Dolphins defense makes late stops in 16-10 win over Steelers, as Tua returns to lineup
On a night when the Dolphins’ 1972 undefeated team was being celebrated at Hard Rock Stadium, the defense provided late-game heroics twice against a Pittsburgh Steelers team seeking to spoil the festivities in Miami Gardens.
Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene made a toe-tapping interception in the end zone with 18 seconds left to preserve the Dolphins’ 16-10 win over the Steelers on Sunday night.
The third-year player and 2020 first-round pick who has struggled at times in his young career — and was in coverage for Pittsburgh’s lone touchdown — secured the catch by the front pylon after rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett threw an errant pass on the run.
The victory, the franchise’s 500th win, ends a three-game losing streak for the Dolphins (4-3), and again gives them a winning record in a competitive AFC East division in which every team has a .500 record or better.
Igbinoghene’s interception, the first of his career, came just moments after safety Jevon Holland undercut and intercepted Pickett in the red zone on the previous possession with 2:57 remaining. The Steelers had gotten as close as the Dolphins’ 17-yard line before Holland’s interception and then the 33-yard line before Igbinoghene’s game-sealing pick.
“He’s super young,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of Igbinoghene, who turns 23 next month. “But I think the whole team really just in the locker room was really excited for him because they know how hard he’s worked to get on the field, to contribute, and then to do it at the end of the game, that’s a big moment that will always be one of the bigger ones in your NFL career because it’s his first game-ender.”
The Dolphins’ three interceptions were their first takeaways since Week 3 and headlined a strong effort for a defense that has battled injuries throughout the first half of the season. The Steelers (2-5) punted on their first five possessions of the second half before the consecutive interceptions.
“This is something that we’ve been making a big point of emphasis within the team on turnover differential,” McDaniel said. “So it’s something that we’ve been focusing on, getting one early, and then at the end of the game when it mattered most to get two more was obviously the difference in winning and losing. So it was very exciting, but on top of that, it was something that we’ve made a focal point so it was good to see that happen.”
The Week 7 matchup wasn’t just a rare “Sunday Night Football” game for the Dolphins, their first since 2017 and fourth since NBC took over the package in 2006. It was a game with a multitude of storylines, from the celebration of the 1972 team to the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — playing for the first time since his concussion on Sept. 29 — to the return of former coach Brian Flores, now serving as a senior defensive assistant with the Steelers.
Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Larry Little and Paul Warfield joined Tagovailoa and inside linebacker Elandon Roberts as captains for the pregame coin toss, and the Dolphins sprinted to a 13-0 first-quarter lead.
Tagovailoa, playing in his first game in almost a month, was sharp early, completing 6 of 7 passes for 68 yards on the opening possession, a nine-play, 76-yard drive culminating in an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Raheem Mostert (119 total yards). The Dolphins’ misdirection and play fakes frequently left voids in the Steelers’ defense and Tagovailoa took advantage, finding wide-open receivers over the middle of the field.
Tagovailoa finished 21 of 35 for 261 yards and one touchdown. As was the case before his Week 4 injury, wide receivers Jaylen Waddle (four catch, 88 yards) and Tyreek Hill (seven catches, 72 yards) were the primary recipients of his completions.
But in Tagovailoa’s postgame news conference, he lamented mistakes that the offense has to correct ahead of the Dolphins’ Week 8 road game against the Detroit Lions. He threw multiple passes that should have been intercepted but were dropped by Pittsburgh defenders.
“It felt good running out the tunnel,” Tagovailoa said after returning from a two-game absence. “The atmosphere was great. A lot of support from the fans, and just being able to be out there with my teammates, it was awesome.”
After obtaining a two-score lead, the offense fizzled, stalling out on multiple occasions in the red zone. The Dolphins went for 4 of 14 (29 percent) on third downs, below the 38.2 conversion rate with which they entered Week 7, and 1 of 3 in the red zone. The offense punted on five of its seven second-half drives.
A 24-yard field by kicker Jason Sanders gave the Dolphins a 10-0 lead and then cornerback Justin Bethel intercepted Pickett, setting up a 42-yard field goal for a 13-point advantage.
The Steelers scored 10 consecutive points, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver George Pickens, but a late 47-yard field goal gave the Dolphins a 16-10 halftime lead.
On the Dolphins’ first possession of the second half, the offense drove as far as the Steelers’ 14-yard line, but McDaniel opted against a 31-yard field goal attempt and potential nine-point lead to keep the offense on the field. Running back Chase Edmonds was stuffed short by inside linebacker Myles Jack on a shotgun run attempt.
The sequence was a microcosm of the Dolphins’ issues in the red zone on Sunday. They entered Week 7 as the fourth-best red zone team in the NFL, converting 12 of 17 opportunities into touchdowns. However, after the opening drive, the Dolphins went for 0 for 2 in the red zone and came away empty-handed after the failed fourth-down attempt.
“Miscues with ball placement, communication with a route that this receiver thought was this look and I thought was that look. Just miscommunications on our part with that,” Tagovailoa said of the offensive struggles. “We just couldn’t find our rhythm again. That’s something we’ll have to work on.”
The Dolphins couldn’t add to their lead after halftime — 25 of 29 living members of the 1972 team and additional family members were in attendance and recognized during the intermission — but the team leaned on its defense against a struggling Steelers offense, even as injuries continued to test their depth.
The defense entered the game with just three healthy cornerbacks and starting safety Brandon Jones left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter. But a unit that has admittedly not played up to its standard in recent weeks was able to seal the game when it mattered most. Coupled with the return of Tagovalioa, Sunday night seemingly marked the end of a tumultuous chapter — a losing skid without their starting quarterback that seemed to consist of as many questions about head injuries and the NFL’s concussion protocol as on-field play.
“It’s gratifying,” Tagovailoa said. “I think the defense played their asses off throughout the whole night. They gave us many opportunities offensively to go and put points on the board for our team so that we wouldn’t be in the situation we were in late in the game where it was 10-16. A lot of things that need to be corrected offensively. Obviously starts with me. But we’ll take the win. We’re extremely happy about that, and we’ll go back to the drawing board when we come back in.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 11:33 PM.
