4 Takeaways From the Steelers’ Win Over the Dolphins

[ad_1] The Steelers proceed to manage their future after taking good care of enterprise on primetime.

Pittsburgh used an enormous third quarter and did sufficient within the remaining interval to take down Miami 28-15 on Monday night time at Acrisure Stadium, staying a recreation forward of Baltimore (7-7) for first place within the AFC North. The Steelers (8-6) now have received back-to-back video games for the primary time since Weeks 5-6.

With the loss, the Dolphins (6-8) have been eradicated from playoff rivalry, marking the second straight yr that Miami received’t make the postseason.

Listed here are my takeaways:

1. Steelers broke recreation open in third quarter Main the Dolphins 7-3 getting into the second half, the Steelers set the tone within the third quarter with their floor recreation.

Pittsburgh opened the quarter with 5 straight runs, together with a 38-yarder by working again Kenneth Gainwell, to arrange its second landing — a 19-yard cross by Aaron Rodgers to his former Packers teammate, large receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That put the Steelers up, 14-3.

On its subsequent possession, after a Dolphins’ three-and-out, Pittsburgh acquired a recent set of downs after Miami was penalized for 12 males on the sphere on a third-and-3. The Steelers turned that into their third straight landing, as Rodgers related with DK Metcalf for the 29-yard rating to make it 21-3. Then a killer taunting penalty from Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks on the following possession led to a fourth Steelers’ straight scoring drive, which ended early within the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh had agency management of the sport during the last quarter and a half.

2. Dolphins cannot get Achane, speeding assault going At the same time as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has struggled, Miami’s offense discovered success amid its successful streak due to a dominant speeding recreation. The Dolphins entered Monday having posted 160-plus speeding yards in 4 straight contests, together with 239 in final week’s win over the Jets.

However the run recreation went nowhere Monday night time. Standout working again De’Von Achane was held to 12carries for 60 yards, his lowest speeding complete since Week 5.

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa will get taken down by a pair of Steelers defenders.

3. Gainwell shines for Pittsburgh The veteran tailback posted 126 yards from scrimmage Monday night time (80 speeding, 46 receiving), his X-highest complete of the season. Gainwell’s 38-yard run within the third quarter helped Pittsburgh take management early within the second half.

The Steelers had 135 speeding yards for the sport, what needs to be a welcomed improvement down the stretch for Mike Tomlin and Co. Pittsburgh had simply 92 speeding yards mixed in its final two video games.

4. Dolphins’ battle is admirable As we barrel towards an offseason of change in Miami, the Dolphins deserve loads of credit score for the way they’ve fought down the stretch. Their season gave the impression to be over after a 1-6 begin, solely to win 5 of their subsequent six —together with 4 straight — to maintain their slim playoff hopes alive getting into Monday night time. And the Dolphins battled early towards the Steelers and mounted a legit comeback late earlier than Pittsburgh iced the sport with a cease on Miami’s remaining drive.

4 ½. What’s subsequent? The Steelers journey to Detroit subsequent week to face the Lions (8-6) earlier than ending the common season with two division video games: at Cleveland and residential vs. Baltimore.

The Dolphins hit the highway to face the Bengals (4-10) and Bucs in back-to-back weeks, then play at New England in Week 18.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand labored for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Community, the place he was the Titans beat author for a yr and a half. He coated the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for 3 seasons (2018-20) previous to transferring to Tennessee. You possibly can observe Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

Need nice tales delivered proper to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports activities account, and observe leagues, groups and gamers to obtain a customized e-newsletter each day!