The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a must-win game against the Miami Dolphins in front of America on Sunday Night Football. The 16-10 loss was not a pretty one and many flaws for the team were displayed throughout the contest. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett showed poise at times, but also threw three interceptions including two in the fourth quarter. Something that won't show up in the stat sheet, however, are the butter fingers that the secondary had. There were multiple chances to intercept Tua Tagovailoa, but three different defenders were unable to come up with the big turnover on four occasions.
Steelers cornerback, Levi Wallace lurks before a snap at Acrisure Stadium during a 2022 preseason game. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
The first missed opportunity came when a pass went off the hands of a Dolphins' receiver and connected with both hands of cornerback, Levi Wallace. He was unable to haul it in. In another instance, on a critical third down in the fourth quarter, Wallace did not catch what seemed to be another chance at an interception. A turnover would have provided the offense with much better field position as they were down six with just over two minutes to go.
Head coach, Mike Tomlin did not shy away from taking a slight dig at his secondary after the game.
"[The Dolphins] made the necessarily plays to secure victory and we didn't," Tomlin said at his postgame press conference. "Often times, particularly when it's a defensive battle the way that game developed into, it's about who catches the interception opportunities and who doesn't."
Wallace's drops can be looked at as the tougher of the four unfortunate missed opportunities from the defense. No defensive unit in the NFL has had more than three dropped interceptions in a game this season, but Pittsburgh was incapable of coming up with a big play in Miami several times. The unit only allowed 16 points against a high-powered offense, but it's what won't show up in the game log that hurt them the most. Tomlin was continued after the game, telling the media that the defense couldn't make a big play.
"That's kind of the lens in which I see it. The Dolphins caught theirs and we didn't catch ours. That's probably the difference in the game and sometimes when it's a one score game and it's back and forth like that and the defenses are controlling it, defensive splashes are ultimately the deciding factor. We didn't give our offense a short field by producing a turnover or two and [the Dolphins] did.
Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton on the field prior to a preseason game in 2022 | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter JSKO_PHOTO)
Possibly the biggest drop of the night came at the end of the first half when Tagovailoa looked downfield for wide receiver, Tyreek Hill. The pass was under thrown and Cameron Sutton had great coverage. The problem was the ball went right through his hands and it was what allowed Miami to kick a field goal. An interception there would have had the Steelers down just 13-10 going into halftime. Instead, no points were scored in the second half as the offense struggled to find the end zone for the remainder of the game.
Safety, Terrell Edmunds also couldn't come up with one that would have given the Steelers offense tremendous field position in the third quarter. When asked again about the lack of execution in these instances, Tomlin's response was very short and sweet.
"We had some interception opportunities and we gotta catch em."
Do you think if the Steelers' secondary caught one of the potential four interceptions, the team would have won the game against Miami? Let us know in the comments below!
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