Making his first career NFL start Monday night, Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Dylan Cook had a strong performance as part of a winning effort against the Miami Dolphins.

Starting in place of the injured Andrus Peat, who missed the game with a concussion suffered in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens, Cook stepped up and turned in a big-time performance. In the process, Cook earned significant praise from head coach Mike Tomlin following the Steelers’ 28-15 win over the Dolphins.

“I definitely thought he was above the line, but it was also our job to assist him schematically. And so, both things happened,” Tomlin said of Cook, according to video via the team’s website. “But he’s another example of a guy upholding the standard, man. We’ve absorbed some attrition to say the least at that position.

“But he was a part of a winning effort tonight, and he’s deserving of congratulations for that.”

Against the Dolphins, Cook played all 66 offensive snaps, seeing 32 snaps in pass protection in the win. According to initial Pro Football Focus grades, Cook was the highest-graded Steelers offensive player with a preliminary grade of 86.3 overall.

Cook didn’t allow a single pressure on the night and more than handled his own in a number of 1-on-1 matchups against Miami outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, who has been a good pass rusher all season and has played some of his best football in recent weeks.

Dylan Cook is having a really nice night.

Very encouraging stuff in pass pro and in the run game from young LT.

— Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) December 16, 2025

That wasn’t the case against Cook on Monday night.

After playing 13 snaps in relief of Peat last Sunday, Cook was signed to the 53-man roster last Wednesday, securing his place in Pittsburgh for the time being. With Peat unable to clear concussion protocol this week, Cook made his first career start.

He rewarded the Steelers with a great performance, stepping up in a time of need as the team’s fourth different left tackle this season. Tomlin talks time and time again about The Standard being The Standard, and that next-man-up mentality resonating throughout the locker room. Cook is a great example of that.

Now, he has to build on the strong performance and show it wasn’t a one-off, continuing to put some distance between himself and that fine line of being a practice squad player as he continues to take advantage of one man’s (or three) misfortune.