The Pittsburgh Steelers turned in their most well-rounded performance of the 2025 NFL campaign to pick up a massive Week 15 victory. However, even a B-minus showing probably would've gotten the job done, because the Miami Dolphins failed to put up much of a fight, specifically offensively.
It became fairly obvious early in the contest that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wasn't going to overcome his notorious struggles in cold weather. He couldn't get much of anything going until the result was all but decided, which demonstrably drew the attention of Miami head coach Mike McDaniel.
McDaniel said "everything is on the table" the day after the Dolphins' 28-15 loss in Pittsburgh, and was true to his word. He reportedly benched Tagovailoa in favor of seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
Steelers' MNF win vs. Dolphins pushed Miami to bench Tua Tagovailoa for Quinn Ewers
In other words, the Steelers may have just ended the Tagovailoa era in Miami. The finances of it all complicate matters for everyone, though this typically marks the beginning of the end for a partnership.
Lest we forget, Miami signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension in July 2024. As of this writing, he's football's sixth-highest-paid player in terms of average annual value. 17 months later, the signal-caller gets demoted, with the poor outing at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium possibly being his last game playing for the Dolphins.
Examining the box score doesn't tell a complete story about how Tagovailoa fared against the Steelers. His 78.6 completion percentage and 9.04 yards per attempt can be deceiving without proper context.
Miami didn't score a touchdown until five minutes into the fourth quarter -- when they were already trailing 28-3. Tagovailoa and Co. were unable to move the ball down the field before the Steelers ostensibly took their foot off the gas.
Tagovailoa threw an ugly interception on the Dolphins' second drive and completed just 5 five passes for 61 scoreless yards on eight first-half attempts. That's a stark contrast from the 192-2-0 stat line he amassed following the break.
Moreover, Tagovailoa lost 31 yards on four sacks. In fairness, he was under duress for much of the evening versus a Steelers front seven that was notably missing star pass rusher T.J. Watt. Nevertheless, his 3.28-second average time to throw was the highest of the Week 15 slate.
Note: Stats courtesy of Fantasy Points' data suite ($).