The Dolphins fell to the Pittsburgh Steeles 28-15 Monday night, falling to 6-8 for the season. Miami came out of the gates matching the Steelers intensity, but the Steelers found their footing in the second half as the Dolphins struggled to tackle ball carriers or find a rhythm in their passing game.
1. Tale of two halves
The Dolphins trailed 7-3 going to halftime of Monday night's game, but the third quarter swung the entire game. Miami was outgained 160 yards to minus 20 in a period in which the score stretched to a 28-3 lead for the home team.
"We fell short again coming out of halftime," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "That really hurt us with a 7-3 score opening drive touchdown, three-and-out, I believe. We just got behind the eight ball. I think offensively we could have really used, based on their tempo in the first half, some third downs, some execution on that, and some conversions. That was a real critical part of the game where defense was getting stops and we weren't scoring points."
2. Waller scores again, and again
Both of Tagovailoa's fourth quarter touchdown passes went to tight end Darren Waller, who tied wide receiver Jaylen Waddle's team-leading six touchdown receptions. Waller has six scoring plays this season despite playing in just seven games into his return to the NFL. He is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns among tight ends this year.
"It's been a multitude of things, the way I look at it," McDaniel said of the passing game. "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. I thought Darren [Waller] made a ton of plays at the end. Should have got him involved earlier. There's a lot of things."
Dolphins tight ends caught 11 passes on the night for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
3. Tackling discrepancy
The Dolphins looked like the more physical team at the start of the game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. All three levels of the defense were crashing to the football, making big hits, and tackling with sound technique. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks made a handful of plays, along with cornerback Rasul Douglas, to cut the Steelers down short of the sticks. The spirited performance led to three consecutive punts to start the game by Pittsburgh.
Then, the Steelers scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives. Those possessions averaged nine plays and 72 yards per drive. Dolphins defenders started falling off tackles, the Pittsburgh offensive line created running lanes and the explosive pass plays followed.
"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. Just from fresh memory off the game without watching film I would say it came down to tackling for us."
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