The Steelers have broken some of their bad habits in recent games, mainly beating teams that they should beat. Today they came out firing on all cylinders and put away the Dolphins early.

We’ll have more in-depth coverage on the game later in the week, but for now here are my quick thoughts.

Offense

The Three B’s were the stars of the show today. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell finally played their first playoff game together and certainly did not disappoint. Brown and Bell couldn’t be stopped all day, and Ben nearly had a perfect game until he made a few blunders in the 2nd half.

This trio should have the Chiefs scared.

The supporting cast at wide receiver didn’t disappoint either. Eli Rogers, Demarcus Ayers, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Cobi Hamilton all made plays today. The Steelers have a knack for finding receiver talent.

The Steelers offensive line once again proved to be one of the best in the league. They opened holes for Bell all day and kept Ben mostly clean. The Steelers have talented players on their defense line and the Steelers had no trouble keeping them in check.

Defense

The Steelers defense played on par with how we know them. Sure they gave up some big plays, but they played physical, fiery, and got turnovers.

Mike Mitchell is valuable to this defense even when he isn’t involved with the play. He sets the tone with his hits, but even when another guy makes a play he gets fired up. Mitchell brings a lot of intensity to this unit.

The Steelers arguably have the most underrated middle linebacker duo in the league. Both Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons were all over the field today, and had big plays: Shazier picking off Matt Moore and Lawrence Timmons getting back-to-back sacks.

Timmons led the team with those two sacks, 14 combined tackles (2 for loss) and 2 QB hits.

Javon Hargrave was a nuisance today for the Dolphins offense line, constantly blowing up the line of scrimmage and disrupting runs. The 3rd round pick is proving to be a steal.

Stephon Tuitt and Letterius Walton also played well in the defensive line rotation: each also recovered a fumble.

It would be a crime not to mention James Harrison. At 38 years old, Harrison showed no signs of age, registering 1.5 sacks and a huge forced fumble. His ten tackles were second to Timmons, and #92 didn’t miss a single tackle on the day.

Harrison should continue to be a major component for this defense as the Steelers Super Bowl run continues.

Final thoughts

The Steelers overall played a great game. Sure they made some bad plays here and there, but it would be unrealistic to expect a perfect game. What’s important is that they won a game they were supposed to win.

The offense was firing all cylinders and couldn’t be stopped. The defense played aggressive and managed to turn the ball over.  Both units showed what they are capable of and did not disappoint.

This victory continued the Steelers win streak. This momentum will be key as the Steelers travel to Kansas City this week.