PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15 on Monday night to stay stop the AFC North.
Pittsburgh (8-6) won its second straight game — and 23rd straight at home during the NFL’s Monday night showcase — by overwhelming Miami (6-8) over the final 35 minutes.
Connor Heyward finished off a long drive to end the first half by nudging across the goal line on a tush push to give the Steelers the lead. Rodgers added third-quarter touchdown throws of 19 yards to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and 28 yards to DK Metcalf — who shoved former Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick out of the way en route to the end zone.
Rodgers connected on 23 of 27 passes at frigid Acrisure Stadium. The 42-year-old looked right at home with the lights on and temperatures in the teens during a night that felt like a callback to his prime in Green Bay.
While those days are long gone, Rodgers is playing meaningful football in December, which is all he really wanted when he decided in June to return for a 21st season. The NFL’s second-oldest player (thanks to Philip Rivers’ unlikely return for Indianapolis) had plenty of help from running back Kenneth Gainwell, who finished with 126 total yards.
Miami saw its slim playoff hopes vanish in the chill as its four-game winning streak was snapped. The Dolphins prepped by practicing in the snow at nearby Robert Morris University on Sunday, but it didn’t help.
While Miami took a 3-0 lead during a sluggish first half on Riley Patterson’s career-long 54-yard field goal, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins’ offense had no answer once Rodgers heated up.
Tagovailoa completed 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards with two garbage-time touchdowns to Darren Waller and his NFL-leading 15th interception.
Da’Von Achane, who had powered Miami’s recovering from a 1-6 start, ran for 60 yards and caught six passes for 68 more but was a nonfactor during the middle portion of the game, when the Steelers scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to remain unbeaten at home on Monday nights since 1992.
Pittsburgh won for the second time in 13 tries without outside linebacker T.J. Watt during the perennial All-Pro’s nine-year career. Watt is out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a collapsed lung sustained during a dry-needling treatment last week.
For a night anyway, Watt’s absence didn’t matter. The Steelers sacked Tagovailoa four times, and Asante Samuel Jr. picked him off to end a promising first-quarter Miami drive.
Tagovailoa remained winless in games where the temperature at kickoff was under 40 degrees. Miami had minus-20 yards of total offense in the third quarter.
The Dolphins’ improved play of late solidified — temporarily, anyway — coach Mike McDaniel’s status. With the playoffs now out of reach, Miami will turn its attention to the future, one that might not include the bespectacled 42-year-old whose idiosyncratic approach may be wearing thin.
