The Miami Dolphins' sliver of a postseason hope froze and was shattered into a billion pieces in Pittsburgh on Monday night. The 28-15 loss put an end to the positive vibes in Miami, officially eliminating them from the playoffs.
It was a game that harkened back to their early-season play, with the offense unable to sustain drives and the defense, after playing tough early, getting bowled over for four consecutive touchdown drives. By the time the Dolphins found pay dirt, the contest was decided.
"Supremely disappointed in the outcome," coach Mike McDaniel said. "I think it does a disservice to really the objective, the work that we're doing on this opponent. Flat out their team was better than our team."
The Dolphins' defense hung in early, dishing out some big hits, but with the offense doing next to nothing, that didn't last.
A Steelers defense that had been a sieve against the run stuffed out De'Von Achane, allowing the shifty back just 60 yards on 12 attempts. Miami finished with 63 rushing yards, marking the first time since Week 10 that the Dolphins rushed for fewer than 160 yards.
The big issue was a pass offense that couldn't move the chains, keeping the run game from finding a gear.
Tua Tagovailoa finished 22 of 28 passing for 253 yards with two TDs and an INT. Those numbers are a mirage. They're built off the back of three methodical, fourth-quarter drives when the Steelers' defense was perfectly fine, allowing the quarterback to take checkdowns.
The real numbers, when the game wasn't a blowout, paint a much uglier picture for Tua and the passing attack. Through the first three quarters, Tagovailoa completed 6 of 10 passes for 65 yards with an interception and took two sacks. Over that span, Miami generated five first downs and 93 total yards. It was 28-3 before they got the ball in the fourth quarter.
"I think there's multiple things at play," McDaniel said of the struggling passing game. "I think ultimately everybody has to do better. You have to coach better. I think passing, a lot of times people squarely put focus on the quarterback. I think there's several times tonight, one in particular stands out, where I think he was about to make the right read, and we had our eligible fall over. It's been a multitude of things, the way I look at it. It has to be better for us to be able to win games when you're not owning time of possession or controlling the game on the ground. That limits you a ton. It's not up to standard."
The QB's league-leading 15th interception was ghastly, not seeing a dropping corner in a zone defense. It wasn't the only time that Tua misread or misfired a ball. At times, the quarterback looked lost and unable to lead a club that needed him to find answers before garbage time.
The third quarter was the Dolphins' undoing. Miami was out-gained 163 to -20 in the third frame and allowed nine first downs to zero. The Dolphins' -20 net yards in the third quarter marked the club's fewest in a single quarter since at least 1991 (when play-by-play officially began).
Miami's streak of cold-weather losses sank to 14 consecutive when the weather is below 40 degrees. Tagovailoa is 0-6 in his career when it's below 40, including playoffs.
