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THE BASICS
Score: Miami Dolphins 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 15
Location: Hard Rock Stadium -- Miami Gardens, Fla. -- Attendance: 65,351
The Short Story: Another road game produced another ugly performance for the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) as poor play and injuries marred an embarrassing 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins (2-4) on Sunday (Oct. 16) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Dolphins entered Sunday's game averaging 303.8 yards per game -- good for 29th in the NFL. Miami finished with 474 yards -- the bulk of which came courtesy of a 204-yard performance by running back Jay Ajayi. Embattled quarterback Ryan Tannehill came into the matchup having thrown seven interceptions -- tied for third-most in the league. Against the Steelers, he was an efficient 24-of-32 for 252 yards with no turnovers and improved to 2-0 in his career against Pittsburgh. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry hauled in seven of Tannehill's passes for 91 yards while tight end MarQueis Gray finished with three receptions for 81 yards. The Steelers' defense put on a clinic on how not to tackle and seemed affected by the warm Miami weather.
• Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger produced a sub-par performance and was hampered by an injury. He went 19-of-34 for 189 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also suffered an injury to his left knee in the second quarter and missed the remainder of the first half before returning in the third quarter.
• After being gashed on the ground for 235 yards on the ground a week ago in a 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Dolphins held the Steelers to 128 yards. Pittsburgh running back Le'veon Bell gained 53 yards on 10 carries.
• The Dolphins forced the Steelers to punt after Pittsburgh received the opening kickoff. Miami set the tone the day on its first drive, marching 53 yards in nine plays. Pittsburgh forced Miami to settle for a 30-yard field goal by kicker Andrew Franks, but the Dolphins' offensive line had no trouble containing a Steelers' defensive line missing defensive end Cameron Heyward.
• The Steelers took the lead on the next possession as wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey raced 60 yards for a touchdown on an end around. Pittsburgh went up 8-3 after Roethlisberger connected with Bell on the two-point conversion.
• After the Dolphins and the Steelers exchanged punts. Miami got the ball back with 26 seconds left in the first quarter and went 85 yards in 12 plays -- 53 of which came on a pass from Tannehill to Gray that gave the Dolphins a 1st-and-goal at the one. Tannehill then found tight end Dominique Jones for an apparent scoring strike, but the touchdown was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Pittsburgh's defense kept Miami out of the end zone on the next three plays, and Franks converted from 23 yards out to make it a two-point game.
• On Pittsburgh's first play of its next drive, Roethlisberger's pass intended for wide receiver Sammie Coates was intercepted by safety Reshard Jones. Roethlisberger was pressured by Miami defensive end Jordan Phillips on the play as he rolled out to make the throw, and he limped off the field and into the locker room to have his knee examined. Despite getting ball back on the Pittsburgh 13, Miami's offense failed to get the ball over the goal line again and settled for another Franks' field goal -- this one from 30 yards out that put the Dolphins in the lead, 9-8, with just over five minutes left in the first half.
• With backup quarterback Landry Jones under center, the Steelers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Runs of eight yards and six yards gave Pittsburgh a 3rd-and-1 at its own 46, but the Steelers opted to throw the ball on the next play rather than attempt to move the chains by picking up the yard on the ground. The result was an incomplete pass to tight end David Johnson, and the Steelers were forced to punt. Tannehill and the Dolphins then drove 71 yards in nine plays and 2:26, with a one-yard touchdown burst by running back Damien Williams capping off the scoring drive and extending Miami's advantage to 16-8 going into halftime.
• The Dolphins received the opening kickoff of the second half and moved 69 yards in 11 plays. A 20-yard run by Ajayi was followed by an unnecessary roughness penalty by Pittsburgh free safety Mike Mitchell, giving the Dolphins a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 24. Williams then ran for 10 more yards to move the chains again for Miami, but the Dolphins stalled at the Pittsburgh six. Franks trotted back out to try a 24-yard field goal, but the attempt was blocked by defensive tackle Daniel McCullers to swing momentum back toward the Steelers.
