Dolphins Hang on for 16-10 Win Over Steelers in Tua's Return

Sunday night was for celebrating in Miami.

The Pittsburgh-Miami game was played around a celebration for the 1972 Dolphins, who remain the lone team to go undefeated and win a Super Bowl in NFL history. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was making a return to the field after a pair of scary head injuries. In the end, it was the Dolphins — past and present — celebrating in Hard Rock Stadium, with a 16-10 victory.

A Glorious Return

For all the headlines, sights, and concussion protocol changes that stemmed from Tagovailoa's injuries in Weeks 3 and 4, Sunday night was a joyful sight for fans of football as Tagovailoa made his return to the field. The quarterback didn't have to wait long to celebrate, giving everyone a feel-good moment on a near-perfect opening drive.

Both @Tua and Kenny Pickett back from concussions tonight. Clearly @MiamiDolphins is a different team with Tua at QB. When he started this season Miami is averaging 11.7 more ppg

— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 24, 2022

Tagovailoa went 6-for-7 on a nine-play opening-game drive. He took Miami 71 yards down the field, accounting for 63 of those yards and the touchdown — an 8-yard pass to Raheem Mostert. The Dolphins couldn't quite keep up the scoring pace, but simply seeing the young quarterback back on the field after suffering head and neck injuries weeks earlier was a guaranteed victory for Miami.

Tagovailoa's celebrations weren't limited to just the early touchdown, as the quarterback threw for 261 yards on 21-of-35 passing, and the team's defense held strong to pick up the victory.

One-Punch Men

By the time the Steelers gained their first first down, just before the end of the first quarter, Miami had scored three times and had a 13-0 lead. Signs pointed to that early haymaker being a harbinger for a blowout, given Miami's status (with Tagovailoa) as one of the league's top offenses, and Pittsburgh's status as one of the worst teams in football.

The followup punch to that haymaker never landed, as Pittsburgh fought back through spurts of Miami rain to turn the game into a very Steelers-type of contest: Lower-scoring, controlled more by the defenses than by the playmakers. Yet even in the style of game that gave them the best chance to win, the Steelers couldn't overcome that first punch from the Dolphins.

Pittsburgh made much of the ground back with 10 points on its final two drives of the first half, but in the second half, the Steelers could manage nothing against the Dolphins defense. Each of the team's first five drives ended in a punt, none lasting more than five plays. A pair of comeback drives with a chance to win brought the team close, but both ended without points.

For the fifth time in seven games, the Steelers had fewer than 200 yards passing, and were held to less than 100 yards rushing. The team retained its spots among the league's top five in number of punts and bottom five in total offense, and it still has yet to score more than 23 points in a game this season — tied for the lowest single-game high for an NFL team this season (Chicago, Denver).

Pickett's Growing Pains

For two brief glimpses in the late fourth quarter, it looked like rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett was going to lead his team to a game-winning touchdown. Looking for his first signature victory as the team's starter, Pickett twice led the Steelers down the field and within range of a lead-taking touchdown pass. But both drives ended in some growing pains for both the offense and the young gunslinger in charge of it.

On the first of those series, the team had driven all the way to the red zone. But on 3rd and 1, a pair of penalties cost the team 15 yards, and Pickett threw his second interception of the game on the next play.

Wyd Steelers

— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) October 24, 2022

There were no penalties to hide behind on the team's final series. At the Miami 25, Pickett elected to attempt a pass while running left (with room to scramble), which resulted in a game-clinching interception by Miami's Noah Igbinoghene. It was his third pick thrown against a defense that had one total through six games. Pickett's final line: 32-of-44 for 257 yards, and a touchdown to George Pickens, in addition to the turnovers.