The Steelers and Dolphins appeared to be two teams headed in opposite directions. They still might be—only going the other way now. Miami was one of the hotter teams in football after a dismal start, while Pittsburgh had cooled off more recently. Coming off a big win over the Ravens, however, the Steelers kept it going on Mondy Night Football.
Now, the Steelers beating the Dolphins might not mean they’re ready for the Rams or Broncos or Patriots or Bills. After all, Miami can’t win in cold weather, apparently, so that played into Pittsburgh’s advantage. But Mike McDaniel wasn’t accepting that excuse. He wasn’t even disappointed in his team’s showing—that wasn’t strong enough.
“Supremely disappointed in the outcome”, the Dolphins head coach said after their loss to the Steelers. “I think it does a disservice to the objective, the work that we were doing on this opponent, and flat-out, their team was better than our team”.
The Dolphins were on a four-game winning streak before running into the Steelers on cold night along the Ohio River. But like a Mafia snitch, their hopes, and their playoff chances, sank fast. Miami is now eliminated, while the Steelers guarantee meaningful games through the end of the regular season. And they did so by securing a win using the Dolphins’ game against them.
“They had a good plan. We went into the game wanting to be the more physical team”, McDaniel said of the Dolphins’ failure to match the Steelers. “That’s something we’ve been emphasizing, we’ve been focusing on a ton. We fell short again coming out of halftime”.
The Steelers, of course, had high designs about being the most physical team in football, though the Dolphins and presumably every other team in the league say similar things. Down multiple key starters, the Steelers’ defense held up against one of the league’s best rushing attacks. And they also made good in one of their most important areas: taking the ball away. New Steeler Asante Samuel Jr. picked off a pass, ending one of the Dolphins’ best drives before the fourth quarter.
“I think the Steelers had a good plan, and early, they knew where we were trying to attack”, McDaniel said of the Dolphins’ failure to capture the turnover battle. “I think Tua [Tagovailoa] lost sight of him, which is a big deal. He didn’t see the hanging corner, so he threw it to [Jaylen] Waddle out of the break. It’s not the ideal play”.
The Dolphins entered the game 6-1 when winning the turnover battle, the Steelers 6-0. Pittsburgh is now 7-0, the two teams having only lost one game with an advantage in that category. Both teams did have a shot at least one other, failing to come down with an interception.
Most shocking was the Steelers’ run game besting the Dolphins’. Miami only attempted 16 runs, but partially because it struggled to possess the ball. Conversely, the Steelers ran the ball 32 times, for 135 yards compared to the Dolphins’ 63.