• Roethlisberger came back out under center to start the second half. He found wide receiver Eli Rogers for a gain of 11 on 3rd-and-9, then connected with wide receiver Antonio Brown for a gain of 16 on the next play to give the Steelers a 1st-and-10 at their own 47. A seven-yard run by Bell on second down was negated by a holding penalty on right guard David DeCastro, though, and Roethlisberger tried to force a ball to a heavily covered Coates two plays later and was picked off by safety Isa Abdul-Quddus. On Miami's first play of the drive following the turnover, Ajayi raced 33 yards to give Miami a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 19. An 11-yard pass from Tannehill to wide receiver DeVante Parker on 3rd-and-7 set the Dolphins up with a 1st-and-goal at the five. Ajayi ran four yards on first down, then gained the final yard on second down to cross the goal line and increase Miami's lead to 23-8.
• Pittsburgh managed to make it an eight-point game with 46 seconds left. Roethlisberger moved the Steelers 97 yards in 10 plays and 3:18, ending the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who was signed from the practice squad on Saturday.
• After the Steelers' ensuing onside kick attempt was recovered by Landry for Miami, Ajayi added insult to injury by scampering 62 yards for a touchdown to make the score final.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• The Steelers dropped to 1-2 in road games in 2016.
• Pittsburgh fell to 12-11 all-time against Miami in the regular season -- including 6-8 in games played in South Florida in the series.
• The Steelers have suffered 14 losses over the last six seasons to teams with a combined record of 25-87 (.195).
• Roethlisberger will undergo an MRI on his left knee on Sunday night, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala.
QUOTABLE
Roethlisberger on the loss
"No need to sugarcoat that. We got beat soundly today. We need to take care of the football. We didn't stop the run. The stopping of the run is an emphatic point. A 200-yard back is not good. We'll assess it. We'll absorb it and assess it like we always do. Just know it's disappointment in our performance today."
Roethlisberger on his injury
"It actually happened before I threw the ball. I don't know how it happened. I just felt something funny in my knee, and that's about it."
UP NEXT
The Steelers will have to regroup quickly as a showdown against the New England Patriots (5-1) looms next Sunday (Oct. 23) at Heinz Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised on CBS.
#SteelerNation
THE BASICS
Score: Miami Dolphins 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 15
Location: Hard Rock Stadium -- Miami Gardens, Fla. -- Attendance: 65,351
The Short Story: Another road game produced another ugly performance for the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) as poor play and injuries marred an embarrassing 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins (2-4) on Sunday (Oct. 16) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Dolphins entered Sunday's game averaging 303.8 yards per game -- good for 29th in the NFL. Miami finished with 474 yards -- the bulk of which came courtesy of a 204-yard performance by running back Jay Ajayi. Embattled quarterback Ryan Tannehill came into the matchup having thrown seven interceptions -- tied for third-most in the league. Against the Steelers, he was an efficient 24-of-32 for 252 yards with no turnovers and improved to 2-0 in his career against Pittsburgh. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry hauled in seven of Tannehill's passes for 91 yards while tight end MarQueis Gray finished with three receptions for 81 yards. The Steelers' defense put on a clinic on how not to tackle and seemed affected by the warm Miami weather.
• Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger produced a sub-par performance and was hampered by an injury. He went 19-of-34 for 189 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also suffered an injury to his left knee in the second quarter and missed the remainder of the first half before returning in the third quarter.
• After being gashed on the ground for 235 yards on the ground a week ago in a 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Dolphins held the Steelers to 128 yards. Pittsburgh running back Le'veon Bell gained 53 yards on 10 carries.
• The Dolphins forced the Steelers to punt after Pittsburgh received the opening kickoff. Miami set the tone the day on its first drive, marching 53 yards in nine plays. Pittsburgh forced Miami to settle for a 30-yard field goal by kicker Andrew Franks, but the Dolphins' offensive line had no trouble containing a Steelers' defensive line missing defensive end Cameron Heyward.
• The Steelers took the lead on the next possession as wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey raced 60 yards for a touchdown on an end around. Pittsburgh went up 8-3 after Roethlisberger connected with Bell on the two-point conversion.
