Scooter & Hum: Day 957, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Steelers Game 7 Review

In what was a strange game that saw a scoreless second half and a number of coaching errors from Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins used a huge defensive effort to snap a three-game losing streak. After losing the turnover battle 7-0 and committing 27 penalties in the past three contests, Miami won the turnover battle 3-0 and was called for just five penalties.

While the main storylines were the 50th anniversary of the perfect '72 team and the return of Tua Tagovailoa, the game balls should go to defensive coordinator Josh Boyer and a decimated secondary after a memorable primetime performance.

On to the that-was-harder-than-it-needed-to-be recap ...

Offense

The Dolphins were borderline unstoppable early on, averaging nine yards per play on their first 15 plays -- but just 5.2 yards per play the rest of the way. Miami still managed 17 first downs, totaled 372 yards (six yards per gain), averaged 4.1 yards per carry on the ground, did not commit a turnover (despite several tries by Tua), and were not sacked. However, they were just 4 of 14 on third downs, failed to convert their lone fourth-down attempt, and scored a touchdown on just one of its three trips to the red zone.
The performance from Tua was rocky. In his first game back after three weeks, he connected on 21 of 35 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. He ran four times for 14 yards, but took a pair of unnecessary hits and also had a delay-of-game penalty at an inopportune time. He got away with a number of throws, with the Steelers arguably dropping four interceptions. Tua was not as accurate as he usually is -- especially in the second half -- and, understandably, may need another game or two to shake off the rust.
The wide-zone scheme was working, especially in the first half, and Raheem Mostert was a shoelace away from breaking about three different runs. He ended up with 16 carries for 79 yards and added four catches for 30 yards and a score. Chase Edmonds (18 snaps) ran seven times for 17 yards and dropped both of his two targets, earning him a "Butterfingers" mention and a 35.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. Alec Ingold did not get a touch in his 29 snaps, but had a few crucial blocks.
Tyreek Hill was targeted 13 times, bringing in seven for 72 yards. Jaylen Waddle turned his five targets into four grabs for 88 yards, bouncing back nicely from a rare tough performance against Minnesota. Trent Sherfield (35 snaps) had three catches for 44 yards, including a 32-yarder that was the long play of the game for the Dolphins. River Cracraft (six snaps) and Cedrick Wilson (four snaps) did not record any statistics from scrimmage.
At tight end, Mike Gesicki led the way with three catches for 27 yards on seven targets in his 38 snaps. Durham Smythe was limited to 26 snaps, while Hunter Long (four snaps) and Tanner Conner (two snaps) saw limited action.
In arguably its best showing of the season, the offensive line took a major step forward against a challenging Steelers front that, to be fair, was missing T.J. Watt. The return of Terron Armstead at left tackle made all the difference, and he did not lose a single pass-blocking rep according to PFF. On the other side, Brandon Shell allowed a single hit and one hurry in what represented a remarkable improvement from the previous week. Liam Eichenberg drew a pair of false starts at left guard, but was otherwise strong at the point of attack, though fellow guard Robert Hunt got manhandled in short yardage a couple of times. Center Connor Williams earned a 93.0 grade from PFF for his efforts.

