The Pittsburgh Steelers maintained their AFC North lead on “Monday Night Football.” The Miami Dolphins will now wait for the offseason.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and the Pittsburgh defense stifled Miami’s offense for much of the game as the Steelers defeated the Dolphins 28-15 at Acrisure Stadium on Monday night.
The Steelers are 8-6, one game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens (7-7) in the AFC North. The Dolphins are 6-8 and were eliminated from the playoff race.
No Watt, no problem for Steelers defense
The Steelers’ run defense was under the microscope. The Dolphins had averaged a league-high 192 rushing yards per game since Week 10. Over that same span, no team had surrendered more rushing yards than the Steelers.
Pittsburgh was also without star outside linebacker T.J. Watt — recovering from a partially collapsed lung sustained during a dry needling treatment — and rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (a key run defender).
After allowing 249 rushing yards to the Bills and 217 to the Ravens over their last two games, the Steelers’ defense limited the Dolphins to 63. It was Miami’s lowest rushing output since Week 5. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer
Roster moves at WR and DB pay off
The Steelers’ receiving corps has undergone a makeover in recent weeks. Adam Thielen was claimed off waivers and Marquez Valdes-Scantling was signed to the active roster after spending several weeks getting up to speed on the practice squad. The additions caused second-year receiver Roman Wilson to become a healthy scratch in back-to-back games.
On Monday, the shakeup paid off. Rodgers connected with one of his “favorite” teammates, Valdes-Scantling, to open up a 14-3 lead early in the second half. Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling played together in Green Bay.
In a similar way, the Steelers have remade their depth chart at cornerback, releasing Darius Slay and promoting James Pierre to a starting role. With Pierre out, Asante Samuel Jr. started his first game as a Steeler. On the Dolphins’ second possession, Samuel reeled in his first interception in a new uniform. — DeFabo
WHAT A THROW. WHAT A CATCH. 🤯@dkm14 powers his way in for six! #ProBowlVote
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/szceXBjRdr pic.twitter.com/3KPVI88IFb
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 16, 2025
Steelers win ‘middle eight’ to take control
The Steelers often talk about winning the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. They did exactly that to take a 14-3 lead.
Tight end Connor Heyward converted a tush push in the closing seconds of the first half. Then on the Steelers’ first possession of the second half, Rodgers threw to Valdes-Scantling for a touchdown.
From there, the Steelers were in control. They scored touchdowns on their next two possessions — one from DK Metcalf and one from Jonnu Smith. Those four consecutive touchdown drives turned a rock fight into a blowout. — DeFabo
Kenneth Gainwell shows his versatility
When the Steelers signed Kenneth Gainwell to a one-year contract this offseason, he appeared to be a low-cost depth addition. As this season has unfolded, he’s become one of their key pieces on offense. That was especially true Monday. Gainwell, who has a nice feel for zone runs and has the versatility to run routes like a receiver, racked up 80 rushing yards on 13 carries and added seven receptions for 46 yards. — DeFabo
Dolphins’ offense goes cold
Miami may have practiced in the snow on Sunday in Pittsburgh to prepare, but its offense still went cold.
The Dolphins are notorious for poor showings in cold weather. They are now 0-14 in games when the temperature is 40 degrees or colder at kickoff, the longest streak in such temperatures since the start of 2000, per ESPN Insights. It was 17 degrees at kickoff Monday.
Miami’s offensive woes were especially hurtful in the third quarter, when the team amassed negative-20 yards of offense while the Steelers scored 14 points. The Dolphins had just five total first downs when the fourth quarter began.
The rushing game amassed only 63 yards. Rookie Ollie Gordon II, who scored two touchdowns in his last three games, left in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made a late-game push after a slow start, tossing two touchdowns to tight end Darren Waller in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough to make up for early mistakes, including his 15th interception, the most in the NFL, and plenty of other close calls. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards.
A bright spot was kicker Riley Patterson, whose career-long 54-yard field goal in the second quarter put Miami on the board. Patterson has made 24 of his 26 field goal kicks this year. — Jayna Bardahl, NFL writer
Dolphins eliminated from playoff contention
The Dolphins will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Their last appearance was a wild-card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 season. Their last playoff win was on Dec. 30, 2000, when they outlasted the Indianapolis Colts in overtime in the wild-card round. They were then eliminated in the divisional round against the Oakland Raiders.
The road ahead for Miami could look much different. The team agreed to part ways with general manager Chris Grier on Oct. 31, one day after a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens dropped them to 2-7. Miami won four straight after that, but ran out of gas against the Steelers.
Notable from that midseason staff change was the decision to stick with head coach Mike McDaniel, at least for the time being. He is 34-31 since taking over in 2022. But he has now failed to lead the Dolphins to a postseason victory in four seasons. — Bardahl