• After the Dolphins and the Steelers exchanged punts. Miami got the ball back with 26 seconds left in the first quarter and went 85 yards in 12 plays -- 53 of which came on a pass from Tannehill to Gray that gave the Dolphins a 1st-and-goal at the one. Tannehill then found tight end Dominique Jones for an apparent scoring strike, but the touchdown was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Pittsburgh's defense kept Miami out of the end zone on the next three plays, and Franks converted from 23 yards out to make it a two-point game.
• On Pittsburgh's first play of its next drive, Roethlisberger's pass intended for wide receiver Sammie Coates was intercepted by safety Reshard Jones. Roethlisberger was pressured by Miami defensive end Jordan Phillips on the play as he rolled out to make the throw, and he limped off the field and into the locker room to have his knee examined. Despite getting ball back on the Pittsburgh 13, Miami's offense failed to get the ball over the goal line again and settled for another Franks' field goal -- this one from 30 yards out that put the Dolphins in the lead, 9-8, with just over five minutes left in the first half.
• With backup quarterback Landry Jones under center, the Steelers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Runs of eight yards and six yards gave Pittsburgh a 3rd-and-1 at its own 46, but the Steelers opted to throw the ball on the next play rather than attempt to move the chains by picking up the yard on the ground. The result was an incomplete pass to tight end David Johnson, and the Steelers were forced to punt. Tannehill and the Dolphins then drove 71 yards in nine plays and 2:26, with a one-yard touchdown burst by running back Damien Williams capping off the scoring drive and extending Miami's advantage to 16-8 going into halftime.
• The Dolphins received the opening kickoff of the second half and moved 69 yards in 11 plays. A 20-yard run by Ajayi was followed by an unnecessary roughness penalty by Pittsburgh free safety Mike Mitchell, giving the Dolphins a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 24. Williams then ran for 10 more yards to move the chains again for Miami, but the Dolphins stalled at the Pittsburgh six. Franks trotted back out to try a 24-yard field goal, but the attempt was blocked by defensive tackle Daniel McCullers to swing momentum back toward the Steelers.
• Roethlisberger came back out under center to start the second half. He found wide receiver Eli Rogers for a gain of 11 on 3rd-and-9, then connected with wide receiver Antonio Brown for a gain of 16 on the next play to give the Steelers a 1st-and-10 at their own 47. A seven-yard run by Bell on second down was negated by a holding penalty on right guard David DeCastro, though, and Roethlisberger tried to force a ball to a heavily covered Coates two plays later and was picked off by safety Isa Abdul-Quddus. On Miami's first play of the drive following the turnover, Ajayi raced 33 yards to give Miami a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 19. An 11-yard pass from Tannehill to wide receiver DeVante Parker on 3rd-and-7 set the Dolphins up with a 1st-and-goal at the five. Ajayi ran four yards on first down, then gained the final yard on second down to cross the goal line and increase Miami's lead to 23-8.
• Pittsburgh managed to make it an eight-point game with 46 seconds left. Roethlisberger moved the Steelers 97 yards in 10 plays and 3:18, ending the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who was signed from the practice squad on Saturday.
• After the Steelers' ensuing onside kick attempt was recovered by Landry for Miami, Ajayi added insult to injury by scampering 62 yards for a touchdown to make the score final.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• The Steelers dropped to 1-2 in road games in 2016.
• Pittsburgh fell to 12-11 all-time against Miami in the regular season -- including 6-8 in games played in South Florida in the series.
• The Steelers have suffered 14 losses over the last six seasons to teams with a combined record of 25-87 (.195).
• Roethlisberger will undergo an MRI on his left knee on Sunday night, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala.
QUOTABLE
Roethlisberger on the loss
"No need to sugarcoat that. We got beat soundly today. We need to take care of the football. We didn't stop the run. The stopping of the run is an emphatic point. A 200-yard back is not good. We'll assess it. We'll absorb it and assess it like we always do. Just know it's disappointment in our performance today."
Roethlisberger on his injury
"It actually happened before I threw the ball. I don't know how it happened. I just felt something funny in my knee, and that's about it."
UP NEXT
The Steelers will have to regroup quickly as a showdown against the New England Patriots (5-1) looms next Sunday (Oct. 23) at Heinz Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised on CBS.
#SteelerNation
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