Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Mason Rudolph starts slow but finishes strong in Steelers win

The way the Miami Dolphins started on Monday Night Football made you momentarily forget they were winless and had traded their top offensive lineman, wide receiver and running back this season.

After sending Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills to Houston earlier this season, the Dolphins depleted their depth even more by dealing running back Kenyan Drake to Arizona on Monday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers showed it’s not how you start but rather how you finish. There was no better example of that than quarterback Mason Rudolph, making his first start since being knocked unconscious against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 6.

Rudolph threw a pick on his first pass attempt, had a 0.0 rating in the first quarter and completed only two of his first eight passes, but finished the first half with 138 passing yards and a touchdown.

Rudolph finished 20 of 36 for 251 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for an 84.4 rating, as the Steelers rallied for a 27-14 comeback victory over the Dolphins at Heinz Field to improve to 3-4 this season.

1. Digging a hole: Rudolph got off to a shaky start when his first pass, intended for JuJu Smith-Schuster, was intercepted by Miami cornerback Xavien Howard at the Steelers 26 at 12 minutes, 55 seconds of the first quarter.

The Dolphins needed only four plays to find the end zone, as a 17-yard pass to Jakeem Grant helped set up Albert Wilson’s 5-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick for a 7-0 lead two minutes later.

Miami extended its lead with an 11-play, 63-yard scoring drive that saw Fitzpatrick pick on Steelers cornerback Joe Haden four times for 43 yards. That included a 15-yard completion to Devante Parker on a third-and-14.

The worst play, however, came when Allen Hurns pinballed through the defense for a 12-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:34 left in the first quarter.

Steelers inside linebacker Devin Bush whiffed on a tackle attempt, and Hurns bounced off Mark Barron, Steve Nelson and fought through Terrell Edmunds into the end zone.

2. Bouncing back: Rudolph completed only one of his first seven attempts in the first quarter.

It got worse before it got better.

Rudolph threw incomplete on his first pass of the second quarter and was sacked for an 11-yard loss on third-and-5 at the Miami 48, losing a fumble that was recovered by right guard David DeCastro at the Steelers 39.

But Rudolph responded with a pair of third-down conversions, throwing a 12-yard pass to Diontae Johnson on third-and-11 and a 34-yarder down the left sideline to Smith-Schuster on third-and-5 to set up Chris Boswell’s 42-yard field goal to cut it to 14-3 with 2:45 left in the half.

3. Fitzpatrick vs. Fitzpatrick I: The Steelers sent a 2020 first-round draft pick to Miami for free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who made a momentum-changing play against his old team.

Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off a pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick and returned it to midfield with 1:13 left in the half.

Rudolph came up with more third-down magic by completing a 17-yard pass to Smith-Schuster, declining a defensive pass-interference penalty.

On the next play, they had a pass to Johnson negated by a questionable call. Officials called offensive pass interference on Johnson, who was battling Howard along the right sideline.

With a third-and-20, the Dolphins took a risk by blitzing eight defenders. The Steelers caught them with a crossing pattern by Johnson, who raced 45 yards for a touchdown – thanks to a pancake block by James Washington on cornerback Nik Needham – to cut it to 14-10 with 17 seconds left.

Suddenly, the Steelers had all the momentum.

4. Fitzpatrick vs. Fitzpatrick II: The Steelers will take the turnover but Minkah Fitzpatrick’s second interception didn’t necessarily help their field position.

Fitzpatrick picked off a pass at the Steelers 3 at 11:03 of the third quarter, forcing Rudolph to throw out of his own end zone while trailing by four points.

That’s when Rudolph was at his best, connecting with Smith-Schuster over the middle for 17 yards, beating a blitz with a 21-yarder to Washington and throwing an 11-yarder to Johnson on a third-and-8.

When Rudolph found Smith-Schuster for a 26-yard touchdown, it capped a 12-play, 97-yard touchdown drive to give the Steelers a 17-14 lead at 3:16 of the third.

Now, the Steelers were in control.

5. Pro Bowl performances: The Steelers got strong performances by their three third-year Pro Bowl players and top three picks from the 2017 draft class.

Conner rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, carrying a greater load with Jaylen Samuels inactive and Benny Snell suffering a knee injury. It was Conner’s first 100-yard game in 12 games, since rushing for 107 yards in a 23-16 victory at Baltimore last Nov. 4.

Smith-Schuster had five catches for 103 receiving yards and a touchdown, his first 100-yard receiving game since he fumbled in the fourth quarter amid an 11-catch, 115-yard game at the New Orleans Saints last December.

And outside linebacker T.J. Watt had a strip sack of Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter, recovering the fumble at the Miami 22 to set up Boswell’s 41-yard field goal for a 27-14 lead.

The Steelers are going to be leaning on this trio to carry them the rest of the way.

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