Stepping in for the new daddy (Josh) again this week, I’m going to review an exciting series of clips from the Steelers near-dominant display of defense against the Miami Dolphins.

Okay, at times, especially near the end of the first half, it looked like The Fish could get within striking distance. And let’s face it: Steelers Nation wasn’t expecting a blowout performance by any means. Not after the Week 6 butt whooping Pittsburgh took down in South Beach, where the Fins’ Jay Ajayi ran wild to the tune of 204 yards, and became a sensation overnight.

The Steelers were flat-out embarrassed by that game, and you could tell the chip was still on their shoulder this past Sunday. The offense came to play, setting up an early 14-6 lead when Miami turned a Ben Roethlisberger interception into potential points before halftime.

The Dolphins were poised to strike, with a first-and-goal from their own 8. Unfortunately (for them) the ageless James Harrison had different plans; don’t blink, or might miss #92 as he flies in from the right side of the screen:

I’ve been long-winded in my praise for Letterius Walton, the 2015 sixth round pick who has saw a large increase in playing time since Cameron Heyward was placed on IR. This is another example of how he has simply done his job; how apparent is it he got into the heads of his opponents, who weren’t sure if they needed to double him, or put a body on James Harrison!

Harrison comes in unblocked as the result of QB Matt Moore‘s blindside protectors honing in on LT and letting Harrison blaze in for the strip sack.

Of note, Stephon Tuitt, another defensive lineman, comes up with the ball at the end.

Awareness. Awareness. Awareness.

I love it… as much as I loved another strip sack of Moore in the third quarter, as Harrison, and Mike Mitchell, converge on the Dolphins quarterback.

Guess who again?

Miami’s left side of the line can’t figure out who to block: should they double Daniel McCullers? Should they double Walton?

Well, three guys only get two, while the left tackle misses James Harrison again, which is bad news because Mitchell is blitzing as well. Jay Ajayi can only pickup one of the blitzers, and it’s Mitchell who is able to knock the ball away… into the arms of yet another defensive tackle of the Steelers, the aforementioned LT Walton.

It doesn’t end their with my salivating of the defensive line, as Javon Hargrave too had a good game with great push, often disruptive to where he was taking up two blocks, but it was the return of Stephon Tuitt that we all welcomed with open arms.

The Dolphins, in an attempt to still make a game out of it, tried to convert on fourth and four from the Pittsburgh 42.

Moore is not expecting the Steelers to only rush 3 defenders, which throws off his quick read. With everyone covered, he tries to escape the pocket, but Ryan Shazier is in a spy, and quickly closes Moore’s angle toward the down marker. The Miami QB doubles back, but falls into the clutches of, you guessed it, a defensive lineman!

Stephon Tuitt doesn’t give up on the play, and drops Moore short of converting. Miami loses the ball on downs to enter the fourth quarter, and effectively seals a Steelers victory.

But Moore’s nightmare of a day didn’t end there.

Following the 2-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins were entering scoring position at the Pittsburgh 27:

A 2nd-and-10 turns into a 3rd-and-21 as Lawrence Timmons shoots the “B” gap… on the left side of the line.

Miami RB Damien Williams, like Ajayi before him, struggles to pick up the blitz and Moore is taken down for the 11-yard loss.

But wait, there’s more!

You’d think that hit was enough for the backup QB, but the Dolphins are still playing, and so are the Steelers. Rather than sit back on 3rd-and-21, Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler sends another blitz.

This was the definitive “nail in the coffin” as Pittsburgh appears to hit the “flip play” button on John Madden Football. Timmons and Shazier switch sides, and if you look at the still starting frames of both clips, you can barely tell them apart.

Timmons once again owns Williams, and brings Moore down for back-to-back sacks, an additional loss of 10 yards, and an all but impossible 4th-and-31 to finish out Miami’s season.

I absolutely loved the next-to-last sack, as I could see it coming in real-time. Timmons has been moved around a lot recently, and at this point in the game, I highly doubt that Matt Moore was thinking “I saw this on film” in the same way I did from the stands. (Of course, I’m probably more familiar about “my” team since I eat, sleep, live and breathe Steelers day-to-day!)

This was the icing on the cake from a bend but don’t break defense which continues to improve every week. It’s plausible that every opponent they face in the playoffs could be a rematch, with the Chiefs up next, and a win potentially pitting Pittsburgh up against the Patriots for the AFC Championship. (And of course another 2016 regular season opponent in the NFC bracket, the Dallas Cowboys, own the top seed and a good shot to make the Super Bowl.)

That means the D will have to keep getting creative, and continue to improve against familiar foes as they attempt to move on in the postseason. From what I see, there are still some holes that could use patching, but overall, we have to like what we’re seeing from this young group and it’s few veteran leaders.