The Steelers fell behind by 14 in the first quarter but pulled out a win and sent the Dolphins to a 0-7 start for 2019. Once again, the team started off slow, with a stagnant mistake prone offense but rebounded and established a tough running game and some timely passes.
The education of Mason Rudolph continues, he made mistakes but after an awful first quarter put together a very good performance for the rest of the game. He finished the game 20 for 36 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. The receivers dropped a few passes and he missed some receivers but overall played well enough. Hitting Diontae Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown turned the tide of the game.
Johnson is emerging as a breakout performer and had a very good game, bringing in five catches for 84yards and a touchdown, he also made a terrific catch that the haphazard refs called a bogus penalty on. James Washington chipped in with one catch, but his biggest contribution was the block that sprung Johnson. JuJu Smith-Schuster had his biggest game of the year. Smith-Schuster had five catches for 100+ yards and made a terrific 26-yard touchdown catch.
James Conner also had his biggest game of the year. After a slow start, he ran over the Dolphins with 145 yards and one touchdown. The Offensive line gave him plenty of room to work and the protection of Rudolph was excellent again.
The defense kept the Steelers in the game and only gave up two touchdowns on short fields. They also are a work in progress but were able to stuff the run and keep the Dolphins in check.
Minkah Fitzpatrick made the biggest play of the night, grabbing an interception late in the first half that setup a Steelers scoring drive. He also picked off Ryan Fitzpatrick on the Dolphins first drive of the second half. They never recovered.
The front seven set a good tone and were able to eliminate any Dolphins running game. They only mustered 54 yards and had to abandon the plan by mid third quarter. Cam Heyward made a key stop of a Ryan Fitzpatrick keeper forcing a Dolphins turnover on downs. Tyson Alualu did a nice job filling in for the injured Stephon Tuitt.
Can the refs stink any worse? They are way to involved in games and the Pass Interference review rule is complete nonsense.
It was a gutsy win for the Steelers, but they need to get off to a better start in games. Falling behind 14-0 to the Dolphins is not the same thing as falling behind 14-0 to a competent team. The Steelers need to figure out a way to get the offense going sooner or the season will be lost!
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: James Conner, who had a break out game. Conner ground out 145 yards and a touchdown. He played great and was an absolute force. It looked like he was injured towards the end of the game. Also Considered: Minkah Fitzpatrick who had two interceptions and Diontae Johnson who had a breakout game and made a great catch, that the refs jobbed him out of!
Where I watched the game: On the “road” again, with a great Pro-Steelers crowd at Sea Cove in our hometown. We had a great Sicilian Salad and a Hot-BBQ Chicken Pizza, the beer of choice was Narragansett and Guinness, both KGB and I realized we are getting too old for night games!
My Stat of the week: 1 for 12…Mike Tomlin won his first challenge in almost two seasons on a key 4th down conversion.
My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers are going to sneak up on the Colts, who are riding high right now. I actually expect a pretty rough game for the Colts.
This week’s Jersey: Alejandro Villanueva, #78, Color Rush, I won the jersey at the same restaurant we watched the game at!