However, the ultimate difference in the game turned out to be turnovers.
The game was played in Joe Robbie stadium and started after the Steelers had won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff. Stoyonovich booted it 66 yards to the 4, where Mills took it out to the 22 before being stopped by Dwayne Dotson.
With a first and ten from their 22, Tomczak overthrew Thigpen on the first play, then scrambled for 11 yards on second down to the 33. The Steelers then went to the ground, running Morris twice for 1 and then 9 yards out to the 43. Tomczak then hit Johnson for 6 yards and Hayes for 6 more to move into Miami territory at the Dolphin 45.
Tomczak gave it to Morris twice more, getting 2 and 5 yards down to the Miami 38 yard line. At this point, the Steelers went to a shotgun form- ation on 3rd and 3 and Tomczak tried to hit Thigpen on the left side, but Calvin Jackson, who was between Tomczak and Thigpen, jumped and tipped the ball into the air, where it came down in the hands of J.B.Brown, for Browns first interception of the night.
Brown ran the ball back 20 yards to the Dolphin 40, but fumbled the ball when he was hit. However, the ball bounced back in his hands as he ran out of bounds at the 40.
Marino started the Dolphin's first possession at their 40 with a 35 yard strike to O.J.McDuffie over the middle to the Pittsburgh 25. On the resulting 1st and 10 at the Pitt 25, Lloyd came untouched on a blitz from the left side, but Marino managed to get the ball off before he was knocked down.
On 2d and 10, the Dolphins tried running Kirby up the middle, but could only get 1 yard and were left with a 3rd and 9 at the Pitt 24. The Steeler's Kevin Greene drew an offside penalty on the next play, giving the Dolphins a 3rd and 4 at the 19, but a bad snap by Ruddy on the next play and a pass that was almost picked by Carnell Lake, but fell incomplete, left the Dolphins with a 4th and 4 at the 19. At this point, Pete Stoyanovich came in and kicked the 37 yard field goal to give the Dolphins an early 3-0 lead.
Stoyanovich hit the kickoff to the Steeler 3 yard line, where it was taken by Mills and run out to the 20, where he was stopped by Jeff Kopp. Tomczak started this drive at the Steeler 20, with a pass to Thigpen, but it was knocked lose by J.B.Brown to give the Steelers a 2nd and 10 from their own 20.
After Tim Bowens stopped Bam Morris on 2nd down for no gain, the Steelers again went after J.B.Brown, but he picked off the ball again at the Steeler 40. However, this interception was nullified after Bryan Cox was called offsides.
This penalty gave the Steelers a 3rd and 5 at their 25, but Calvin Jackson hit Thigpen as the ball got there, forcing the incompletion and making the Steelers punt from their 25 on 4th and 5. The punt went 43 yards to the Dolphin 32 and McDuffie took it up to the 45, before he was brought down by Barnes.
The Dolphins started at their 45 with 2 runs by Kirby off left tackle but could only gain 4 total year, and on third and 6, Marino went to the shotgun and hit Irving Fryar for 6 yards and a first down at the Pittsburgh 44.
Marino then tried to hit Clark twice in a row, but the first ball was badly thrown (or Clark ran the wrong route) and the ball was almost picked off. On the second throw, Clark couldn't quite get his foot down and was ruled out of bounds. This left Miami with a 3rd and 10 at the Pittsburgh 44, but Pittsburgh put on an all-out blitz on this play that Miami was unprepared for which resulted in a 9 yard sack of Marino to the Dolphin 47.
Miami punted on 4th and 19 to Hastings at the Pitt 16 and he returned it to the 20 before going out of bounds.
Pittsburgh started by missing a pass to Hayes and then trying to run John L. Williams up the middle for 3 yards. This left the Steelers with a 3rd and 7 at their 23. On this play, Tomczak did hit Hastings for 6 yards, but a fine tackle by Calvin Jackson prevented Hastings from getting the first down and the Steelers, left with a 4th and 1 at their own 29, punted the ball away to the Dolphins 34, where McDuffie took the ball back to the Miami 40.
Miami again tried to get the running game going, but after a 1 yard loss on first down by Terry Kirby, that was caused by great penetration by Ray Seals, the Dolphins went back to the air with a 6 yard toss to Kirby on 2nd down that gave the Dolphins a 3rd and 5 at the Miami 45. A false start penalty on Chris Gray pushed the Dolphins back to their 40 and after Marino underthrew Green on 3rd and 10, Miami was forced to punt on 4th and 10 from their 40.
