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Steelers get rematch with Miami

For the Mirror

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers were feeling good the last time they saw the Miami Dolphins.

The Steelers were 4-1 when they stepped onto the turf in Miami on Oct. 16.

They lost that game 30-15, the start of a four-game losing that would place their playoff status in jeopardy.

They pulled out of that losing streak with the current winning streak, extended to seven games with Sunday’s 27-24 overtime victory against the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field.

This time the Dolphins are coming to Pittsburgh for the game.

The Steelers have tape of them, which will show the things that went wrong in October.

“They had a good running game against us,” linebacker Lawrence Timmons said. “It’s going to be a big test for us. We need to stand up to the challenge and be the defense we want to be.”

Running back Jay Ajayi had a huge game against the Steelers, gaining 204 yards on 25 attempts.

Ben Roethlisberger had one of his worst games against the Dolphins — 19-for-34, 189 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown. His passer rating was 57.1.

Coach Mike Tomlin brushed off a question about the Dolphins, saying, “We haven’t even started the process” immediately after Sunday’s game.

Timmons said the Steelers had a problem with missed tackles at Miami. That remains an issue.

He also said it’s less about what the Dolphins try to do than it is about the Steelers playing to their ability.

“It’s about us before we worry about other people,” Timmons said. “We have to play our scheme. We have to do our stuff perfectly.”

The biggest change for the Dolphins in the absence of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has a knee injury. Matt Moore has replaced him.

Tomlin said he didn’t know if injured Steelers Stephon Tuitt and Ladarius Green would be available. He said he would have an update on them at his Tuesday press briefing.

However, the Steelers will go into the game with their main offensive weapons reasonably healthy after 16 games. That hasn’t always been the case.

Le’Veon Bell was knocked out before the end of the last two seasons, and Antonio Brown was sidelined with a concussion sustained in the Steelers’ first playoff game.

This time, they’ll all be available, as will quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey.

“I feel good about that,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we took the approach we took this week. We’ve been without Le’Veon Bell the last two years in the playoffs. We went to Denver last year without Antonio Brown. We’ve been to Super Bowls and so forth without Maurkice Pouncey. Good to have them.”

Limited choices

Tomlin explaining why he didn’t rest more starters in a game that had no meaning in the playoff seeding for the Steelers:

“We didn’t have a 70-man roster like we did in the preseason,” he said. “The guys who were available to us played.”

Knocked out

The Steelers said rookie defensive lineman Javon Hargrave was in concussion protocol.

Hargrave left the game and did nor return. He was also evaluated for a concussion during the Steelers’ Dec. 4 game against the New York Giants.

Filling in

After a rocky start. backup quarterback Landry Jones got better and helped the Steelers rally in the second half.

Any evaluation of his play must be made in the context that Bell, Brown and Pouncey were all sitting out.

“(Jones) works hard,” Tomlin said. “All these guys work hard. We respect their ability to be positive contributors to our effort. For him to have an opportunity to rise up for his teammates, I’m sure he was prepared for that. It’s a good thing for him. It’s a good thing for us.”

Jones is now 2-2 as a starter.

He said there was no inspirational message that preceded the winning drive.

“That’s not who I am,” Jones said. “If I started trying to give them rah-rah speech, I’m sure they’d look at me like I’m crazy and something is wrong. For me, I stay level-headed, stay the course and just go out there and make plays.”

Williams returns

Bell’s rest turned into an opportunity for backup DeAngelo Williams. He started the season well while Bell was sitting out a three-game NFL suspension.

However, because of a knee injury and Bell’s success, Williams had not gotten significant playing time since mid-October.

“DeAngelo is in this for the right reasons,” Tomlin said. “He wants to be part of winning a championship. It was good to get him a substantial amount of work today.

“He’s done a lot of watching lately, whether it’s because of injury or the excellence of Le’Veon. It was great work for him today. I’m sure it will be a positive thing for him to build on in terms of his overall readiness as we push into the tournament.”

Exit statement

Hue Jackson led the Browns to a 1-15 record in his first season as their head coach.

“It wasn’t the type of season we wanted to have, but we’ve earned the record of 1-15,” he said. “This team will fight. We don’t always fight smart, but we fight hard. It looks like we have chances to win games, but we don’t finish them. That’s part of growing.”

Jackson denied there’s a rift between him and the front office about how to approach the building program. He said meetings will start this week. The Browns have two picks in the first round of the draft, including the first overall.

“We’re 1-15,” he said. “I never would have thought that in a million years. But we are. You can’t run from that. Hopefully everyone has a fire in their belly to change it, because that’s what I’m going to do.”

Stats and streaks

n This is eighth time since 2000 that the Steelers have won at least 11 games.

n The Steelers are 10-1 in regular season games played in January, best in the NFL.

n They are the first NFL team to win three straight games after trailing by at least 10 points in all three.

Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com.

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