Pickett Picked Off thrice as Dolphins Beat the Steelers 16-10
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
On Sunday, October 23rd, the 3-3 Miami Dolphins were celebrating the 50th anniversary of their 1972 squad that remains the only NFL Team to go undefeated. They were hoping to snap their three-game losing streak against a 2-4 Pittsburgh Steelers team that was coming off their first win since week one against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in the fold after having missed the last two weeks recovering from the concussion he sustained against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Miami offense was hoping to bounce back after two mediocre performances against the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings.
Tua started his first offensive drive since week four with a touchdown pass to running back Raheem Mostert. After the Steelers went three-and-out on their first offensive possession, the Dolphins capitalized with a long drive that ended in a field goal. The Steelers offense came back onto the field and continued to struggle, with quarterback Kenny Pickett throwing an interception to cornerback Justin Bethel, and the Dolphins once again kicked a field goal after their following offensive possession to increase their lead to 13-0.
The Pittsburgh offense finally showed some life in the second quarter, and Chris Boswell put Pittsburgh on the board after kicking a 45-yard field goal. The Steelers defense clutched up on the Dolphins next drive, forcing their first punt of the night, and their offense continued this positive momentum with a long drive ending with Pickett throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver George Pickens. The Dolphins offense conducted a two-minute drill that ended in a field goal, and the first half concluded with them up 16-10.
The Steelers offense stalled on their first drive of the second half, with Pickett taking a bad sack from second-year linebacker Jaelan Phillips. The Dolphins failed to convert on fourth-and-three at Pittsburgh’s 14-yard line, and the Steelers punted again on their next possession.
Both teams traded punts for the next four drives, as they went scoreless in the third quarter, and the Steelers and Dolphins continued the punt-fest on the first four drives of the fourth quarter. The Steelers offense got the ball back and Pickett proceeded to lead their offense down the field up to the Miami 15-yard line, but they subsequently took two untimely penalties that backed them up to the 30, where Pickett threw an interception to star safety Jevon Holland.
The Dolphins called three run plays and punted again, then the Steelers ran a two-minute drill down to Miami’s 25-yard line. With 25 seconds left on second-and-two, Pickett threw the game-sealing interception to cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, the first of the former first-rounder’s career.
With this win, the Dolphins have improved to 4-3 to remain in the hunt in an AFC East division where the Buffalo Bills have the best record in the conference at 5-1, the Jets are surprisingly competitive at 5-2, and are still only a game above the 3-4 New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, the Steelers remain dead-last in the AFC North, and while they have the same record as the Cleveland Browns and aren’t too far behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Bengals, they need to clean up their deficiencies on offense in order to have a shot at the post-season.
