OVERALL SUMMARY:

The Dolphins took the opening kickoff from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night and marched 76 yards on 15 plays to take a 7-0 lead on the Steelers on their first possession in this game. Unfortunately, this was the only offensive touchdown that the Dolphins would score and that would spell defeat for the team as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 at Joe Robbie stadium.

Overall, the game was marked by a mixture of outstanding plays and inept bungling for the team as the Dolphins were very inconsistent, especially on offense. There were at least 6 dropped passes during the game and the Dolphins committed 9 penalties, mostly on offense. And while the defense played fairly well and forced 3 turnovers, including returning an interception for a touchdown, it also committed it's share of blunders in giving up the loss.

The game started with the Dolphins taking the opening kickoff at their 24, after a 17 yard runback on the kick by Kirby Dar Dar. From there, the Dolphins executed a picture perfect, 15 play drive that included 9 running plays by Abdul-Jabbar, Parmalee and Spikes and 6 passing plays to Drayton, Barnett and McDuffie.

The Dolphins gained 38 rushing yards and 38 passing yards on this drive and, on 3rd and goal from the Steeler 2, McDuffie went in motion from left to right, darted to the goal line and turned towards the sideline just as Marino hit him with a bullet that gave the Dolphins a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

This drive was as good as they every get. Abdul-Jabbar had 7 runs for about 28 yards and Marino was 6 for 6 on the drive. Not only that, but it took a little over 9 minutes off the clock. At this point in the game, the Dolphins looked unstoppable.

That feeling was short-lived, however. After the Dolphins kicked off to Ernie Mills, who returned it to the Steeler 24, the Steelers put together their own drive, which started with 2 runs and a pass to Bettis, out to their 47, followed by a couple of passes to Johnson and Hastings that moved the ball down to the Dolhin 29. However, Danny Stubbs disrupted a Steelers running play to Bettis on 2nd and 7 and, on 3rd and 7, Calvin Jackson stepped in front of Cordell Stewart, disrupting the play and leaving the Steelers with a 4th and 7 at the Dolphin 29. The Steelers settled for a field goal and a 7-3 score.

Following their kickoff, which Spikes returned to the Dolphin 17, Abdul-Jabbar has a 5 yard gain and then Marino hit Barnett for 23 more yards to the 45 as the first quarter ended.

The Dolphins opened the second quarter with a couple of running plays by Abdul-Jabbar, down to the Steeler 43, but after Stanley Pritchett dropped a pass right in his hands on second down and Marino couldn't find Barnett on third down, the Dolphins were forced to punt from the Steeler 43. John Kidd nailed a fine punt, though, and Tim Jacobs was able to down the ball at the Steeler 3 yard line.

From there, the Steelers moved the ball well, completing a 34 yard pass to Thigpen, followed by a shovel pass and some nice runs by Bettis, and aided by a 9 yard pass to Mills, down to the Miami 25. However, on 1st and 10, Emtman and Stubbs broke through the Steeler line and Emtman got to Tomczak, forcing the fumble, which was recovered by Shane Burton at the Dolphin 39.

However, on the next play, after Marino hit Barnett for a 9 yard gain, Barnett had the ball knocked loose by Willie Williams and the Steelers recovered to take the ball back at the Dolphin 49. From there, Tomczak threw the ball away on first down under pressure from an all out blitz and after a 6 yard gain from Bettis, faced a 3rd and 4 at the Dolphin 43. Tomczak stepped back in the pocket on 3rd down and tried to find Andre Hastings on the quick out pattern, but Calvin Jackon had positioned himself perfectly between Tomczak and the receiver and picked the ball off, racing 57 yards untouched for a touchdown that gave the Dolphins a 14-3 lead.

The lead was short-lived, however, because after a touchback on the kickoff, the Steelers started their first touchdown drive of the night. After a short run by Bettis was negated by an offsides penalty on Buckley, Tomczak hit Bruener down the middle for a 36 yard gain to the Dolphin 39, where the Steelers began running a series of their specialty plays. After an 11 yard gain on a screen back across the field to Wittman, the Steelers ran the pitch-out option to Bettis down to the Dolphin 15 and after a short run by Bettis and an incompletion that was thrown away, the Steelers faced a 3rd and 7 at the Dolphin 12.

