Pittsburgh Steelers extend Monday Night Football home win streak to 23 in victory over Miami Dolphins
By Frank Nunns O’Connell, CNN
(CNN) — The Pittsburgh Steelers eased past the Miami Dolphins 28-15 to extend their Monday Night Football home win streak to 23 and remain top of the AFC North with just three games remaining in the NFL regular season.
In freezing 17-degree conditions in Steel City’s Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers put in a stellar performance, throwing 23-of-27 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
Rodgers was supported by an array of offensive weapons with running backs Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren combining for 113 yards on the night. Wideouts DK Metcalf and Marquez Valdes-Scantling each had a receiving TD as the Steelers moved to 8-6 on the season.
The Dolphins have become renowned for below-par performances in cold weather, and that trend continued Monday night as Mike McDaniel’s squad registered just three points before the fourth quarter, courtesy of a Riley Patterson field goal, which opened the scoring with 5:11 left in the first half.
But from there it was all Pittsburgh, which racked up 28 straight points.
The Steelers gained the lead for good late in the first half as tight end Connor Heyward received a direct snap and ‘tush pushed’ his way into the end zone from the 1-yard line to give Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead going into halftime.
Valdes-Scantling scored the Steelers’ second touchdown of the night early in the second half, reeling in a 19-yard pass from Rodgers to cap off a six-play, 71-yard drive.
Metcalf – who had three catches for 55 yards on the night – extended Pittsburgh’s lead after wrestling off multiple tackles and impressively galloping into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown with 5:06 left in the third quarter.
The former Seattle Seahawks receiver’s TD capped off a dismal quarter for the Dolphins, with Miami’s offense gaining -20 total yards. When the fourth quarter got underway, the Dolphins had just five total first downs on the night.
Things only got worse when Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith rushed 14 yards into the end zone, extending the lead to 28-3 and all but ending the contest with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins added two consolation scores late on, courtesy of a pair of touchdown throws from Tua Tagovailoa – who finished the evening 22-of-28 for 253 yards, the two TDs and an interception – to Darren Waller. But it was too little, too late for a Dolphins team that fell to 6-8 and was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t get the outcome we wanted to, and everything that goes on with the playoffs,” Tagovailoa said afterwards. “When you start the season the way we did, we made it hard on ourselves.”
The result strengthens the Steelers’ grip on the AFC North as they look to fend off the Baltimore Ravens in the division and keep the No. 4 seed in the conference. As inconsistent as Pittsburgh has looked throughout this season, it remains in a strong position with the postseason rapidly approaching.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been a part of stuff like this,” said Rodgers, who last made the playoffs in 2021. “Nothing changes. It’s just, I feel real comfortable in this environment.”
“Man, we love Monday Night Football, mission accomplished,” said head coach Mike Tomlin, after extending the Steelers’ Monday win streak and two weeks on from “fire Mike Tomlin” chants ringing out from some fans following Pittsburgh’s Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“We didn’t expect it to be easy. But certainly after we got it going, we had a bit of fluidity.”
The-CNN-Wire
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