This punt was taken at the Steeler 22 and Hastings made a good return out to almost the 50, but a clipping penalty on Pegram pushed the Steelers back to their 14 yard line. There, on first down, Tomczak tried to pass to his left, but the ball slipped out of his hands and the lame duck pass floated into the arms of Troy Vincent for the Dolphins' second interception of the night. This gave the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at the Pittsburgh 17 and after a short 2 yard run by Parmalee gave the Dolphins a 2nd and 8 at the 15, the first quarter ended with the Dolphins up 3-0.
In the first quarter, neither team moved the ball very well and the turnovers were the difference in the game at that point.
The second quarter started with Marino hitting Keith Byars over the middle for 13 yards to the Steeler 2 yard line, which gave the Dolphins a first and goal. On the next play, Marino handed off to Parmalee, who ran behind Sims and Webb and was hit just beyond the line of scrimmage. However, Parmalee twisted and stretched and fought and just managed to get the ball across the goal on a great second effort for a touchdown. After the extra point, the Dolphins lead 10-0.
Stoyanovich's kickoff was taken at the 10 by Pegram, who returned it to the Steelers' 27 yard line, where he was tackled by Dwayne Dotson. The Steelers started this drive by running Morris for 6 yards and then 1 yard and hitting Hastings for 7 yards and a first down to the Steeler 41.
Then Tomczak hit John L. Williams for a 5 yard dump pass and handed off to Williams for a 2 yard run, giving the Steelers a 3rd and 3 at their own 47. However, on the next play, the Steelers attempted to pass for the first down and the pass rush of Trace Armstrong and Bryan Cox got to Tomczak for a 10 yard sack. This forced the Steelers to punt on 4th down and 14 from their own 37. The punt went out of bounds at the Miami 22.
Marino tried first to go to Eric Green, but the pass was broken up and after a short swing pass to Kirby got just one yard and a pass to Fryar could only get 5 more, the Dolphins were faced with a 4th and 4 at their own 28 and punted the ball.
This punt by Kidd went 50 yards to the Pittsburgh 22, where Hastings made the fair catch, but a late-hit penalty on Robert Wilson of the Dolphins took the ball out to the 38 yard line. The Steelers started at their 38 with a 6 yard run by Pegram, followed by a 15 yard pass to Thigpen that gave the steelers a first and 10 at the Miami 42.
Morris tried to run on the next play, but could get only 2 yards and after Troy Vincent broke up the next pass to Johnson, the Steelers went right back to Johnson on third down, but could only get 7 of the 8 yards they needed. So, on 4th and 1 at the Miami 33, the Steelers went for it and a run by Morris got 3 yards and a first down at the Miami 30.
Then Morris had his best run of the night, an 11 yard run up the middle to the Dolphin 19. On the next play, it was Morris again, but he could only get 2 yards to the 17. With a 2d and 8 at the 17, Tomczak hit Johnson for 10 yards to the Miami 7, giving the Steelers a first and goal.
On the Steelers first play from the 7, the Dolphins defense stiffened and good coverage allowed Marco Coleman and Tim Bowens to get to Tomczak and haul him down at the Dolphins 15 for an 8 yard loss. The next play was an 11 yard screen to Morris, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Hayes nullified the play and pushed the Steelers back to the Dolphins 25 yard line, giving them a 2nd and goal at the Miami 25.
Once again, the Dolphins had good coverage and Tomczak was forced to scramble on 2nd down for 2 yard and then, on 3rd and goal from the 23, Tomczak threw the ball into the dirt, forcing the Steelers to settle for a field goal attempt, which was good and which made the score 10-3 with 2:24 left in the half.
The Steelers kicked off to Irving Spikes, who took the ball at the 12 and ran it back to the 25 yard line. Marino started out by hitting Gary Clark for 14 yards to the 39 and the 2 minute warning was sounded at this point.
With a first and 10 at their own 39, the Dolphins' first pass was incomplete as Marino apparently threw the ball away. On second down, he hit Kirby for an 8 yard gain to the 47, but Ray Seals batted Marino's third down pass and the Dolphins were forced to punt from their own 47. Kidd's punt went 40 yards to the Pittsburgh 13, where it was returned by Hastings to the 17 yard line.
On the Steelers first play of this series, with 1:33 remaining, John L. Williams attempted to run up the middle, but Trace Armstrong batted the ball out of his hands and Jeff Cross recovered to give the Dolphins a first down at the Steeler 21.
On first down, the Dolphins ran Kirby up the middle for 3, but on second down, Marino was called for intentional grounding as he attempted to pass the ball while being sacked. This resulted in a 3rd down and 17 at the Pittsburgh 28, but from the shotgun, Marino stepped back into the pocket and found that Terry Kirby had beaten his man over the middle and rifled the ball to him. Kirby then ran into the endzone for the second Miami touchdown and a 17-3 lead.
