Steelers vs. Dolphins: What they're saying in Miami after loss

The Miami Dolphins added to their cold weather losses Monday after falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-15.

But, according to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, the game time temperature of 17 degrees was irrelevant.

“I don’t think the weather was a factor,” McDaniel said in post-game remarks to the media. “I think their team outperformed us in critical situations. … I don’t think that played a part.”

The Florida team held a late-night workout Saturday at Robert Morris University to prepare for the elements, but the Dolphins lost their 13th consecutive game Monday when playing in temperatures of 40 degrees or below.

It’s 18 degrees with a “feels like” temp of 12 & C Aaron Brewer (10-yd line) is doin’ his usual barefoot pregame walk on the field pic.twitter.com/j44PsmsBKP

— Chris Perkins (@chrisperk) December 15, 2025

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks pushed back when a reporter asked if the weather affected the defense’s tackling during a post-game press conference.

“We didn’t have our best day today,” Brooks said. “Second half, I don’t know what happened to us. I think it really came down to tackling. I haven’t seen us tackle like that really all year.”

Until the team wins in cold weather, it’ll continue to be a talking point, wrote ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.

The loss eliminated the Dolphins from the playoffs.

The Steelers won their second in a row after a slow start on “Monday Night Football.” The team scored 28 straight points to roll past the Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers haven’t lost at home on “Monday Night Football” since 1991.

Thought Miami had become a different team

Was wrong. Dead wrong.

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) December 16, 2025

The loss had Miami sportswriters questioning the future of McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the team.

“McDaniel’s a fine man who means well,” Miami Herald sports columnist Omar Kelly wrote. “He possesses an innovative offensive mind, one that will likely keep him employed in the NFL for years to come. But if we’re being honest, it’s difficult to envision him lifting a Lombardi Trophy in the air anytime soon, especially with Tagovailoa behind center.”

Miami Herald sports columnist Greg Cote had some questions about Tagovailoa’s future too. The Dolphins have the league’s longest streak of seasons without a postseason victory, he said.

“Do the Dolphins have a quarterback? The right one?” Cote wrote. “Is Tua Tagovailoa the answer? Or just the question that never seems to go away … or answer itself?”

Folks.....please digest this deep into your spirit. Mike McDaniel isn't benching Tua Tagovailoa. Not while his job is still on the line (and it is).

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) December 16, 2025

Tagovailoa threw for 253 yards and had two passing touchdowns and one interception.

“We have to play better ball if we want to win games against good teams,” he said after the game. “It’s disappointing we didn’t get the outcome we wanted to and everything that goes on with the playoffs.”

That one interception brought Tagovailoa to 15 on the season, his career worst, wrote Chris Perkins and Steve Svekis for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

“In what seems like a weekly installment, what on earth was Mike McDaniel’s game-management thought in the fourth quarter?” they wrote.

McDaniel said after the game that the Steelers were simply better than the Dolphins.

“I’m just supremely disappointed that we couldn’t come out with a win here,” he said. “We had high expectations and they fell short.”