The Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers were two of the hottest teams coming into week 7. Both of these teams are coming off victories the past two weeks, but something is going to have to give this week, well unless this game comes down to a tie, but that’s a rarity in the PML. Much like in their game against the San Francisco 49ers last week, the Miami Dolphins elected to receive the ball starting in the second half. The Pittsburgh Steelers started the game off through the air when J.T. Daniels hit one of his receivers for a huge chunk of yardage on a play action play that caught the defense of the Miami Dolphins way too close to the line of scrimmage. Proceeding this play, the Pittsburgh Steelers leaned heavily on Najee Harris, and Harris was able to punch the ball into the endzone on first and goal. The Miami Dolphins had the perfect play called to stop the run, but Najee Harris stiff armed defensive tackle Raekwon Davis who was filling in for the injured Emmanuel Ogbah. The Miami Dolphins once again found themselves under the gun and behind on the scoreboard. This has been a trend with them this season and it has impacted their ability to effectively run the ball. The Miami Dolphins used a lot of time on their first possession of the game. They were able to convert a few third downs, and Russell Wilson was able to take his first designed run in the game for a four yard touchdown. The game was very close throughout, but the Miami Dolphins had a slight 17-14 heading into halftime. Late into the third quarter, the game was tied at 17, and the Pittsburgh Steelers sent a blitz off the right side of the field. Russell Wilson was able to escape the blitz and run out to his left. He motioned a covered Mike Gesicki up the field and he was able to sling a pass to Gesicki in stride who then took the pass down to the goalline. The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to quickly sack Russell Wilson the very next play, but with busted coverage on the next play, the Miami Dolphins were able to take the lead when Russell Wilson found Mike Gesicki naked in the back of the endzone.
The Miami Dolphins almost gave this game away despite having a 7 point lead with 3 minutes left in the game. They were able to stop the Pittsburgh offense in the red zone and despite being able to run the ball and take a few minutes off the clock, Russell Wilson chucked the ball to Myles Gaskins in the flats. Gaskins was hit hard by a Pittsburgh defender and he coughed the ball up. Despite being close to the sideline, the ball bounced in favor of the Steelers. J.T Daniels used this opportunity to scramble to the right on a play action pass and find Chase Claypool for a game tying touchdown. The Miami Dolphins were left with 3:15 on the clock and they didn’t let their fans down. The Dolphins drove down to the 28 yard line of the San Francisco 49ers, but were held to a 3rd and 8. The Steelers had two timeouts left and there were 25 seconds left in the game. Russell Wilson was flushed out right and used his legs to scramble for the first down. The Steelers tried to ice Jason Sanders, but he was still able to connect on the 32 yard field goal to win the game.
Russell Wilson was the X-factor in this game. He took over key plays when the Dolphins needed to convert. He completed 25 of 36 attempts. He threw for 333 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He completed just 69% of his passes, which was his lowest since being traded to Miami. The Dolphins had 72 yards on the ground, but their rushing attack once again fell flat. However, the Dolphins were able to hold Najee Harris to 23 carries for 112 yards. Harris averaged 4.9 yards per carry which was far less than the 12.6 yards per carry that he averaged last week against the Baltimore Ravens.
Offensive Statline of the Game –
Jaylen Waddle – 9 receptions for 131 yards.
This was the first game of the season where Jaylen Waddle went without a touchdown reception. He has 7 touchdowns so far this season, but he was still Russell Wilson’s favorite receiver in this game. Waddle is so explosive and he is the centerfold of the offense. Jaylen Waddle has claimed the number one receiver slot on the depth chart which was previously held by Will Fuller. Will Fuller has three touchdown receptions this season but he is not expected to reach over a thousand yards this season. Will Fuller has yet to break 100 yards this season and hasn’t been targeted nearly as much since his week 1 game against the Tennessee Titans.
Defensive Statline of the Game –
Christian Harris – 1 tackle and 1 interception.
It is really nice to see a Christian Harris sighting after the first seven games of the season. The Miami Dolphins drafted Harris with the intention of having him take over the second sub linebacker position behind Jerome Baker. Juanyeh Thomas has since taken that spot, but Harris still has plenty of time to make an impact this season. Deep in the red zone, J.T Daniels waited for his receiver to come across the field on an underneath route, but Christian Harris read the route perfectly and beat the receiver to the ball. Christian Harris was quite fast enough to run the interception back the other way, but he put the Miami Dolphins in a really good position to take the lead.
The Miami Dolphins have a very difficult matchup next week against the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson versus Russell Wilson is a matchup that should feature a lot of offense. The Miami Dolphins have to get over their meltdown against the Ravens last season and they have to head into this game with a fresh mindset and the desire to keep their winning streak alive.