What followed was a controversial play. The Dolphins ran an all-out blitz at Tomczak on 3rd down and Tomczak tossed the ball out to Andre Hastings at the Dolphin 6. Hastings caught the ball as it touched the ground. This probably should have been called an incompletion, but the refs ruled it a catch, giving the Steelers a 4th and 1 at the Miami 6. The Steelers then ran a quarterback sneak with Kordell Stewart that got them a 1st and goal at the Dolphin 5. From there, Lester ran around right end for a touchdown and cut the lead to 14-10.

The Dolphins took the kickoff with 3:30 remaining in the half at their 29 and, after a couple of nice runs by Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Pritchett and passes to Barnett, McDuffie and a nice 16 yard pass to Parmalee on third down, they had moved down to the Steelers 33 and faced a 2nd and 5. However, a blitzing Rod Woodson got his helmet in the way of a Marino pass on 2nd down and after Richmond Webb had a false start to move the ball back 5 yards on third down, Scott Miller dropped a low throw from Marino and the Dolphins tried a 56 yard field goal on 4th and 10 from the Steeler 38. At first, it looked as if the ball would go through, but it hooked wide right.

With 27 seconds remaining in the 1st half, Tomczak started at the Steeler 46, but hit Johnson for 21 yards to the Dolphin 33 and after 4 more yards to Johnson, Norm Johnson lined up for a 47 yard field goal. However, he shanked it badly and the 1st half ended with the Dolphins ahead 14-10.

The second half opened with the Dolphins kicking off to the Steelers and Bernie Parmalee making a nice stop at the Steeler 18. After that, the Steelers marched right down the field on a series of runs by Bettis and passes to Johnson and Hastings, including a 39 yard pass to Hastings on 3rd and 8 at the Dolphin 49 which Hastings caught with a diving catch over the hands of Calvin Jackson. This gave the Steelers a 1st and 10 at the Miami 11 and after a short pass to Lester and a run by Bettis down to the one, Kordell Stewart ran the quarterback sneak twice in a row to get into the endzone and give the Steelers a 17-14 lead.

The kickoff was taken short by Robert Wilson back out to the Dolphin 30, but a 1 yard run by Abdul-Jabbar on first down, followed by a dropped pass on second down and a false start on James Brown left the Dolphins facing a 3rd and 14 and when Marino tried to find McDuffie on the next play, Rod Woodson knocked down the pass and the Dolphins were forced to punt.

The Steelers took the ball at their 26, but couldn't get anything going either, and after Armstrong batted down a ball on 3rd and 8, they punted back to the Dolphins at their 29. After a holding penalty on 1st down moved the ball back 10 yards to the 19, a 16 yard pass to Barnett was followed by a 38 yard pass to Drayton who ran a crossing pattern and then, in what has come to be a Drayton trademark, ran over a defensive back down to the Steeler 27. However, the Dolphins stalled there after two short gains by Pritchett and a pass to McDuffie was knocked down. This time, however, Nedney made the field goal and the Dolphins and Steelers were tied at 17-17.

The first kickoff was called back on an offsides penalty, but on the second kickoff, Sean Hill drilled Pegram at the Steeler 20 and the Steelers managed to move out to their 44 on 2 runs by Bettis and a short pass to Johnson. However, on first and 10 at their 44, Armstrong came around the right side of the Steeler's line and knocked the ball loose from Bettis and then fell on the ball, recovering the fumble for the Dolphins. The third quarter then ended after Abdul-Jabbar was knocked for a 3 yard loss on 1st down at the Steeler 42.

On second down, Barnett picked up 6 yards on a pass from Marino, but on third down, Chad Brown faked out Richmond Webb and sacked Marino for an 8 yard loss and the Dolphins were forced to punt from the 50.

The Steelers took the ball at their 20 and a nice run by Bettis moved the ball to the 34, but pressure from the Miami defense forced Tomczak to overthrow 2 passes and the Steelers were forced to punt with a 4th and 9 from their 35.

