Everything to Know from Dolphins Week 15 loss vs. Steelers

The Miami Dolphins’ win streak is over, and so is their chance at making a miracle run to the playoffs. The Dolphins dropped to 6-8 on the season after losing, 28-to-15, to the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night.

Miami was officially eliminated from the postseason after yet another disappointing performance in the cold against a good team late in the season. In year four of the Mike McDaniel era, it was all the same issues that have plagued the team since 2022.

Poor tackling on defense, a limited offense, and a poor performance from the quarterback — all the tenets of a Dolphins’ late-season loss.

We’ll have all offseason to talk about the future for those involved, but here’s what you need to know from this game.

Drive-By-Drive Recap

The Dolphins won the toss and decided to receive, which didn’t go particularly as planned. The drive started out well with a 20-yard catch and run for Julian Hill, but Miami punted three plays later after failing to convert third and long.

Miami’s defense forced a three-and-out after Jordyn Brooks stopped Kenneth Gainwell one yard short of the marker. The Dolphins’ offense drove into Steelers territory on the ensuing drive before Tua Tagovailoa threw his 15th INT of the season.

It was an ugly throw that Asante Samuel Jr. sunk underneath the corner route and made the play, taking points off the board for Miami.

The Steelers managed to drive 40 yards on 13 plays, including two fourth-down conversions on the ensuing drive that took about eight minutes off the clock.

However, they ended up punting after Jordyn Brooks sacked Aaron Rodgers out of field goal range on the first quarter’s final play.

The teams traded punts to start the second quarter before Miami finally got on the board with a 54-yard field goal from Riley Patterson to make it 3-0. The Dolphins drove 33 yards on seven plays, going up with about five minutes left in the half.

The Steelers answered with a touchdown on their best drive of the game, going 60 yards in 12 plays. Patterson was flagged for kicking the ball short of the landing zone on the kickoff, giving Pittsburgh the ball at the 40.

The drive was capped off by a tush-push touchdown for fullback/tight end Connor Heyward to make it 7-3 at the half.

Pittsburgh got the ball to start the second half and went right down the field to go up 14-3. The big play was a 38-yard run from Kenneth Gainwell after Ashtyn Davis missed a tackle at the second level.

A few plays later, Rodgers went play-action and found Marquez Valdes-Scantling like they were playing on the 2020 Green Bay Packers.

Miami went three and out on the following drive after Jalen Ramsey sacked Tua on a safety blitz. Pittsburgh got the ball back and went down the field for another touchdown to make it 21-3.

On third and long, Rodgers hit DK Metcalf over the middle, and he broke a tackle to score from 28 yards out. Davis tried to jump the route and make a PBU but missed, allowing Metcalf to make the catch.

Miami went three and out again on the following possession, which also ended in a sack. Just like last time, the Steelers drove down the field and punched another one into the end zone.

This time, it was former Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith getting a carry from 14 yards out to make it 28-3 with a little over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Miami finally answered with a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive capped off by Tua finding Darren Waller for a jump-ball touchdown from six yards out. Tua had a couple of nice throws on the drive, but he sailed a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score at 28-9.

The Dolphins’ defense got a snap, and Miami went down the field again for another touchdown to make it 28-15. Tua made a couple of nice scramble plays and found Waller in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown.

Miami missed the two-point conversion again after Greg Dulcich dropped a catchable pass. After another stop and more stat padding, Miami lost 28-15.

Offensive Recap

Miami’s offense was basically a no-show for most of the night. The Dolphins had three points until a touchdown by Waller with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

The team had some momentum on the opening drive, but Tua’s brutal interception took points off the board.

In his defense, it was either a poorly called or executed route concept, but Tua still threw blindly into coverage without checking his work. Tua was awful until the fourth quarter, finishing the game completing 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

He struggled to generate any velocity on the ball, even when throwing screens to the boundary. His inability to avoid rushers in the pocket also contributed to a few sacks that put Miami off the field.

Outside of Tua and the passing game, Miami’s vaunted rushing attack never got going. Achane finished with 60 yards on 12 carries, as the Dolphins just couldn’t stay on the field long enough to grind out yards.

Miami was two-of-eight on third downs in the game, including a third-and-short stuff of Ollie Gordon III in the second quarter. Miami got a field goal on that drive, but it felt like a potential touchdown drive with a conversion there.

Overall, the Dolphins’ offense finished the game running just 48 plays (most of which came after they went down 28-3) and gaining 285 yards.

There were failures at every level, not just on the quarterback. Miami’s receivers struggled to get open downfield, and the run blocking was a little worse this week.

Ultimately, though, you can only generate so much offense with a quarterback who limits the offense the way Tua does right now.

Defensive Recap

Miami’s defense held on for dear life in the first half, forcing the Steelers off the field a couple of times courtesy of sacks by Brooks and Zach Sieler. However, Pittsburgh came out of the second half like a different team.

The Dolphins looked tired in the second half, as their tackling started to fall off a cliff. Gainwell’s early run in the third quarter and Metcalf’s third-quarter touchdown featured some brutal tackling reminiscent of the early season performance.

Rodgers is incredibly limited at this point in his career, as Pittsburgh’s entire offense is built out of checkdowns and four-yard runs. Well, that was enough Monday night.

Rodgers finished the game completing 23-of-27 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He didn’t do anything overly impressive, but he was just incredibly efficient.

On the ground, Pittsburgh split carries between Gainwell and Jaylen Warren. Gainwell had 80 yards on 13 carries, while Warren added 33 yards on 12 carries.

Overall, Miami’s defense allowed 336 total yards. It wasn’t an awful performance the entire way — it was really just a couple of big plays on money downs that allowed the Steelers to extend drives and score points.

Pittsburgh just seemed to wear the Dolphins’ defense down with long drives and physical running. Miami came out of the gate hitting hard and flying around, but it couldn’t sustain it for four quarters.

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