Defense

Though Pittsburgh won the time of possession (33:16 to 26:44) and the pass rush was too often nonexistent, the Dolphin defense rose up time and again. The unit stopped the Steelers on 10 of 14 third-down attempts, allowed a single touchdown on two red-zone trips, forced six punts, and caused three turnovers. Boyer's mix-and-match effort in the secondary was nothing short of staggering.
At defensive end, Christian Wilkins led the way with six tackles, half a sack, and a quarterback hit, with Zach Sieler adding four tackles and applying interior pressure at key moments. With Emmauel Ogbah inactive due to injury, Ben Stille came on for nine snaps, posting a pair of tackles.
Raekwon Davis had a quarterback hit at nose tackle, and John Jenkins contributed a solo tackle and a hit on the signal-caller in his 15 snaps.
Melvin Ingram posted an 81.3 PFF grade with a solo tackle, a stop for loss, and a quarterback hit at weakside linebacker. Finally getting more playing time (24 snaps), Andrew Van Ginkel was everywhere, notching 10 tackles, including six solos, to lead the team and earn an 82.5 PFF grade.
At strongside linebacker, Jaelen Phillips was relentless in putting together perhaps his best performance of the season, recording eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, two stops for losses, seven pressures, and a pair of quarterback hits -- good for an 87.5 grade from PFF. With Ogbah inactive and Trey Flowers out for the year, the 'Fins are getting thin in the front seven, so the efforts of Phillips and Van Ginkel were enormous for the squad.
In the middle, Jerome Baker had four tackles and Elandon Roberts added three. Duke Riley emerged to collect six tackles and a stop for loss in his 29 snaps, earning an 84.3 PFF grade. Sam Eguavoen had nine snaps in reserve, but did not record a statistic. Baker lined up as a pass-rushing edge a few different times, but was unable to get any pressure from that alignment.
Decimated at corner due to a litany of injuries, the Dolphins turned to Xavien Howard and Noah Ighbinoghene to play all 75 snaps. "X" was not tested much, allowing just 24 receiving yards and delivering three tackles, while "Iggy" responded with four tackles, a pass breakup, a shaky illegal contact penalty, and the game-clinching interception. Justin Bethel played 59 snaps, notching nine tackles, including seven solo, plus a pass breakup and an interception. With Keion Crossen and Kader Kohou the latest inactives, Miami got an amazing response from a much-maligned player (including by me), so you have to feel great for Ighbinoghene.
The feelings weren't as great at strong safety, where Brandon Jones had seven tackles before being injured and lost for the season. Eric Rowe came on to post two solo stops in 17 snaps, but Clayton Fejedelem was the story, as the special-teamer registered five tackles and a pass breakup in 18 snaps from scrimmage, making two key plays to limit Steeler drives. Undrafted free agent Verone McKinley had a solo stop in his first action of the season from scrimmage, seeing 16 snaps.
At free safety, Jevon "Snowman" Holland held it down as usual, playing all 75 snaps and grading out at a team-high 90.6 from PFF. He had five tackles, a pass breakup, and a critical pick that some of us saw coming.

Special teams

Jason Sanders hit all three of his field goals -- including a 47-yarder -- and the only extra point, while also hammering all of his kickoffs.
Thomas Morstead punted six times for an underwhelming 42.7-yard average, but most importantly, dropped four inside the 20-yard line.
Mostert had a 28-yard kickoff return, but also muffed one. Wilson was an adventure on punt returns; he caught two punts off his own face and had a single return for one yard.
In addition to his 59 snaps from scrimmage, Bethel saw 22 special-teams snaps as well, with Riley matching that number. Sherfield (14), Long (13) and Conner (12) were the special-teams snap leaders among offensive players. Notably, Elijah Campbell was whistled for holding on a Pittsburgh punt.