The Dolphins started at their 18 after a fair catch by McDuffie, as Marino moved the ball with passes to Barnett and McDuffie. Then, after a pass interference call on Deon Figures against Randal Hill and a couple of short runs by Abdul-Jabbar, the Dolphins had moved to the Steeler 30. But on 3rd and 5, a pass to McDuffie was incomplete and the Dolphins were forced to try a 48 yard field goal. However, Nedney hooked the ball again and it sailed wide right.

The Steelers took over at their 38, but after 2 short runs by Bettis and an incomplete pass towards Stewart on 3rd down, the Steelers punted back to the Dolphins, who took at fair catch at their 15. From there, on first down, Marino slipped while under pressure and was sacked for a 7 yard loss back to their 8. After two dropped passes by Pritchett and McDuffie on 2nd and 3rd down and a false start, the Dolphins punted on 4th down from their own 4 to the Steelers at the Dolphin 46.

With 6:04 remaining in the game and the score tied, the Steelers ran Bettis 4 times in a row from the Dolphin 46 down to the 25, where they paused briefly to execute a quarterback sneak with Kordell Stewart. Then, after 2 runs by Bettis were stuffed, the Steelers faced a 3rd and 8 at the Dolphin 20. On the next play, the Steelers play-faked and Tomczak hit a wide open Ernie Mills in the back of the endzone for a touchdown.

Replay revealed that Buckley had Mills in one-on-one coverage and was with Mills as they approached the goal line, but Mills cut behind another Miami player who was dropping back in defense and Buckley ran into that player. After Buckley ran into that player (Oliver? Wooden?), Mills was completely alone in the back of the endzone.

With 2:20 remaining in the game, the Steelers kicked off to the Dolphins and Spikes returned it to the 23. From there, Marino began to work some of his magic. With no timeouts left, he hit Randal Hill for 6 yards, followed by a pass to Barnett for 10. Then, on 1st and 10 from the Dolphin 39, Marino found Randal Hill down the left sideline for 45 yards down to the Steeler 16. From there, on 1st down, Marino hit Scott Miller for 8 yards to the Steeler 8. Then, a second down pass to McDuffie was incomplete and a third down pass to Parmalee only got 1 yard.

The game came down to 4th and 1 at the Steeler 7 with 31 seconds remaining and the Dolphins trailing by 7. Marino stepped back in the pocket and as Scott Miller crossed the left side of the endzone, Marino tried to hit him. However, the pass was a little high and Miller couldn't jump enough, so it passed through his fingertips. After that, it was just a matter of Tomczak taking a knee to end the game.

Like the Patriots game, the Dolphins had a good chance to win this game, but made too many mistakes, especially in the second half, to come away with the victory. Even though Marino was only sacked twice, he was pressured constantly and Chad Brown, in particular, made Richmond Webb look like the replacement instead of Buckey and McIver.

The defense played pretty well and forced 3 turnovers, but had some ugly screwups, especially when Buckley and another player collided on the touchdown to Ernie Mills. And even special teams, while terrific for the most part, had several lapses.

The results of this game probably wrecked the Dolphins' playoff chances for the year, although they could still wind up there by going undefeated the rest of the way. However, since the odds of that are low, this game probably spelled the end of the Dolphins playoff hopes for this year.

GOOD STUFF:

The Dolphins' special teams continue to impress, with the exception, of course, of the field goal kicking of Joe Nedney. The coverage was terrific downfield on both punts and kickoffs; Kidd continues to punt well and Nedney continues to put the ball deep on kickoffs.

On offense, the Dolphins did move the ball well, especially on the first drive. Troy Drayton continues to look like the future at tight end and had another great reception where he overran at least one tackler and made a big gain. Let's hope the Dolphins sign him to an extension soon.

On defense, the Dolphins did force 3 turnovers and returned one for a touchdown. Also, the defensive line did a pretty good job getting pressure on Tomczak, forcing him into bad throws and other errors.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

On offense, there were too many dropped passes and cheap penalties. These are mental mistakes that have to be eliminated. The Dolphins had 9 penalties and at least 6 dropped passes that I counted. Also, what happened to the pass blocking of Richmond Webb? I can excuse Buckey and McIver from having a hard time, but Chad Brown ran around Webb all night and he had a bad ankle...