The subsequent kickoff was taken by Mills at the 10 out to the Steelers' 27, where Robert Wilson brought him down with 0:47 second left in the first half.
The Steelers went to their 2-minute offense and Thigpen made a great catch of a Tomczak pass for 19 yards to the Pittsburgh 46, followed by a 13 yard pass to Williams that didn't go out of bounds at the Miami 41. As a result, Tomczak had to spike the ball and was left with a 2d down and 10 at the Miami 41. His next pass, intended for Barnes, went incomplete and with 6 seconds on the clock, Tomczak threw the Hail Mary into the endzone, but it was batted around and almost intercepted before falling incomplete.
At the end of the first half, the Dolphins lead 17-3 on the strength of the Steeler turnovers and the Dolphins ability to convert the turnovers into points.
The Dolphins' Irving Spikes took the opening kickoff of the second half at the Dolphins 18 and ran it back to the 35. Marino then started with an 18 yard pass to Eric Green, followed by an 11 yard run by Kirby behind Chris Gray and another 8 yard pass to Green. However, on a 2d and 2 at the Pittsburgh 28, Gregg Lloyd caught Kirby behind the line for a 4 yard loss.
On third down, Marino hit McDuffie for 10 yards and a first down, but after Parmalee could only manage 2 yards, he was caught in the backfield on second down for a three yard loss. On third and 11 at the 23, pressure on Marino caused him to dump the ball to Kirby, who could only manage a 2 yard gain and, on 4th and 9 at the Steeler 21, Stoyanovich kicked a 39 yard field goal that made the score 20-3.
The kickoff by Stoyanovich was short and was taken by Gibson at the Steelers 28, then returned to the Pittsburgh 38 yard line. There, Morris could only get 1 yard on first down and on second down, a blitzing Chris Singleton knocked the ball out of Tomczaks hand. Bowens fell on the ball and the Dolphins took over at the Steeler 32 yard line.
Marino's first pass was incomplete and his second pass to Keith Byars went only for 1 yard on a great tackle by Carnell Lake. On third down, Marino was sacked by Kevin Greene and fumbled the ball, but the Dolphins recovered. At this point, Keith Sims went out with an injury, which later turned out to be a strained neck and was not serious.
The Dolphins, faced with a 4th and 13 at the Steeler 34, elected to try the 52 yard field goal, but it went wide right and the Steelers took over on their 42.
The Steelers, starting with a first and 10 at their 42, could only manage a two yard run by Morris on first down, but followed that by a 12 yard pass to Thigpen to give the Steelers a first down at the Miami 44. On first down, however, Coleman wrapped up Tomczak for an apparent sack, but the officials ruled it an incomplete pass, even though Tomczak's knee was clearly down when he was throwing the ball.
A second down run by Morris gained 3 yards and Tomczak missed an open receiver on 3rd and 7, forcing the Steelers to punt on 4th and 7 from the Miami 41. McDuffie called for a fair catch at the Miami 11 yard line.
Parmalee started the next series with a 3 yard run, followed by an overthrown pass directed at Keith Byars. However, on third and 7 at the 14, Marino hit Fryar for 12 yards and a first down. Parmalee ran twice for 8 yards and then for no gain, but a 5 yard facemask penalty gave the Dolphins a first down at their 39.
The next play has caused more talk than any other. On 1st and 10 from the Miami 39, Marino rolled out to the right and hit Mike Williams on the sideline for 15 yards. Greg Lloyd was coming from the left side and, right after the pass was thrown, Lloyd tackled Marino. Marino was injured and left the game with what turned out to be a bruised Sternum. No flag was thrown.
In my opinion, it was a clean hit. I don't believe that there is any way that Lloyd could have stopped his momentum and avoided Marino. In all likelihood, if Marino had not fallen on the dirt infield of the baseball diamond, he would have not been injured.
Kosar came in on the next play, which was an 11 yard pass to Fryar to the Steeler 35. Kosar then hit McDuffie for 12 yards to the 23 and after an offsides penalty on the Steelers nullified a 4 yard run by Parmalee, Kosar hit McDuffie again for 8 yards to the 10, as the third quarter ended.
By the end of the third quarter, the Steelers had only managed 11 yards of total offense in the second half.
The fourth quarter opened with the Dolphins having a first and goal just inside the Steelers 10 yard line. However, on first down, Kosar was forced to scramble and ended up with a 1 yard loss. Kirby managed 2 yards rushing on 2d down and then Kosar took a delay-of-game penalty on third down. This made it 3rd and goal from the 14 and even though the dump pass to Kirby gained 10 yards to the 4, the Dolphins, facing 4th and goal at the 4, elected to go for the field goal, which put them ahead 23-3.
