It has been a while since the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a home Monday Night Football game, and it will be at least a little while longer after a decisive victory over the Miami Dolphins.
With a 28-15 home win vs. Miami, which the Steelers' defense held to 3 points before the fourth quarter, the Steelers extended their MNF home win streak to 23. According to ESPN NFL insider, the last time that Pittsburgh lost such a game was on Oct. 14, 1991 against the New York Giants.
The latest win in the streak was emblematic of the Steelers' MNF run of dominance; despite not having star edge rusher T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh sacked Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa four times and intercepted him once, and successfully stopped Miami on third down six of eight times. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers threw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell had 80 yards rushing on 13 carries, and Pittsburgh managed to finish the game without a turnover.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 8-6 on the season, which gives them a one-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. If Pittsburgh had lost to Miami, the Steelers and Ravens would be tied atop the division at 7-7 heading into the final three weeks of the season. Now, the Steelers have the edge going into a stretch in which they play the Detroit Lions, the lowly Cleveland Browns, and the Ravens themselves in Pittsburgh.
The wins in the last two weeks have been massively encouraging for a team that looked like it may have been spiraling, especially after a putrid 26-7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. Fortunately, leaving Baltimore with a win not only gave the Steelers an advantage in the standings, but also mentally, before they took care of the Dolphins, who had won four straight and five of their last six before Monday.
The Steelers' road game in Detroit will kick off at approximately 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
