Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers have won two games in a row for the first time since Weeks 4 and 6 when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland and came off the bye week to beat the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh defeated the Miami Dolphins 28-15, but it felt more like 280-15 with the end result never in doubt. With that in mind, there are a lot of top performers to highlight, so let’s get into it.
Rodgers is getting into his four-time MVP groove at the right time. He completed 85 percent of his passes, which is his highest mark in a game since 2014. He threw two touchdown passes, bringing his season total to 22, and was incredibly efficient when throwing to each level of the field. If this is the Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh team that’s getting going into the postseason, they can make some noise.
I, and many others, were complaining about the usage of Gainwell over Jaylen Warren over the last number of weeks, but Gainwell has become an incredibly valuable part of the Steelers’ offense. He finished the night with 126 yards from scrimmage (80 rushing, 46 receiving), and it’s clear that he has the trust of Rodgers and the offense to be a true dual-threat back.
DK Metcalf is really good when he remembers he’s practically a Jeep in cleats. He caught three passes for 55 yards, the biggest highlight coming on a 28-yard touchdown in which he launched Minkah Fitzpatrick away from him, broke multiple tackles, and powered his way into the end zone.
It was only a matter of time before Rodgers and MVS rekindled that spark they had during their time in Green Bay. Rodgers hit MVS for a touchdown to put the Steelers up 14-3. And while it was the only catch of the night for MVS, he made it count.
Yeah, I could certainly get used to a 1-2 punch of Joey Porter Jr. and Asante Samuel Jr. at cornerback. We ought to give them a nickname like they are a wrestling tag team (The Bloodline is already taken, but we’ll workshop it). In just his third game as a Steeler, Samuel picked off his first pass of the season, ending a potential Dolphins scoring drive.
Per Next Gen Stats, Porter allowed just one catch for 16 yards on four targets. He has had a tremendous season, and continues to show he is a very capable No. 1 cornerback.
What a performance from Queen. He had 10 tackles, two of which were for loss. This season has been one of consistently good play from Queen, much more so than 2024.
Heyward had two tackles for loss and a sack on Tua Tagovailoa. A big performance from the captain of the defense.
