Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts opened up on the wild goal-line play against the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.
Roberts leaped over the line of scrimmage and forced a fumble on Rico Dowdle , who's now a Steelers teammate, but Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recovered the loose ball.
Despite the 3-yard loss on the play, Prescott threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert two plays later, and the Cowboys won 20–17.
Roberts thinks Pittsburgh would've re-signed him in the 2025 offseason if the Steelers recovered the loose ball after his crushing hit on Dowdle.
"That play is a bittersweet one," Roberts said on Cam Heyward 's Not Just Football podcast. "It's a dope play. But the bitter about it is if Miles [Killebrew] picks that ball up, I do not think I walk in free agency."
Roberts had a feeling that Dowdle was going to jump on the goal line.
"Before that play, [Patrick Queen] always lined up on the right," Roberts said. "I was like, 'Nah bro, it's going to the left. And their running back is going to jump.' Brian Flores told me that. So I say, 'PQ, let's switch. I'm getting a running start and going over the top because he's about to jump."
This one WILD goal-line play from Elandon Roberts had so many layers to it that never got noticed.
Here's the full story from E Rob ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/wFST9YMTvm— Not Just Football (@NotJustFootball) October 16, 2026
An 11-year veteran, Roberts played for Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Patrick Graham last season with the Las Vegas Raiders. Roberts re-joined the Steelers during training camp, but was surprisingly released as part of roster cut-downs.
"I wouldn't have came back if I was uncomfortable," Roberts said. "I know a lot of people are (like), 'Man, you should feel a way.' It's a business at the end of the day."
Heyward loves what he sees from Elandon Roberts.
"He is a thumper. If you look back at all his clips all over YouTube, it's fun to watch. Because he's in that ilk of a guy like Vince Williams or Lawrence Timmons, where they're just heat-seeking missiles," Heyward said. "It's gonna be fun. I know he's starting off on the practice squad and he's gonna work his way in. But it's gonna be fun to watch that guy get back to work with us."
Heyward admitted that the defense was heartbroken when they found out Roberts wasn't coming back after the final roster cuts.
"Found out E-Rob was coming back — excited to bring that guy back in the fold. I think we were all a little heartbroken to see that guy walk out the door, because we felt like he could help our team," Heyward said.
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