Defense's about-face highlights 5 things we learned from Steelers' win over Dolphins

Five things we learned from Steelers 27, Dolphins 14:

1. Abrupt change

Mike Tomlin didn’t spare any blame for the Steelers’ slow start. That included a defense that allowed touchdowns on one short drive (26 yards) and one medium one (63) in the first quarter.

The scores left the Steelers staggered and trailing 14-0 barely 13 minutes into the game against the winless Fins.

From there, the Steelers defense simply dominated the Dolphins. After gaining 91 yards in the first quarter, the Dolphins had 139 in the final three and didn’t sniff the end zone again. The Steelers forced four turnovers — two interceptions by Minkah Fitzpatrick — and a pair of fumble recoveries.

The offense benefited from the help by scoring 17 points after the turnovers.

T.J. Watt had two sacks, including a strip sack and fumble recovery that set up Chris Boswell’s field goal in the fourth quarter that established the final margin. Bud Dupree and Cameron Heyward had the others.

2. Better to receive

One reason for the Steelers having the No. 28 ranked passing offense entering the game was an inability — or reluctance — to throw deep to the wide receivers.

It took a while for Mason Rudolph to get rolling, but he was able to find his receivers downfield for big gains against the Dolphins. Rudolph had four completions in excess of 20 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson and a 26-yard score to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Smith-Schuster also had a 34-yard catch, and James Washington’s only reception went for 21 yards.

Altogether, Steelers receivers were responsible for 11 of Rudolph’s 20 completions and 208 of his 251 passing yards. It was far cry from previous weeks when Rudolph and/or Devlin Hodges were instructed to check down to running back James Conner while the Steelers emphasized a conservative passing approach.

3. Running on empty

Conner didn’t finish the final series because of a shoulder injury that Tomlin said involved the running back’s AC joint. Benny Snell Jr. also left early because of a knee injury. With Jaylen Samuels on the inactives list, the Steelers mopped up with Trey Edmunds in the backfield.

The injuries, if serious, could lead Edmunds as the featured running back Sunday when the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts visit Heinz Field. Samuels said he was “close” to 100 percent on Saturday, yet was deactivated for the second game in a row after having arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

The only running back on the practice squad is first-year player Tony Brooks-James of Oregon, who didn’t join the Steelers until two weeks ago.

4. Too many flags

Not surprising for a team coming off its bye week, the Steelers were called for nine penalties for 70 yards, many involving the offensive line.

Center Maurkice Pouncey, a seven-time Pro Bowl pick, was called for holding twice. David DeCastro, a four-time selection, had a false start, blocking tackle Zach Banner had a hold, and Ramon Foster somehow was called for offensive pass interference (this infraction, however, was wiped out by one of Pouncey’s holds).

A delay of game penalty in the fourth quarter could have been costly. Facing a second-and-1 from the Dolphins 4, the Steelers took too much time getting aligned and were pushed back to the 9. Conner, however, rendered the penalty moot on the next play with his touchdown run that provided a 24-14 lead with 12:05 left.

On defense, T.J. Watt had a neutral zone infraction that gave the Dolphins a first down.

5. Banner day for Zach.

With the Steelers committed to establishing the run, mammoth tackle Zach Banner was used in the appropriately named jumbo package for snaps on nearly every offensive series. Banner reported as an eligible receiver so many times that the 59,244 in attendance began cheering whenever the 6-foot-8, 360-pound tackle’s name was announced over the public address system.

Banner’s presence, along with the return of fullback Roosevelt Nix, helped pave the way for the Steelers to rush for a season-high 158 yards. Banner earned the job with a strong training camp in which he edged Chuks Okorafor, who filled the role on occasion last season.

Banner also is following in the footsteps of linemen B.J. Finney and Chris Hubbard, who were used as extra blockers in prior seasons.