Week 7 Miami vs Pittsburgh

Week 7 Miami vs Pittsburgh

Week 7: The Miami Dolphins 3-0 start to the 2022 campaign feels like it was many moons ago as we head into Sunday Night Primetime against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miami has slumped to a 3-3 record with disappointing losses to the Jets and Vikings.

Miami battled hard to go out to a 3-0 record, having fought and won tough games against both the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, to then lose to the Jets and Vikings leaves a sting, but the fates haven’t been kind to Miami in recent weeks to say the least, and hopefully those troubles start to fade in the rear-view mirror with the return of a certain starting quarterback. Week 7 needs bring a boost forward!

The injury woes continued on Sunday for Miami, who have had now had all three quarterbacks that started the game knocked out of it with an injury. Week 4 saw Miami lose Tua to a scary-looking hit on Thursday Night Football before Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out of the following game against the Jets on the very first pass play, and on Sunday it was Skylar Thompson’s turn to exit the game with an injury of his own. Hopefully, luck number 7 brings better faith to our quarterback’s health this week!

Consistency at QB is a Must!

Trying to prepare for your backup quarterback to have to take over the game in three consecutive games is near on impossible, especially when one of those starters is your third-string rookie. Unfortunately, the thriving injury gremlin didn’t stop there. Miami lost cornerback Nik Needham to a torn Achilles, resulting in him heading to IR. The Dolphins are already incredibly short at defensive back with Byron Jones still recovering from his own Achilles injury suffered late last season. Veteran pass rusher Trey Flowers is also headed to IR after facing a foot injury significant enough to warrant missing the next four games himself.

Waddle’s Status in Week 7?

Then there’s the Jaylen Waddle concern. Waddle made a couple of mistakes on Sunday including the costly fumble down the stretch, but he’s still one of the sparks that ignites the Dolphins offense. Late in the game he went down hard following a big gain, and stayed down on the field for a while after the play. His status is officially questionable as of Tuesday, but Miami are hopeful he’ll be good to go.

So, injury woes aside, the bright light is the return of Tua Tagovailoa. Tua has been cleared and returned to team practice this 7th week, and will lead the team on Sunday night as we host Pittsburgh at the Hard Rock.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins a Sunday Night Football Preview

The Steelers will travel to Miami off the back of a gritty victory against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With a decimated secondary comprised of practice squad players, some of which had never played for the Steelers before, they held their own. The Steelers forced numerous incompletions on pivotal third downs and made Tom Brady and his offensive line uncomfortable with a lot of good pressure upfront.

Offensively, the game was a little slow. Kenny Pickett opened up 3/3 completing passes to three different targets on the opening drive. But halfway through the third quarter the Steelers offense had only amassed 114 yards of total offense.

Pittsburgh’s QB?

Pickett was under heavy pressure for the duration of the game with his offensive line repeatedly being forced back onto his toes. He was eventually hurt and left the game. So, Mitchell Trubisky entered in relief.

Pickett was a full participant in practice on Monday and is expected to start the game on Monday night. However, the Dolphins front can draw a lot of confidence from Sunday’s game. They played well against the Vikings.

With a depleted secondary, they need pressure from the front 7. If the Dolphins can attack Kenny Pickett as the Bucs did on Sunday, they can wreak havoc on the quarterback and his ability to move the ball down the field.

Week 7 The Return of Tua

With Tua back in the lineup, the offense can get to work. Miami is more than capable of outscoring a Kenny Pickett led Steelers offense.It’s quite remarkable that despite the injuries at quarterback, Tyreek Hill still leads the league in receiving yards. Jaylen Waddle is sitting in 5th place. Any question marks around whether Tyreek Hill would be the same without Patrick Mahomes have been squashed! He sits on the throne of the receiving yard king entering week 7. Hill has still able to get open! The star receiver puts big numbers whether it’s with Tua or a combination of Teddy Bridgewater and rookie Skylar Thompson.

The two receivers together are as close as it gets to being unstoppable. Yet, major kudos to the coaching staff as well. Because they are building a system that allows them both to flourish in almost equal measure. The return of Tua only means more opportunities and more composed drives down the field. Hopefully, resulting in more scoring. Tua can throw these guys open! His absence has only shown just how competent he is as the signal caller for the Miami Dolphins.

The Prediction in Week 7

I expect no less than a bounce-back game under the lights on Sunday Night Football. So, the Miami Dolphins should announce their return to challenging for the playoffs in front of the nation. The defensive line needs to do its job, but most importantly, the offensive line needs to do theirs. Protect Tua, keep him clean and allow him to lead this team to a confidence-boosting win in week 7. Dolphins 31 – Steelers 17 #FinsUp

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