Dolphins stun Steelers, with 204 rushing yards from Ajayi

Posted by Mike Florio on October 16, 2016, 4:16 PM EDT
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Pittsburgh entered the game 4-1 and surging. The Dolphins came into the game 1-4 and sinking.

And, of course, the Dolphins beat the Steelers.

Miami rang up a 30-15 win over the Pittsburgh, overpowering one of the better teams in the league on both sides of the ball.

The defense held quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to fewer than 200 passing yards and intercepted him twice. Running back Le’Veon Bell managed only 53 yards rushing.

Conversely, Dolphins quarterback completed 24 of 32 passes for 252 yards and no interceptions or sacks. Running back Jay Ajayi, who was left at home for Week One because he was upset he wasn’t starting, added 204 yards rushing on 25 carries, with two touchdowns.

Which means that, moving forward, there’s a good chance Ajayi will be the guy in Miami.

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40 responses to “Dolphins stun Steelers, with 204 rushing yards from Ajayi”

  1. What a difference an actual O-line makes. First time preseason starting 5 play together in regular season.

  2. If you’ve ever followed the Steelers in the mike tomlin era, you get used to these kinds of upsets. Book at least 2 more “trap” losses this season for the steelers.

  5. Enjoy the article while you can dolphin fans. This and one other article this week on the dolphins. When they lose its usually around 10 or 11 articles.

  9. .
    The Steelers looked like they spent the weekend on South Beach, just showing up minutes before the opening kickoff.
    .

  10. Wow nice of the Fins to knock Pittsburgh down a peg.

    Now if KC can beat the Raiders the Pats will be #1 in the AFC. Or at worst have only the Raiders with the same record if KC loses.

  11. Congrats to the Dolphins. I’m in the Dolphins viewing area, but of course, when they play my Steelers, the NFL force-feeds us the Jags. I’m not sure what happened. When I heard Ben was injured and the score was 16-8, I thought the problem must be our pitiful backup QB. But apparently Ben played most of the game, and from the final score, it doesn’t seem the Steelers played well on either side of the ball. On the other hand, it does appear Miami’s running game went well, so credit where it’s due.

  12. Dolphins aren’t the team I thought they were. Well at least this week. Let’s hope that team turns up for the rest of the season. Still some bonehead penalties and some terrible tackling but they showed much improvement. Can they string together another well played game ? I am starting to like Tannehill again, just a little bit. Go Fins

  14. Dolphins aren’t the team I thought they were. Well at least this week. Let’s hope that team turns up for the rest of the season. Still some bonehead penalties and some terri

  15. Happy for Ajayi – he got a ton of yards today & the OL looked good, Tannehill didn’t look clueless
    & the Defense actually showed up!
    But before everybody gets too excited REMEMBER –
    Tomlin & Roethlisberger have a history of whiffing against under achieving teams !
    SO – Were we THAT good today or Pittsburgh THAT bad?

  16. Another egg laid against a struggling team – something that the Tomlin-era Steelers have perfected all too well over the years.

    I’ve watched this team since the 70s and I don’t ever remember a coach under whom they so frequently played down to the opposition.

    Congrats Dolphins. The team that wanted the game more won it — decisively.

  18. Ajayi, Gray, Thill, Jones, Landry the offensive line, even Maxwell showed some hustle. No sacks on Tannehill and he made some throws today.

  20. Deb, it wasn’t pretty for the steelers though they did have some good plays. The Dolphins sacked Ben on 3rd & 11 and then hit a lineman after the play giving them a 1st. That was the WR 60 yard run when the Miami LB tried to hit him instead of tackle him. Tannehill had 1 TD taken away because somebody forgot to cover the tackle and another was dropped and I believe another was lost on a great play by the DB. Miami actually showed up to play in a game. Who knew?

  22. The Dolphins deserved to win. When Ben got hurt, that seemed to be the end. He was obviously bothered by it, but the OL had a tough game. I don’t know what D’Castro’s problem is but he is struggling. The Dolphins blanketed the Steelers WRs. The injured defense couldn’t hold. Just a bad loss they will have to recover from.

  25. So what do no drool & geglloyrules have to say? They were both busy yapping on Pat’s articles all week.
    Thanks Dolphins!

  26. And Pittsburgh will still get the benefit of doubt that they’re a super bowl contender. That defense will never get them to the super bowl. Media and fans always talk up the flashy offense but rarely is it enough. Pittsburgh Pretenders

  32. In all seriousness, this was about the Dolphins OL.
    Fired a few former starters this week, called others out,
    this was the first time all five designated starters played
    together this season, and it paid off nicely:
    They were able to run.
    They were able to protect the QB and let pass routes develop.
    They were able to let the DE’s rest a bit between each series,
    which helped the secondary.

    Heck! Even Maxwell played nicely!
    Congrats Fins!
    Now let’s carry this momentum forward.

  33. LyinRogerMustGo says:
    Oct 16, 2016 6:18 PM
    Paging Dr Rydze!

    Needs some serious meds NOW!!!!
    you know what we mean Steeler fans

    Funny stuff

    Go Pats

  34. The O-line looked Very good with all it’s starters back.
    It just goes to show you how lack of quality depth can really hurt a team,as it did us for a few weeks. Here’s to staying healthy the rest of the way which should brings more wins for our team

  35. Wow all it takes is 1 win to make 40% of Dolphin fans forget the past 7 years.

    I know that I will get blasted especially considering that I am a Miami fan but I was hoping they would blow it. I am so sick this team squeaking out 6 or 7 wins every year which is just low enough to miss the playoffs yet hit enough to avoid a top 3 pick and potentially franchise changing player. Maybe if this teams wins only 3 games they will a up and quit foolimg themselves and 50% of their fanbase. Steve Ross is spending all of his time on a game changing real estate project in NYC. I dont believe he cares about this organization nearly as much as claims.

  36. Oct 16, 2016 7:07 PM
    Wow all it takes is 1 win to make 40% of Dolphin fans forget the past 7 years.

    I know that I will get blasted especially considering that I am a Miami fan but I was hoping they would blow it. I am so sick this team squeaking out 6 or 7 wins every year which is just low enough to miss the playoffs yet hit enough to avoid a top 3 pick and potentially franchise changing player. Maybe if this teams wins only 3 games they will a up and quit foolimg themselves and 50% of their fanbase. Steve Ross is spending all of his time on a game changing real estate project in NYC. I dont believe he cares about this organization nearly as much as claims.
    =====================================
    Wow ! I thought i was the miserable one. lol

  37. Just because we can coast through the season and still win the division, doesn’t mean we should. That was a pathetic effort.

  38. crownofthehelmet says:
    Oct 14, 2016 2:21 PM
    I almost feel a little guilty that the schedule-makers gave us back-to-back-to-back weeks against the worst division in football 10 years running.

    I’ve seen enough over the past recent years to know that Bal, Cin and Cle have been tougher outs than Jets, Bills and Mia.
    +++++++++++

    Congrats ‘Phins! Boy the mighty AFCN sure lived up to it’s rep today huh? 2 losses to the ‘worst’ (actually the winningest in the last 10 years) division in football to go along with losses to the NFCE & even the AFCS, yeah they sure are tough outs…lol

  39. Do you see what happens when you DON’T TURN THE BALL OVER! Do you see what happens when the offensive line plays as a unit! You get better results.

    Last week Adam Gase gave pink slips to several underachieving players. I’m sure he scared a few people straight, but I wonder how long this will last.

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