On defense, the biggest thing I noticed was the defensive line getting blown out in situations where the Steelers were running the ball. The defensive line has to take on the offensive line and keep from being pushed aside on running plays. The linebackers have to be aggressive and make plays also. Jerome Bettis faked Singleton out of his shoes at one point, when Singleton should have had Bettis in the backfield. Bettis didn't run over Singleton - he ran around him.

The biggest thing to work on, however, is the stupid mistakes, like offsides on kickoffs (the Dolphins had 2), false starts, running into each other and dropped passes.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:

Marino completed 22 of 37 for 254 yards with 1 TD and no INTs, but even though he was only sacked twice, he was flushed out of the pocket numerous times and made a questionable choice in trying to hit Scott Miller on the last play.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar had 57 yards on 16 carries for a 3.6 yard/carry average. However, almost all of that (53 yards) was in the first half. Plus, he dropped at least 2 passes and caught none.

Bernie Parmalee had 1 carry for 10 yards and 2 receptions for 17 yards. He was also a madman on special teams, getting downfield and making a tackle.

Stanley Pritchett also dropped 2 passes and rushed twice for 8 yards.

Fred Barnett lead all receivers with 8 catches for 98 yards, but had a fumble.

OJ McDuffie had 5 catches for only 33 yards and 1 touchdown.

Troy Drayton had 3 catches for 47 yards, including a big 38 yard reception in the third quarter.

Scott Miller had only 1 reception for 8 yards and dropped at least 1 - 2 if you count the last play.

Richmond Webb looked like the rookie as he let Chad Brown beat him for a sack and generally couldn't contain him most of the night.

McIver and Buckey played ok, but McIver did let one Steeler through for a sack.

On defense, Zach Thomas again lead tacklers with 7 solo tackles and 2 assists.

Louis Oliver had 5 solo tackles, 1 assist and 1 pass defensed, but he and Buckley ran into each other and allowed Ernie Mills to get wide open on the final Steeler TD.

Buckley only had 1 tackle and Tomczak threw away from him most of the night.

Tomczak's target was Calvin Jackson and Jackson ended up with 5 tackles, 1 interception for a TD and 2 passes defensed.

Daryl Gardener had 5 solo tackles, leading the defensive linemen in tackles.

Steve Emtman had 4 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.

Trace Armstrong had 2 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed, although he defensed it by whacking Tomczak's arm as he was attempting to pass. Sean Hill was back on special teams, making 2 tackles and looking like the animal that we've all missed recently.

John Kidd continues to punt well, averaging 46.5 yards/punt and pinning the Steelers on the 3 one time.

Nedney, however, missed two field goals by hooking them wide right. His kickoffs continue to be deep.

INJURIES:

There didn't appear to be any major injuries last night.

My Comments:

This was a tough loss to take because the Dolphins were in control 14-3 and were essentially "out-toughed" down the stretch. The rookies made rookie mistakes and got twisted by the Steeler's trickery and the veterans couldn't compete in the trenches where it counted.

To me, there were two plays in this game that were symbols of the Dolphins' mistake-filled effort. The first was when Jerome Bettis was coming around the Steelers' left side and found Chris Singleton right in his path, unblocked. Bettis, who is not exactly Barry Sanders, juked Singleton out of this shoes and rumbled for a 12 yard gain. A decent outside linebacker should have at least put a hit on Bettis, but Singleton was so faked out that he never laid a hand on him. That is typical of the Dolphins' run defense last night.

The other play was the Steelers' final touchdown, where Terrell Buckley and Louis Oliver collided at the goal line, allowing Ernie Mills to be wide open in the back of the endzone.

I think that these two plays summarized the Dolphin's problems in the game last night and are a good indicator of why this team isn't really ready to go to the playoffs. There are a lot of good things happening to the team, but it's going to take another year or two to eliminate the kind of mistakes we saw last night.

Related Info:

• NFL.Com: Steelers 24, Dolphins 17 Recap
• NFL.Com: Gamebook
• Miami Herald: Longest Inch, Bitter Loss
• Miami Herald: Edwin Pope - Not meant to be
• Miami Herald: Dolphins Notebook
• ESPNet Sportszone: Tomczak's late touchdown Lifts Dolphins
• Dolphins Endzone: Game Summary