Steelers Clips
The Steelers scored at the end of the first half and then scored again at the beginning of the second half. They have a 14-3 lead on the Dolphins.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught his first touchdown pass as a Steeler, with his 19-yard score coming with 11:20 remaining in the third quarter.
The Steelers, who closed the first half with Connor Heyward scoring his first career rushing touchdown with 17 seconds left in the second quarter, took the opening kickoff in the third quarter. They marched 71 yards in only six plays.
Kenneth Gainwell had the big play in the possession with a 38-yard run to the Miami 22 before Minkah Fitzpatrick pushed him out of bounds.
Aaron Rodgers has completed 10 passes in a row and now is 14-of-15 for 124 yards and a touchdown. Gainwell has six catches for 41 yards and five rushes for 44 yards.
The Steelers had 48 yards, three first downs and three punts on their first three possessions. They had 60 yards, six first downs and a touchdown on their fourth drive.
On a cold night in Pittsburgh, the Steelers lead the Dolphins 7-3 at halftime.
Connor Heyward scored on a 1-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat, which is the Steelers’ version of the tush push. Tight end Darnell Washington pushed Heyward into the end zone on third down for Heyward’s first career rushing touchdown.
It came with only 17 seconds left in the first half.
The touchdown run marked the Steelers’ first third-down conversion of the night after going 0-for-6 to start the game. They are 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions, including one on the touchdown drive.
Aaron Rodgers was 5-for-5 on the possession and finished the first half 13-of-14 for 105 yards. Kenneth Gainwell has six catches for 41 yards, and Jaylen Warren has eight carries for 20 yards.
The Steelers have 116 yards to 113 for the Dolphins but had the ball for 17:48 in a fast-moving first half.
The Dolphins scored their only points on a 54-yard field goal by Riley Patterson with 5:11 left in the second quarter.
Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception on the team’s other possession that crossed midfield, with Asante Samuel picking a pass intended for Jaylen Waddle.
Tagovailoa is 5-of-8 for 61 yards, with De’Von Achane rushing for 49 yards on eight carries and catching two passes for 23 yards.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger helped take the conversation about coach Mike Tomlin’s future to the next level two weeks ago, by addressing the question of whether both sides should move on in the days after a 26-7 home loss to the Bills.
Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Roethsliberger backtracked a bit.
“Just because I said that, you know, there’s a time for maybe some new things — that’s just saying that I think, you know, Coach Tomlin, if he wants to move on, he has every right to want to move on,” Roethlisberger said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “It’s not that they should. It’s up to him. He’s earned that right. And that, you know, if he wants to go do something else he can and he should and we should honor him when that time comes. Whenever that is. Maybe he wants to coach another ten years. That’s fine, too.”
Roethlisberger’s original comments didn’t make it sound like a one-way deal, but a mutual split.
“It’s being talked about around here a lot: Maybe it’s a clean-house time. Maybe it’s time,” Roethlisberger said. “I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. But maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best. Whether that’s in the pros, maybe go be Penn State’s head coach. You know what he would do in Penn State? He would probably go win national championships. Because he’s a great recruiter.”
Roethlisberger made it clear two weeks ago that Tomlin should not be fired when Roethlisberger first addressed the issue. But he nevertheless indicated it may be in the team’s best interests to make a change.
“You don’t fire a guy like Coach Tomlin,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast. “He’s a Hall of Fame head coach, he’s respected. What you do is you come to an understanding and agreement, and it’s like, ‘Hey, listen, I think it’s probably best for both of us.’”
The question gets thornier if Tomlin wants to go coach another NFL team and the Steelers insist on significant draft-pick compensation. Tomlin arguably, through 19 years of service, has earned the right to not have his next opportunity bogged down by his new team giving up a first-round pick or more.
That’s where it could interesting, because Tomlin can veto any trade by declining to cooperate with the standard process of essentially trading a head coach from one team to another.
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren is active for Monday Night Football.
Warren was a late addition to the injury report with an illness.
He was questionable to play.
Warren has 159 carries for a team-best 652 yards and four touchdowns.
The Steelers, though, won’t have defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who is inactive with a knee injury. He was questionable to play.
The first-round rookie has 22 tackles, two sacks and four quarterback hits this season.
