Tua Tagovailoa's return to the center was a success.The Miami Dolphins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.The first drive of the night was Tagovailoa's first since being hospitalized with a concussion.
The Dolphins had 9 games with a total of 71 drives, culminating in a 9-yard pass to Raheem Mostert to score. The Steelers were out with a 3-pointer and Miami marched again. They got within 10 but had to settle for a field goal and lead 10-0 with less than 10 minutes to go.
On the Steelers' subsequent offense, Kenny Pickett threw an interception and the Dolphins responded with another field goal.
In the second quarter, however, the Steelers did manage to make the game 3 thanks to a rookie George Pickens field goal and a 7-yard touchdown catch for the first time in his career. Miami returned with its third field goal of the night to take a 16-10 lead into the locker room.
The second half, however, was pretty ugly -- save for when the Dolphins tipped the ball at the Steeler’s 14-yard line, three teams swapped punts on every kickoff, and two Steelers interceptions.
On each of the first five kickoffs in the second half, the Steelers played just 18 runs for 45 yards. But in their sixth, they are moving.
They were able to get to the Dolphins' 20-yard line, but a defending penalty pushed them back 10 yards, and on the 3rd and 16th Pickett made another interception that was returned to midfield.
The Steelers forced Miami to abandon ship, and they had to walk 87 yards to keep the game alive. They again managed to move down pretty quickly, but at the Dolphins' 25-yard line, Pickett threw his third interception of the night to seal the victory for Miami.
Tagovailoa completed 21 of his 35 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Waddle led all receivers with 88 yards on four catches, while Tyreek Hill caught seven with 72 yards.
Pickett's three picks were 32-for-44 for 257 yards and a touchdown. Pat Freiermuth had eight catches for 75 yards.
The Dolphins (4-3) will visit the 1-5 Detroit Lions next Sunday. And the 2-5 Steelers head to the East to face the Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), the last undefeated team in the NFL.
