The Miami Dolphins lost 28-15 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, falling to 6-8 for the season. Miami trailed 7-3 at halftime before Pittsburgh pulled away in the third quarter. The Steelers outgained Miami 160 yards to minus 20 in that period and extended their lead to 28-3.
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel said the team needed better third-down execution and conversions after the defense created stops early. The Dolphins opened the game by forcing Pittsburgh to punt on three consecutive possessions, but the Steelers later scored touchdowns on four straight drives. Those possessions averaged nine plays and 72 yards.
Third quarter changes the game
“We fell short again coming out of halftime,” McDaniel said. “That really hurt us with a 7-3 score opening drive touchdown, three-and-out, I believe. We just got behind the eight ball. I think offensively we could have really used, based on their tempo in the first half, some third downs, some execution on that, and some conversions. That was a real critical part of the game where defense was getting stops and we weren’t scoring points.”
McDaniel also said the passing game needed to improve when Miami was not controlling time of possession or the game on the ground. He said Darren Waller made several plays late but should have been involved earlier.
“It’s been a multitude of things, the way I look at it,” McDaniel said of the passing game. “It has to be better for us to be able to win games when you’re not owning time of possession or controlling the game on the ground. That limits you a ton. It’s not up to standard. I thought Darren [Waller] made a ton of plays at the end. Should have got him involved earlier. There’s a lot of things.”
Darren Waller scores twice
Both of Tagovailoa’s fourth-quarter touchdown passes went to Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller. The two scoring receptions tied Waller with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for the team’s leading total of six touchdown receptions.
Waller has six scoring plays this season while playing in seven games since returning to the NFL. He is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns among tight ends this year. Miami Dolphins tight ends caught 11 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Tackling problems emerge after early stops
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks and cornerback Rasul Douglas made plays that helped stop Pittsburgh short of the sticks during the opening stretch. The Dolphins then struggled to finish tackles as Pittsburgh created running lanes and produced explosive pass plays.
Brooks said tackling was the central problem in the second half.
“We didn’t have our best day today,” Brooks said. “Second half, I don’t know what happened to us. I think it really came down to tackling. I haven’t seen us tackle like that really all year. Just from fresh memory off the game without watching film I would say it came down to tackling for us.”
Source: Original report