PITTSBURGH -- Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott are newcomers to one of the NFL's most storied cross-conference rivalries, and they wrote an exciting new chapter to Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers that may be difficult to top.

Elliott ran 32 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with nine seconds remaining -- his second score in a frantic final two minutes -- and the Cowboys rallied for a 35-30 victory over the Steelers on Sunday in a dramatic renewal of their decades-long rivalry.

"When we play one play at a time, we're tough to beat," Prescott said of the Cowboys (8-1).

In a remarkable, can-you-top-this game that seemed destined throughout to go to the last play and did, the lead changed hands three times in just the final two minutes and four times in the fourth quarter.

Elliott, only the third rookie running back in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in his first eight games, ran for two touchdowns and also scored on an 83-yard screen pass as the Cowboys won their eighth in a row.

The Steelers (4-5), their season now teetering, dropped their fourth in a row despite Ben Roethlisberger's 408 yards passing and three touchdowns, LeVeon Bell's two touchdowns and Antonio Brown's 14 catches.

Just 34 seconds before Elliott ran through the middle of the Steelers defense, Roethlisberger hit Brown (154 yards receiving) for a 15-yard touchdown pass against an unprepared Dallas defense to seemingly give the Steelers a 30-29 win.

But a few seconds remained, and a few seconds were all that were all that were needed multiple times to change the momentum in a back-and-forth game in which the Steelers couldn't hold leads of 12-3, 15-13, 24-23 and 30-29. Dallas gave up leads of 13-12, 23-18 and 29-24.

"I was surprised we had to do it again," Prescott said of the Cowboys needing two scoring drives in the closing minutes. "But I'm always confident in myself. I just hope my teammates believe in me."

Prescott was 22 of 32 for 319 yards and two touchdowns in his first 300-yard game, and he needed only five plays to win it in one of the NFL's classic games of the season. The Cowboys have won eight in a row only one other time, in 1977.

"Dak's got a hot hand and we're going to go with it," owner Jerry Jones said, ending any speculation Tony Romo might soon reclaim his starting job.

One play before Elliott's winning touchdown, Prescott hit tight end Jason Witten for 5 yards, and a key 15-yard face mask penalty on Steelers rookie cornerback Sean Davis moved the ball to the 32.

After that, Elliott did the rest.

"It was a blitz, and they lost their gap," said Elliott, whose 1,005 yards are only two shy of Tony Dorsett's team rookie rushing record. "The hole was wide open and that made it easy for me. ... It parted like the Red Sea. All I had to do was run."

Witten said, "I've played a lot of games in my time, and this was up there."

"Not enough discipline and detail to our game to be victorious," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It's not mystical. It ain't OK. We can't accept it and won't accept it."

Roethlisberger echoed those words, saying multiple times after the game, "We need to be more accountable (and) disciplined."

Neither had played in a Cowboys-Steelers game before -- they weren't alive for the first two of the three Super Bowls between the franchises -- but Ellliott said Prescott was perfectly calm before the last drive.

"He's a beast," Elliott said. "We said to each other before that last drive, 'That's why we came to Dallas.' He didn't flinch. He played big-time ball."

Elliott's second touchdown of the game, a 14-yard run in which he was untouched, put Dallas up 29-23 with 1:55 remaining, but Roethlisberger picked on a decimated Dallas secondary to find tight end Jesse James for 24 yards and Le'Veon Bell for 23 immediately ahead of the Brown score. Roethlisberger went up to the line of scrimmage quickly and appeared to be faking a spike attempt, only to raise up and hit Brown open in the end zone.

"It was all Ben," Brown said. "We've practiced that situation. I got his eye ... and we were able to execute."

Bell also caught a 2-yard scoring pass and ran 1 yard for yet another go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter.

In a back-and-forth, physical game seemingly better suited for January than November, an emotional Dez Bryant, playing hours after his father died, caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Prescott that put the Cowboys (7-2) ahead 23-18 late in the third quarter, but Brown's 22-yard punt return and 20-yard catch set up Bell's TD run with 7:56 remaining.

Bryant dropped the ball in the end zone and signaled to the sky as if to indicate the touchdown was for his father. He was hugged by coach Jason Garrett after returning to the sideline.

"It was a special night for Dez," Prescott said. "He went out and honored his dad."

That was only the beginning of one of the NFL's most dramatic fourth quarters in seasons.

In a game that renewed a sporadic but real rivalry between two long-successful franchises that have met in three Super Bowls, the Steelers had four missed 2-point conversions that ended up proving costly. Dallas also missed one.

Roethlisberger, playing in an offense with only four healthy wide receivers, also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers that put the Steelers up 12-3 in the first quarter, and Chris Boswell kicked field goals of 39 and 25 yards.

Bell, once again splitting time at wide receiver and running back, ran 17 times for 57 yards and caught eight passes for 54 yards, with his 2-yard scoring catch coming after linebacker Ryan Shazier recovered Prescott's fumble at the 50 early in the game.

Dan Bailey kicked field goals of 37, 53 and 46 yards as a series of Cowboys drives stalled when they couldn't convert on third-and-short.

NOTES: Cowboys WR Dez Bryant found out upon arriving in Pittsburgh on Saturday that his father had died following a lengthy illness. ... Injuries to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) and Markus Wheaton (shoulder) meant the Steelers had only four wide receivers active. ... TE Ladarius Green, a former Chargers tight end, made his Steelers debut. He sat out the first eight games with an ankle injury. ... Cowboys QB Tony Romo was inactive, despite speculation during the week he might back up Prescott. ... The Steelers play four of their next five on the road, including two road games in five days next week, at Cleveland on Sunday and Indianapolis on Thanksgiving. Their only home game before Christmas is Dec. 4 against the New York Giants. ... The crowd of 67,737 was the largest for any home game in Steelers history. ... Roethlisberger, who was 13-0 as in 2004, is the only rookie quarterback with a longer winning streak that Prescott.