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Feats of Strength: Dominant 3rd quarter, newcomer contributions push Steelers past Dolphins | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Feats of Strength: Dominant 3rd quarter, newcomer contributions push Steelers past Dolphins

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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Steelers receiver DK Metcalf avoids a tackle attempt by the Dolphins’ Minkah Fitzpatrick on the way to a third-quarter touchdown Monday at Acrisure Stadium. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
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Steelers receiver DK Metcalf plows into end zone past Dolphins defenders in the third quarter Monday at Acrisure Stadium. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)

In many ways, Monday night’s 28-15 win over the Miami Dolphins was a 180-degree flip from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ last home performance against Buffalo.

The team was excellent in the third quarter. It built on a 7-3 lead at halftime instead of letting one evaporate.

“Renegade” got cheered. Mike Tomlin didn’t get booed.

Clearly, the good vibes are upon us a week early for Festivus. So let’s dive right in with a late-night edition of “Feats of Strength” and “Airing of Grievances” after a convincing “Monday Night Football” Steelers victory.

FEATS OF STRENGTH

Third-quarter thaw

The last time the Steelers played at Acrisure Stadium, their third quarter against Buffalo was so bad, it may have been even worse than some of the third periods we’ve seen from the Penguins lately.

Sorry, I’m getting carried away already. Nothing is that bad.

But the third quarter was really awful against the Bills two weeks ago. This Monday night, though, the Steelers dominated the third quarter against Miami.

Coming out of the locker room after halftime, Arthur Smith’s offense actually picked up a few chunk plays and strung together an efficient drive.

Pittsburgh got the kickoff to begin the third quarter and scored a touchdown in six plays, covering 71 yards. Marquez Valdes-Scantling capped it off with his first TD reception as a Steeler, on a pass that actually (hold your breath) went 19 yards in the air.

Kenneth Gainwell popped a 38-yard run from the Steelers’ 40-yard line to jump-start the sequence. He was excellent on the night, totaling 126 yards from scrimmage.

“We came in at halftime, and not a lot of people were sitting down,” tackle Dylan Cook said. “We were just waiting to get out there. We stayed locked in, went over our adjustments and just kept pushing.”

After forcing a three-and-out, the Steelers scored a TD on the next drive as well. DK Metcalf caught a TD to put the exclamation point on a 10-play, 77-yard scoring march. He brushed off Minkah Fitzpatrick en route to his sixth touchdown of the season.

The Dolphins went three-and-out during the next series too. In all, the Steelers offense held onto the ball for 11 of the 15 minutes in the third quarter, racked up 163 yards and scored twice. Meanwhile, the Dolphins only ran six offensive plays and lost 20 yards.

Stuck in the middle with you

Metcalf’s score wasn’t the only reception he had over the middle of the field. He had a 22-yarder right at the logo near the 50-yard line.

That part of the passing chart has often been a no-fly zone for the Steelers. But Pat Freiermuth also caught a pass in the short middle that went for a 22-yard gain.

“They were in Cover-2, so that was the soft spot in the defense,” Metcalf said.

On the night, Rodgers went 23 for 27 for 224 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.9.

Welcome to the party, pal

Valdes-Scantling wasn’t the only new Steeler to make an impact.

Asante Samuel got an interception of Tua Tagovailoa in the first quarter. It was his first pick as a Steeler in his third game with the team.

That was the only turnover of the game for either defense.

Samuel attended Lauderdale Lakes High School. That’s 18 miles from Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

“My whole family was watching it. Everybody I know was watching it. They are all Dolphin fans. That meant a lot,” Samuel said.

That’s the 12th interception for the Steelers on the season. They have been recorded by 11 different people. Brandin Echols has two. Ten other players have one.

Without Watt

The Steelers got by just fine without T.J. Watt and Derrick Harmon. The Dolphins failed on five of their first six third-down conversions. They had just three points early in the third quarter before scoring a few cosmetic touchdowns late.

I’m not really sure what the Dolphins were thinking on offense. They didn’t stick with their vaunted run game enough and could’ve gotten De’Von Achane involved even more than they did.

Achane had 60 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards on 18 touches. But Tagovailoa had the ball in his hands a lot, ran around in the backfield quite a bit, took four sacks, threw a pick and managed 253 passing yards on the night.

A lot of those yards were empty calories in garbage time, though, and his 113.2 passer rating feels inflated.

Wilson, Jalen Ramsey, Esezi Otomewo and Cameron Heyward had sacks. Patrick Queen had a team-high 10 tackles, two for loss.

After averaging 192 yards rushing during their four-game win streak, the Dolphins managed only 60 total yards on the ground. No run was longer than 15 yards.

The Steelers also bottled up Jaylen Waddle. He only had two catches for 26 receiving yards.

Renegade returns

Good read by the video staff at Acrisure Stadium. They decided to play “Renegade” early in the game after two third-quarter touchdowns while the Steelers had momentum, thus preventing the tradition from getting booed again.

That’s what happened during the last home game when the Steelers were collapsing in the second half against Buffalo.

via GIPHY

Payton Wilson responded by sacking Tagovailoa for an 11-yard loss on a third down to end the ensuing Miami drive.

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

Deep freeze

It was 17 degrees at kickoff, and it took a long time for the Steelers offense to heat up.

Smith’s unit didn’t put any points on the board until there were only 17 seconds left in the first half. That was a Connor Heyward “tush push” touchdown.

That possession may not have made it to the end zone without the help of a bad kickoff from Miami that didn’t make it to the landing zone. So the Steelers’ offense got to start at the 40-yard line following a Dolphins’ field goal. It took 12 plays and almost five minutes to go 60 yards.

To the Steelers’ credit, they did run 31 plays to Miami’s 20 in the first half, and they stayed on the field for almost 18 minutes. Time of possession and play differentials have been real problems for Pittsburgh throughout the season.

At one point, the Steelers had a 13-play drive that lasted 8:02 and somehow only picked up 39 yards before Corliss Waitman had to punt. During that entire drive, the Steelers never picked up a third-down conversion. But they did pick up two fourth-down attempts.

The first half also featured a pair of three-and-out possessions. The first one was on the Steelers’ initial series of the game and ended on a prototypical Pittsburgh third-down completion short of the sticks.

Getting himself dirty

If there was one knock on Rodgers — and I’m being picky — he took three sacks. Some of them he ran into and/or held onto the ball for a while before getting hit.

That was part of the reason the Steelers weren’t great on third downs, going just 4 for 13. They made up for that, though, by converting all three of their fourth-down tries.

Pass protection and third-down conversions will be something to watch next week in Detroit, too. Isaac Seumalo suffered a tricep injury, and his status may be in doubt on a quick turnaround. The team is already down to Cook at offensive tackle. He was fourth string to start the year.

Can’t take away everything

While Waddle and Achane stayed in check, the tight ends for Miami got loose.

Darren Waller had seven catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Greg Dulcic added 46 yards on two receptions. Julian Hill pitched in with two more for 25.

But if those are the guys on Miami’s roster having good nights, the Steelers will certainly take it.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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