from
above rookie cornerback Mario Edwards for 29 yards. Burress then
turned a short pass into a 24-yard gain by running over Dallas' top
draft choice, Dwayne Goodrich. Then Edwards was flagged for
interfering with Burress in the end zone, drawing a 21-yard penalty
that set up Jerome Bettis' 1-yard run that gave Pittsburgh a 7-0
lead.
Burress' next catch went for only 5 yards -- but got another
15 added for unneccessary roughness by Dallas safety Chris Akins.
That drive ended with Burress using his body to snag a 2-yard
touchdown lob over second-year corner Duane Hawthorne.
The poor showing by the young cornerbacks and veteran Kevin
Smith getting burned are bad signs for the Cowboys, who must
replace Deion Sanders. More bad news was rookie Kareem Larrimore
breaking his right hand.
Dallas showed little of the new offense it's breaking in, unless
the new plan emphasizes linebacker-turned-fullback Robert Thomas.
He caught three of Troy Aikman's six completions for 21 yards and
he ran once for 3 yards.
Aikman's first possession ended when he lost a fumble on a
blind-side sack caused by left tackle Flozell Adams missing a
block.
His second drive was more typical of Dallas' offseason changes:
25-yard pass to newly acquired Joey Galloway, 23-yarder to Raghib
Ismail, 5-yard dump to Thomas and a 1-yard touchdown run by Chris
Warren, filling in for the injured Emmitt Smith.
Aikman finished 6-for--7 for 83 yards.
Stewart was 5-for-9 for 101 yards. His screen to Amos Zereoue
turned into a 31-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead.
Dallas made it 14-10 on a 48-yard field goal by Tim Seder, who
left his job as a high school teacher to try making the NFL.
Pittsburgh's Kris Brown, who grew up a few miles from Texas
Stadium, answered with a 44-yarder that made it 17-10.
Dimitrius Underwood had a decent performance for the Cowboys in
his first game since last preseason with Miami. The talented but
troubled lineman had a sack and several pressures, but also was
forced away from the action several times.
Dallas defensive back Sean Key, a rookie from Florida State, suffered a
broken tibia and fibia in his right leg during a tackle in the fourth
quarter, a Cowboys spokesman said.
Dallas tight end Mike Lucky suffered sprained right knee when he was
tackled in the third quarter. He will be evaluated Monday.
Pittsburgh running back Destry Wright, a rookie from Jackson State,
suffered a dislocated right ankle when he rolled the ankle on the turf in
the fourth quarter.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
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