Dolphins Gut Out Much Needed Win In Throwback Affair

At long last, the Miami Dolphins once again did the most important thing that a football team cando: win the game.

It was certainly ugly at times. Put charitably, it was a game that often looked like it belong to the football era of the 1972 Dolphins being celebrated that night, and not today’s 2022 squad. Then again, it’s awfully hard to imagine Don Shula or Chuck Noll not kicking the field goal on that extremely questionable fourth and short decision. But we’ll get there.

Dolphins 16, Steelers 10. Ultimately, it was a heck of a night for mistakes in Miami Gardens.

Why? Let’s start with former Dolphins head coach and current Steelers defensive assistant Brian Flores. Because if you want to count the existence of Tua Tagovailoa, you can argue that the three biggest mistakes Flores made with the Miami Dolphins were on the field Sunday night.

Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick almost single handedly shut down Miami’s offense in the second half, or at least the middle of the field where Miami has found so much success this season. Flores famously traded Fitzpatrick when the player wouldn’t accept playing a hybrid role in the defense, and went on to become possibly the best player at his position. That’s in stark contrast to cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, who Flores (and admittedly Chris Grier) fell in love with at an Auburn pro day, and used a first round draft pick on...only to have been less reliable than multiple undrafted corners the Dolphins have signed since. Yet it was Igbinoghene making that game saving interception in the final seconds, easily the biggest play of his career

As for Tua, famously spurred and distrusted by Flores and seemingly unlocked this season by new head coach Mike McDaniel? As always, the answer there is a little complicated.

If you’re of a glass half empty mindset, then Sunday night was the exact kind of Tagovailoa performance that fans saw too often in 2020 and 2021. If that game was played in 2020, Ryan Fitzpatrick would have started the fourth quarter. If it wasn’t raining, and if the Steelers corners were just a little less horrible, Tagovailoa would have thrown at least three interceptions. Possibly four. Miami didn’t score a point in the second half. Not one. That’s inexcusably bad.

However, if you are that glass half full Dolphins and/or Tua fan, then..well it was raining. Tua hadn’t played since Week 4, and hadn’t gone through a full speed practice since Week 3. Despite all that rust though, he still found a way to win. Which kind of seems to be his thing. There were plenty of throws last night that were almost there, throws that will be there after a full week of practice. It would make perfect sense for this to be his worst game of the season.

Speaking of worst games of the season, this was not a good night for McDaniel. This game easily could have been 21-0 Dolphins before the second quarter, and likely would have been if not for a couple bone jarring hits from Fitzpatrick and a perfect play/possibly pass interference pass breakup from the Pittsburgh secondary in the endzone. After that though? His offense had zero answers for the defensive adjustments the Steelers made after those first three drives. After scoring on those first three possessions, Miami put up three points the rest of the night. And that’s without mentioning the fact that they were an Igbinoghene interception away from losing because of McDaniel’s choice to pass up a gimme field goal on fourth and 3 so that they could run up the middle with Chase Edmonds. McDaniel’s aggressiveness is a strength, but that can be a weakness as well, and it definitely was Sunday night.

Of course, the same thing can be said of his starting quarterback. It’s a bit amusing that another big storyline in this game was the need for more caution from Tagovailoa, and how McDaniel had preached the need for him to exercise some restraint rather than risk injury or turnovers. McDaniel might want to take some of his own advice after this one.

Fortunately, that aggressiveness also extends to the Dolphins defense, which was finally able to break through with the kind of multiple takeaway performance they had become known for the past two seasons. Maybe Flores being in the building is the key? Miami came away with three picks last night, including two on back to back Steelers possessions in the fourth quarter. The Steelers didn’t do any scoring in the second half either, and that’s a credit to Josh Boyer and company. Pass rushing remains a problem though. The Dolphins did get two sacks, but that’s a rather paltry showing against a rookie QB on the road. Furthermore, it would be hard to argue that Kenny Pickett ever looked really pressured beyond those two plays. That needs to be fixed, and quickly.

Bottom-line though, a win is a win. Something the Dolphins seemingly could have come away with in each of their past three games, if only they made a couple less mistakes and had just a little more luck. Some bounces finally went Miami’s way Sunday, and it was enough for a W.

Not every season can be perfect after all. Sunday night certainly wasn’t that for Miami, but it’s a good start to getting this season back on track.

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