Dolphins Fall Flat in Pittsburgh as Tua’s Strong Stat Line Can’t Mask Offensive Woes
On paper, Tua Tagovailoa’s Monday night performance looked like it belonged in a win column. The Dolphins quarterback completed 22 of 28 passes for 253 yards, tossing two touchdowns and just one interception. His 113.2 passer rating reflected the kind of efficiency that usually keeps you in the playoff hunt.
But this wasn’t that kind of night.
The Dolphins fell to the Steelers 28-15 in a game that not only snapped Miami’s four-game win streak but also delivered a gut punch to their playoff hopes with just three games left on the schedule. And while the box score shows a productive night for Tua, the game itself told a different story-one of missed opportunities, poor execution, and a third quarter that spiraled out of control.
“Supremely disappointed in the outcome,” head coach Mike McDaniel said postgame. “Their team was better than our team.”
That third quarter was where things truly unraveled. After trailing just 7-3 at halftime, Miami came out of the locker room flat.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, came out firing-scoring touchdowns on each of its first three drives in the second half. Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ offense produced two consecutive three-and-outs, losing a total of 20 yards on six plays.
Tagovailoa was sacked on third down in both series, and the offense never found its rhythm until the game was well out of reach.
Third down was a particular pain point for Miami. Tua dropped back seven times on third down and came away with just two completions for 41 yards.
He was sacked three times, scrambled once for a single yard, and threw one incompletion. In a game where margins were thin, those downs made all the difference.
With the Dolphins now on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture, questions about the future naturally surfaced. Would McDaniel consider giving reps to Zach Wilson or rookie Quinn Ewers down the stretch?
“I think it would be very rash and shortsighted if I even tried to tackle that option,” McDaniel said. “I have to look at the tape and move on from there. But realistically, I’m just supremely disappointed that we couldn’t come out with a win here.”
After the Dolphins fell behind 28-3, Tua did find a groove, completing 16 of his final 18 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. But even that late-game surge had its limits-he missed on both two-point conversion attempts, and the scoreboard never got close enough to make Pittsburgh sweat.
One of the biggest differences between this game and Miami’s recent success? The run game disappeared.
During their four-game winning streak, the Dolphins averaged over 190 rushing yards per contest and leaned heavily on their ground attack to control tempo and wear down defenses. Against the Steelers, they managed just 63 yards on 16 carries.
That’s not just a drop-off-it’s a collapse.
“There were just some things offensively that we were doing that we were messing ourselves up, really,” Tagovailoa said. “From my communication in the huddle, calling plays, guys knowing their alignments-it was all over the place.”
Now, Miami turns the page to a home matchup against the Bengals next Sunday. And while the playoff math isn’t in their favor, there’s still something to play for.
“At the end of the day, it’s about pride,” Tua said. “Your last name on your back, who you are as a husband, as a father, as a son, as a teammate-all of that.”
He talked about going back to that 12-year-old version of himself, the kid who dreamed of playing in the NFL. That dream is still alive, even if the postseason hopes are on life support.
“You get to live it,” he said. “But with that being said, you also got to come out with a sense of urgency.
Do you take pride in what you do when things are going good and when things are going bad? Because it falls into every aspect of what you do in your life.”
That’s the mindset Miami will need to tap into as they try to finish the season with purpose-even if the playoff door is starting to close.