The kickoff was taken by Mills at the Pittsburgh goal line and returned to the 44, but a holding penalty on Pittsburgh nullified the kickoff and the Steelers were forced to start from their own 12 yard line.
At this point, Jim Miller came in to quarterback the Steelers in place of Tomczak, and began running the 2 minute offense. Millers first pass fell incomplete as he was being pressured by Bryan Cox, but he completed the next two to Hastings, both for 5 yards, to give the Steelers a first down at their 22. Then, after two successive penalties forced the Steelers back to their 7, Miller completed a screen pass to McAfee for 11 yards, followed by a 25 yard pass to Barnes out to the Pittsburgh 43.
On the next play, Miami was penalized 5 yards for having too many men on the field, while trying to substitute during the hurry-up offense. This gave the Steelers a first and 5 at the Pittsburgh 48. On the next play, Dion Foxx and and Tim Bowens got to Miller and sacked him for an 8 yard loss, but Miller came right back and completed a 14 yard pass to Mills to the Miami 46 yard line.
Under pressure with a first and 10, Miller tossed an incompletion towards Thigpen that was almost picked off by Miami. Miller then completed two in a row to Hastings, but an illegal shift penalty on the Steelers pushed them back to a 3rd and 9 at the Miami 45. Miller then hit Thigpen for 10 yards and a first down at the Dolphins 35.
Miller continued to throw, hitting Hastings for 5 more yards to the Miami 30 and then, after McAfee missed one and a completion was called back because of an illegal formation penalty, Miller faced a 3rd and 10 at the Miami 35. He completed an 8 yard pass to the Dolphin 27, but faced a 4th and 2.
At this point, the Dolphins were expecting a short yardage play to get the first down, but Miller hit Mills in the endzone from 27 yards away, cutting the Dolphins lead to 23-10.
The Steelers kicked off to Terrell Buckley, who took the ball at the Dolphins' 9 and returned it 16 yards to the Miami 25. With 6:55 remaining, Kirby tried to run the ball, but was nailed for a 6 yard loss by Gregg Lloyd. On the next play, the old shovel pass to Byars was stopped at the line of scrimmage, and Kosar threw away a pass to force the Dolphins to punt with a 4th and 16 at their own 19.
Kidd punted to Hastings, who made a fair catch at his own 38, with 5:36 remaining. Miller started where he had left off, running the 2-minute offense and moved the ball well. After an incomplete pass, Miller hit Hastings for 26 yards to the Miami 35 and then Barnes for 9 yards and again for 14 yards to the Miami 12. From the 12, Miller hit Hastings with a 4 yard pass, and then missed one to Hastings.
This left the Steelers with a 3rd and 6 at the Miami 8 and the Steelers tried to fool Miami with a pitch out to McAfee, but Oliver stuffed him at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Then, on 4th and 6 at the Miami 8, Miller tried to pick on J.B.Brown by attempting to hit Thigpen in Brown's corner of the endzone. Brown tipped the pass and then intercepted it as it fell, ending the Steeler's drive.
The Dolphins had 3:57 left and started from their 20 after the interception. With Kosar still at quarterback, the Dolphins ran Terry Kirby for 23 yards on the first play out to the 43. However, after that, the Dolphins continued to try to run the ball, but could only gain 1 yard on 3 runs by Kirby and Parmalee. With a little over 2 minutes remaining, the Dolphins punted back to the Steelers, who took the ball at their 16 and returned it to their 29.
At this point in the game, the Steelers had a first and 10 at their 29, with 2:04 remaining, but no timeouts left. Miller's first two passes to McAfee were incomplete, with one being dropped, but Miller hit Hastings for 17 yards on third down to the Pittsburgh 46.
With time running out because the Steelers had used up all their timeouts earlier in the half, Michael Stewart defensed Millers first down throw and then a false start moved the Steelers back to the 41. A screen pass gave the Steelers a third and 5 at the Miami 49, and an 11 yard run moved them to the Miami 38, where they spiked the ball to stop the clock.
However, with only :46 seconds remaining and no timeouts left, the best that the Steelers could do was to complete two short passes to the Miami 25 before time ran out and the Dolphins won 23-10.
Overall, this was a game of turnovers. Miami won because they were able to create turnovers and capitalize on them with points. Pittsburgh lost because they could not hold on to the ball and couldn't keep Miami from scoring after the turnovers. Some of the turnovers were off of great plays by the Miami defense and some were off of bad plays by the Steelers.