PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15 on Monday night to stop the AFC North.
Pittsburgh (8-6) won its second straight game — and 23rd straight at home on Monday night's NFL show — by beating Miami (6-8) in the final 35 minutes.
Connor Heyward ended a long drive to end the first half by crossing the goal line with a push to give the Steelers the lead. Rodgers added third-quarter touchdown throws to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and 28 yards to D.K. Metcalf, who pushed past Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on his way to the end zone.
Rodgers completed 23 of 27 passes at the chilly Akrizur 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 throwback to his Green Bay heyday.
While those days are long gone, Rodgers is playing meaningful football in December, which is all he really wanted when he decided to return for a 21st season in June. The NFL's second-youngest player (thanks to Philip Rivers' unlikely return to Indianapolis) was helped greatly by running back Kenneth Gainwell, who finished with 126 total yards.
Miami saw its faint playoff hopes evaporate when its four-game winning streak was snapped. The Dolphins prepared Sunday by practicing in the snow at nearby Robert Morris University, but that didn't help.
While Miami led 3-0 during a sluggish first half after Riley Patterson's 54-yard field goal, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense had no answer when Rodgers got hot.
Tagovailoa completed 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards with two touchdowns in garbage time to Darren Waller and his NFL-best 15th interception. Da'Von Achane, who fueled Miami's rebound from a 1-6 start, rushed for 60 yards and caught six passes and completed 68 more but was a non-factor in the middle portion of the game as the Steelers scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to remain undefeated at home on a Monday night since 1992.
Pittsburgh won for the second time in 13 tries without outside linebacker TJ Watt in the perennial All-Pro's nine-year career. Watt is out indefinitely after surgery to repair a collapsed lung suffered during dry needling treatment last week.
Either way, Watt's absence didn't matter as the night went on. The Steelers sacked Tagovailoa four times and Asante Samuel Jr. removed him, ending a promising Miami game in the first quarter.
Tagovailoa went winless in games where the starting temperature was below 40 degrees. Miami was minus-20 yards in total offense in the third quarter.
The Dolphins' improved play of late has bolstered, at least temporarily, coach Mike McDaniel's status. With the playoffs now out of reach, Miami will turn its attention to a future that may not include a bespectacled 42-year-old whose idiosyncratic approach may have run its course.
Injuries
Dolphins: RB Ollie Gordon II left in the second quarter with a left ankle injury.
Steelers: LG Isaac Seumalo left in the third quarter with a triceps injury and did not return. … Pittsburgh rookie Derrick Harmon missed his third straight game with a knee injury.
Next
Dolphins: Host Cincinnati on Sunday.
Steelers: At Detroit on Sunday.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
