The Pittsburgh Steelers were on primetime television Sunday night as they traveled south to take on the Miami Dolphins. Miami was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the only team to go undefeated in the Super Bowl era, so many greats were on hand. What they saw was a sloppy defensive battle, where no second half points were scored. Pittsburgh had two chances to potentially win the game, but a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter by Kenny Pickett sealed the Steelers fate and handed the Dolphins a 16-10 victory.
Miami did all the scoring in the first quarter. They started the game driving straight through the Pittsburgh defense. That first drive would end with an 8yd touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Raheem Mostert. The Dolphins would settle for two field goals from Jason Sanders, from 24 and 42 yards, to take a thirteen-point lead into the second quarter.
The Steelers finally got on the board a little over three minutes into the quarter. Those points would come via a 45yd field goal by Chris Boswell. Just after the two-minute warning, Pittsburgh would get their lone touchdown when Pickett threw a 7yd touchdown pass to George Pickens. Sanders closed out the half with a 47yd field goal to put Miami up six.
Pickett would end the night 32-44 for 257 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Najee Harris led the running game with 65 yards on seventeen carries. Pat Freiermuth had eight receptions for 75 yards on the night. The defense caused zero turnovers and did not register a sack on the night. Myles Jack led the team with eight solo tackles, ten total.
There is no coming back for the Steelers this year. They currently sit in last place in the division, are three games under .500, and have failed for seven weeks to show any kind of offensive growth. Head Coach Mike Tomlin will make excuses and come up with cute phrases to shake accepting any blame for this teams’ lack of success over the years. Another great unsolved mystery is why Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada still has a job.
It is hard to blame the defense for this loss, but four dropped interceptions would have flipped the field and given the offense a few more opportunities to score. Also, the late first half field goal did change the complex of how those late drives were handled. Pittsburgh now has the worst point differential in the league after the game Sunday night. Up next is a visit across the state to take on the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. This game could get ugly if the offense of the Steelers can’t find any resemblance of rhythm. Kickoff is 1:00pm.
Overall Record: 2-5
