• Pittsburgh Steelers win with an efficient passing game: The Steelers sustained multiple long drives by leaning on short, methodical passes, capped off by a touchdown from recent addition Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

• De’Von Achane was healthy, but it wasn’t enough: Achane was the Miami Dolphins only source of offense before garbage time despite suffering a rib injury last week.

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Steelers rely more heavily on their new receivers: Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen both received more playing time in their second games with the team.

Pittsburgh opened the season with D.K. Metcalf as its X receiver and Calvin Austin III as the No. 2 option, while Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller rotated for the remaining snaps. Metcalf was the only wide receiver from that group to provide consistent fantasy production.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling began the year with Seattle, was released before the season and spent the first six weeks with San Francisco before landing on the Steelers’ practice squad once the 49ers got healthier. Adam Thielen started the season with Carolina, was traded to Minnesota as insurance for Jordan Addison’s suspension, but failed to secure a role and eventually joined Pittsburgh after being released.

Both wide receivers made their Steelers debuts last week, which resulted in Roman Wilson becoming a healthy inactive. Adam Thielen joined D.K. Metcalf in 12 personnel, while Marquez Valdes-Scantling rotated with Thielen at the Z receiver spot. Calvin Austin III primarily handled the slot duties, rotating with Ben Skowronek.

This week, Valdes-Scantling’s role expanded significantly. After being signed to the 53-man roster ahead of the game, he was a full-time participant in 11 personnel rather than part of a rotation. Thielen instead split slot snaps with Austin in a near 50-50 timeshare. Skowronek saw limited usage, mostly on short-yardage plays, while Scotty Miller served as Metcalf’s primary backup. Wilson was once again inactive.

Some of the snap distribution may have been influenced by injuries, as Austin was limited late in the week with a calf issue and Skowronek dealt with a hand injury. However, it’s also possible the staff prefers the veteran presence of Valdes-Scantling and Thielen. Neither receiver was heavily involved in the passing game, though Valdes-Scantling did find the end zone. While fantasy value remains limited, the shift signals that Pittsburgh is clearly moving away from most of the receivers who opened the season behind Metcalf.

Monitor Ollie Gordon II’s health: Gordon suffered an ankle injury and played only two snaps in the second half.

Miami spent most of the season with De’Von Achane as the clear lead back and Gordon as his primary backup. When Achane suffered a rib injury last week, Jaylen Wright leapfrogged Gordon on the depth chart and took advantage of the opportunity, rushing for 107 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown after getting the hot hand.

Achane was close to returning last week but wasn’t needed in a blowout win, and after being limited early in the week, he returned to his normal role in this game.

Wright was again the first backup off the bench, with he and Achane rotating in standard early-down situations. Ahmed handled a short-yardage carry late in the second quarter but was tackled for a loss and suffered an ankle injury, sidelining him until the final minutes of the game. Whether his absence was injury-related or game-script driven remains unclear.

The backup running back situation in Miami may not matter much for the remainder of this season, but it’s one to monitor long term. All three backs are on rookie contracts, and if Achane were to miss time in the future, either Wright or Gordon could carry meaningful fantasy value if one can clearly separate in the No. 2 role.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Steelers starting running back Jaylen Warren was deemed questionable early Monday with an illness, but he was active. He didn’t play as much as usual on early downs, which could have been illness-related, or Kenneth Gainwell simply had the hot hand.
• Kaleb Johnson started seeing playing time in the last 10 minutes of the game. He’s been held to single-digit offensive snaps in every game since Week 6.
• The Steelers waived wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams on Monday to make room for Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the roster.
• Steelers tight end Darnell Washington was limited in practice all week with a concussion and was questionable, but played.
• While this was a revenge game for Jonnu Smith, he played less than usual. The Steelers ran more 11 personnel than usual, and Pat Freiermuth played more frequently on early downs in 11 personnel, leaving fewer snaps for Smith. However, the Steelers pitched him the ball in the fourth quarter, resulting in a touchdown run against his former team.
• Dolphins tight end Darren Waller played a higher percentage of snaps in two tight end sets and on third downs compared to last week, with his rates in those situations nearing his peak from earlier in the season before his injury. While the Dolphins lost the time of possession battle and focused on the run game for most of the game, he caught seven passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns, nearly all of which came in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.