Momentum plays

Miami started inauspiciously, with a false started followed by a negative-yardage catch by Hill. However, Tua found Waddle for 21 on 3rd & 19, then connected with Hill on back-to-back passes covering 26 yards. Tua then hit Gesicki for 18, and on 3rd & 3, scrambled to find Mostert, who snuck behind a Waddle block for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
After a Pittsburgh three-and-out, Tua found Waddle for 25 on an RPO, then Mostert ripped off a pair of runs for 23 yards. On a 3rd & 4 play, Mostert was separated from the ball by a jarring hit by Minkah Fitzpatrick that could have easily been whistled for a personal foul. Instead, Sanders connected from 24 yards for a 10-0 advantage.
On the second play of the Steelers' possession, Bethel pulled in an easy interception after Chase Claypool tripped and fell on the play.
A pair of Edmonds runs earned a first down, then Tua hit Waddle again for 18 yards. Three straight incompletions from Tua led to a 41-yarder from Sanders, who staked the 'Fins to a 13-0 lead.
On a drive that stretched into the second quarter, Pittsburgh converted 3rd & 2 and 4th & 1 before the defense stiffened to force a 45-yard field goal that trimmed the margin to 13-3.
Two Sherfield catches gave the 'Fins a first down, but a drop by Edmonds helped end the Miami possession.
The Steelers connected on a 30-yarder to George Pickens to get their next drive going, then Pickett converted a 3rd & 12 on a scramble when a hold on Ingram went uncalled. Three plays later, Pickens pulled in a fade over Ighbinoghene to make it 13-10 with 1:50 remaining in the half.
Tua quickly found Sherfield for 32 yards on a contested post pass, then Hill converted a 3rd & 6 with a difficult catch just over a defender's head. After the visitors dropped an easy interception, Tua followed a delay-of-game flag with back-to-back passes to Mostert for four yards to set up a 47-yard Sanders field goal to make it 16-10 headed into halftime.
On the first possession of the second half, Sieler pressure handed Phillips a sack, forcing a punt that Wilson fair-caught off his facemask.
Waddle converted a 3rd & 2 with a 25-yard grab that should have tacked on a personal foul on a Myles Jack suplex, but the flag never came out. Mostert picked up 19 yards on a great catch and run, but poor McDaniel decisions to pass up a field goal that would have pushed the lead to two scores and opt to run the undersized Edmonds into the pile twice on 3rd & 2 and 4 & 3 handed the ball -- and momentum -- back to Pittsburgh.
After an initial Steelers first down, back-to-back Baker tackles on Najee Harris forced a Pittsburgh punt.
Tua got away with another dropped interception, but Miami went three-and-out once again to give the Steelers solid field position at their own 39-yard line.
Back-to-back Pittsburgh penalties forced a 2nd & 23, and Van Ginkel chased Pickett out of bounds to force another punt.
Another Miami three-and-out followed, punctuated by another ill-advised lowering of the shoulder by Tua, who came up a yard short.
A 16-yard run by Harris gave the Steelers life, but Fejedelem dropped Harris short on a 3rd & 1 run to end the drive.
Tua found Hill for 16, but a drop by Edmonds was followed by a pass to G-Sick short of the sticks. When Fitzpatrick wasn't called for removing his helmet and celebrating, Morstead uncorked a 53-yard punt that was well-covered by Van Ginkel.
Strong Howard coverage on 3rd & 4 forced yet another Pittsburgh three-and-out, but a poor Wilson punt return pinned Miami at its own 15-yard line.
Hill (nine yards) and Mostert (12 yards) nearly broke back-to-back plays, but a deep ball to Hill on 3rd & 3 failed to draw a pass interference flag, leading the 'Fins to trot out Morstead once more.
A series of intermediate passes got the Steelers moving, highlighted by a 12-yarder to Claypool on 3rd & 10. After a stellar Fejedelem pass breakup, Claypool converted a 2nd & 10. An illegal shift on 3rd & 1 made it 3rd & 6 for Pittsburgh, and a hold on the following play forced a 3rd & 16. Forced to fire for the sticks, Pickett didn't see Holland, who jumped a route to intercept the pass and return it 33 yards.
An inexplicable throw by Tua on 3rd & 3 led to another dropped interception for the Steelers, forcing a Morstead punt.
Taking over at its own 13-yard line with 2:31 remaining, Pittsburgh used short passes to keep the chains moving. On 4th & 6, Pickett found Pat Friermuth for 21 yards, narrowly dropping in a pass past Rowe. A 14-yard catch and run by Diontae Johnson that saw him juke Howard gave the Steelers a first down from Miami's 33-yard line with 42 seconds remaining. An eight-yarder to Friermuth took a lot of time, with Pickett being flushed from the pocket and rolling out to his left on the following play. Instead of running to get out of bounds, he fired for the end zone, but Iggy easily reeled in the pass for a game-ending interception that was somehow initially ruled out of bounds on a stunningly bad call. When the call was corrected, Miami was able to kneel on it to secure the 16-10 victory.