Tua Tagovailoa passed for 261 yards and a touchdown in his first start in nearly a month to lead the host Miami Dolphins to a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Dolphins (4-3) snapped a three-game losing streak and dealt the Steelers (2-5) their fifth loss in their past six games.
The Steelers, who had their own starter Kenny Pickett return Sunday after being in concussion protocol, were driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown with just over three minutes remaining when Jevon Holland intercepted a pass intended for Diontae Johnson and returned it to Pittsburgh’s 49 with 2:57 left in the fourth.
The Steelers forced a Dolphins punt, giving them one last chance with 2:31 left and no timeouts remaining.
Pickett drove Pittsburgh into Miami territory, but threw a game-sealing interception when Noah Igbinoghene made a leaping interception and came down with both feet inbounds in the end zone with 18 seconds left.
Pickett completed 32 of 44 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions.
Tagovailoa, who completed 21 of 35 passes and finished with a 92.7 passer rating, returned to action for the first time since Sept. 29 when he suffered a concussion in a game against Cincinnati.
Tagovailoa looked sharp at the outset, throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Raheem Mostert to cap the Dolphins’ first drive. Tagovailoa was on that opening series, completing 6 of 7 passes for 68 yards, and again on Miami’s second drive, which ended with the first of three Jason Sanders field goals.
But the rest of the game, the Dolphins offense struggled to sustain drives despite rushing for 111 yards for the game.
George Pickens made an acrobatic catch in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown on a toss from Pickett with 1:50 left in the second quarter to cut the Steelers’ deficit to 13-10.
But the Dolphins defense, which also had two sacks, came through in the clutch on a night when the Dolphins honored their 1972 undefeated team that won the franchise’s first of their two Super Bowl championships.
–Field Level Media