The team’s other inactives are wide receiver Roman Wilson, quarterback Will Howard, offensive lineman Andrus Peat (concussion), defensive tackle Brodric Martin-Rhodes and outside linebacker T.J. Watt (lung). Howard will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Dolphins’ inactives are quarterback Quinn Ewers, defensive back Elijah Campbell (ankle/knee), cornerback A.J. Green, offensive lineman Larry Borom (illness), wide receiver Tahj Washington and defensive tackle Matthew Butler.
One Steelers receiver had gotten a promotion.
In advance of Monday night’s matchup with Miami, Pittsburgh announced the club has signed veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the 53-man roster off of the practice squad.
Valdes-Scantling made his Steelers debut in last week’s win over the Ravens. While he did not receive a target, he was on the field for 16 of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps.
Valdes-Scantling previously appeared in five games for the 49ers this season, catching four passes for 40 yards.
As a corresponding move, the Steelers released receiver Ke’Shawn Williams.
Additionally, Pittsburgh has elevated offensive lineman Jack Driscoll and defensive end DeMarvin Leal from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Monday night’s game.
The Dolphins signed linebacker Quinton Bell to the active roster from the practice squad on Monday, the team announced. The Dolphins waived linebacker Andre Carter II in a corresponding move.
The team also announced it has elevated offensive lineman Kion Smith to the active roster for Monday Night Football.
Bell has bounced between the active roster and the practice squad this season. He has seen action on 30 defensive snaps and 45 on special teams in three games, totaling one tackle.
He has appeared in 30 career games, with three starts, in five seasons with Tampa Bay (2020), Atlanta (2022) and Miami (2023-25). Bell has recorded 27 tackles, one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble in his career.
He also has four special teams tackles.
Carter has appeared in 15 career games in two seasons with Minnesota (2023) and Las Vegas (2024), recording three tackles and half a sack. He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent, signing with Minnesota in 2023.
Smith has played 21 career games, with two starts at right guard, in two seasons with the Dolphins (2023, 2025). He has seen action in 12 games this season.
Smith also spent two seasons on Miami’s practice squad (2021-22) and the 2024 season on injured reserve. He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent in 2021 with Atlanta, where he spent the offseason and training camp before signing with Miami.
The Steelers have downgraded running back Jaylen Warren to questionable due to an illness, the club announced on Monday.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Warren woke up sick and is receiving fluids. But he’s optimistic about playing against the Dolphins on Monday night.
Warren, 27, has rushed for 652 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games this season. He’s caught 30 passes for 277 yards with two TDs.
Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee) is also questionable for the Steelers while linebacker T.J. Watt (lung), guard Andrus Peat (concussion), and cornerback James Pierre (calf) have all been ruled out.
The Steelers are set to have tight end Darnell Washington in the lineup against the Dolphins on Monday night.
Washington suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s win over the Ravens and was listed as questionable on Saturday after a week of limited practices. The Steelers announced on Sunday morning that Washington has cleared concussion protocol and no longer has an injury designation for Monday’s home game.
Washington has played in all 13 games this season and has 23 catches for 288 yards and a touchdown. He also plays a key role as a blocker for Pittsburgh.
Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee) is still listed as questionable for the Steelers. Cornerback James Pierre (calf), offensive lineman Andrus Peat (concussion), and edge rusher T.J. Watt (lung) have been ruled out.
From the moment the league office overturned two key fourth-quarter rulings in the Week 14 Steelers-Ravens game, the countdown started for Sunday morning. What would NFL officiating messenger Walt Anderson say, or not say, on NFL Network about the Aaron Rodgers “catch” and the Isaiah Likely “non-catch”?
And, more importantly, would Anderson be given enough time in the four-hour show to address all of the controversial calls from the game, including the unnecessary roughness penalty on a field-goal attempt that the league privately told the Ravens was a mistake?
As to the last question, the answer was no. Despite the importance of the issue to the actual and perceived integrity of the game, Anderson spoke for fewer than two minutes of the 240-minute show, addressing only one of the three very controversial calls from Pittsburgh at Baltimore.
Here’s what he said about the decision to reject the real-time ruling from the on-field officials that Likely had completed the catch process, for what would (should) have been a go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 to play.
“There’s three elements that have to be satisfied,” Anderson said, “Control of the football. And then two steps or a body part. And so he gets control, he takes two steps. What are we now looking for? And the rule is very specific. After those first two, you’ve got to have that third element. And the most common element for receivers that are running is a third step with control of the ball. As you can see here, before that third step gets down, the defender is able to punch the ball out. That’s why the pass is incomplete.”
If we’re only focusing on a third foot as the way to satisfy the third element, Anderson isn’t wrong. The problem is that, as we explained at the time, the replay process has focused on three feet down to the exclusion of the other ways to perform an act common to the game: “extend[ing] the ball forward, . . . tuck[ing] the ball away and turn[ing] upfield, or avoid[ing] or ward[ing] off an opponent.”
Anderson did not address, and was not asked to address, whether Likely had extended the ball forward or warded off an opponent. To overturn the ruling of a touchdown, the replay process requires (as the rules are written) clear and obvious evidence that Likely had done neither of those things.
“We can keep arguing about this for a long time,” Steve Mariucci said after Anderson explained the Likely ruling. “What is a football move?”
And then there was no discussion whatsoever about the other side to the argument. No mention of whether Likely had, or hadn’t, made a football move/act common to the game. More importantly (and more on that in a second), there was no reference to whether Likely had possession of the ball long enough to do so.
Anderson also made no effort to reconcile the replay ruling on the Aaron Rodgers “catch” with the Likely ruling, probably because Anderson and the rest of the league office know that the decisions cannot be reconciled. If Rodgers caught the ball, then Likely did, too.
Anderson instead addressed a play from Thursday night’s Falcons-Buccaneers game. The catch and fumble by Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.
“These plays are very, very similar, except for that third element,” Anderson said. “And so what you can see here is Bijan Robinson gets control of the ball, he gets two steps, and then what he’s able to do, because that left is one, the right is two, the left foot comes down again. That’s the third step, and then he loses the ball. So he’s completed all three elements of the catch process. That’s why this is a catch and in this case a fumble. Had Likely got that third step down while he maintained control of the ball because he was in the end zone, it would have been a touchdown because by rule then the ball would be dead in the end zone.”
Again, they’re focusing only on the third foot and ignoring the rest of the rule, both as to performing an act common to the game and having the time to do so.
Consider this, and watch the Robinson play at full speed, not in slow-motion. If Robinson had possession of the ball long enough to perform an act common to the game (by rule, take a third step among other things), didn’t Likely have possession of the ball long enough to perform an act common to the game?
Even if we ignore the fact that Likely was extending the ball and/or warding off an opponent (and it’s not clear and obvious he wasn’t), Likely had it long enough to, for instance, “tuck the ball away and turn upfield.” But Likely had no reason to do that, because: (1) he was in the end zone; and (2) he was trying to keep the ball away from a defender who was literally attached to his back and trying to knock out the ball.
Here’s the bottom line. Whoever is making the decisions about replay review in the league office (and many throughout the league don’t know who that is at any given moment) has decided to hinge the catch decision on getting three feet down, and to disregard the rest of the rule as it relates to performing an act common to the game, or having enough time to do so.
That’s the inescapable message, both from last week’s ruling and Anderson’s Sunday morning explanation of it. The league office has gone rogue as to the catch rule (and the replay standard), ignoring language that was adopted by a 75-percent supermajority vote of ownership.
At this point, the only way to fix the problem will be for the owners to take control of the situation, if necessary reminding the employees of the league office who writes the checks — and who cashes them.
Time will tell which of the six quartebacks taken in the first 12 selections of the 2024 draft will be regarded as the best of the bunch. For now, however, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is the one who is on the brink of doing something historic.
He has won 10 straight games while throwing for 200 or more passing yards in each one. If Maye does it again on Sunday against the Bills, he’ll be only the fifth player to ever do it in 11 straight games, per NBC Sports research.
Peyton Manning did it twice, in 2009 (14 games) and 2012 (11 games). Tom Brady did it in 2007 (13 games). Aaron Rodgers did it in 2011 (13 games). Dan Marino did it in 1984 (11 games).
Maye would join Marino as the only players to accomplish that feat before the age of 25.
The names are impressive. This isn’t something that happens for flashes in the pan but for bona fide franchise quarterbacks.
Maye is proving, one game at a time, that he belongs in this category. In only his second NFL season, things are looking up for the Patriots. Which is a lot better than it was looking in 2023 and 2024.
