On a night the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to make a big-time statement at Acrisure Stadium in primetime against a red-hot Miami Dolphins team, they delivered. The Steelers thoroughly dominated the Dolphins in frigid conditions in a 28-15 win that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

The Steelers bottled up the Dolphins’ run game, pressured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into some mistakes and misfires, and largely did whatever they wanted offensively, scoring on four straight drives for the first time in seven years.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers played another great game, misfiring on just four passes in the win, while running back Kenneth Gainwell had another outstanding dual-threat performance. Tight ends Connor Heyward and Jonnu Smith helped the Steelers do something no team has done in more than 50 years, and DK Metcalf had an unreal highlight touchdown in the win.

Let’s get to some grades.

QB — A

Another week, another outstanding showing from Rodgers. Two weeks after turning 42 years old, Rodgers again lead by example with his play. He completed 23-of-27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns, capping his incredible night with a dart to DK Metcalf over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown.

Outside of the highlight-reel throw to Metcalf, Rodgers was dialed in all game long. He made a nice throw to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 19-yard touchdown to double-dip coming out of halftime, and was willing to take what the defense was giving him early, dinking and dunking before things opened up in the second half.

He’s in full command of the offense, playing with a lot of confidence and is letting his leadership shine.

RB — B+

Coming into the game questionable due to an illness, Jaylen Warren had some struggles on the night. He ran for just 33 yards on 12 carries and added three receptions for 15 yards. He wasn’t able to make many defenders miss and just didn’t look like himself with the football in his hands.

That’s understandable considering he was pumped with fluids earlier in the day just so he could play. Take your hat off to him for that. But with Warren limited, Kenneth Gainwell once again stepped up in a major way to provide the Steelers with some serious playmaking as both a runner and a receiver.

Gainwell rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries, including a 38-yarder in which he broke a tackle in the hole and raced down the sideline. He also finished with a team-high seven receptions for 46 yards, earning praise from Rodgers after the win.

In recent weeks Gainwell has taken advantage of his opportunities and has become a valuable asset to the Steelers, both as a runner and receiver. He’s forcing his way onto the field time and time again.

WR — B

For the second week in a row, DK Metcalf was outstanding after the catch, creating chunk plays in the passing game. His work after the catch on an absolute rocket from Rodgers over the middle was highlight-reel worthy and should be replayed over and over again moving forward.

Metcalf caught the ball and then tossed aside former Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick before racing home for the 28-yard touchdown that blew the game open. Metcalf is starting to feel it and has great chemistry rolling with Rodgers at the moment. That play was a great example of him being the receiver the Steelers targeted via trade.

It was great to see Marquez Valdes-Scantling score a touchdown on his first catch with the Steelers. He worked his way open on the crossing route off play-action and hauled in a dart from Rodgers to find pay dirt, something he’s done a number of times with Rodgers in his career. That it came on the same day he was signed to the Steelers’ 53-man roster was fitting.

Adam Thielen once again had just one catch, this time for seven yards, but his presence was felt again. The Steelers were trying to work him up the seam vertically in the passing game, but the Dolphins had it covered well time and time again.

Calvin Austin III has disappeared in the passing game for the most part, but credit to him for the block he landed on Minkah Fitzpatrick on Metcalf’s touchdown. He’s still playing the game the right way and will remain in the mix offensively.

TE — A-

What a night for the Steelers tight ends. It wasn’t a huge production night for the group, but in the end Pat Freiermuth had a presence in the passing game, Darnell Washington got back to doing Darnell Washington things, and oh, by the way, Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward both had a rushing touchdown, doing something the NFL hasn’t seen in at least 50 years.

Freiermuth led the tight ends with three receptions for 45 yards. The Steelers utilized him in the middle of the field and he did damage against the Dolphins. Same with Darnell Washington, who was tasked with catching short passes on rollouts from Rodgers and then inflicting damage on Miami defensive backs in space.

Smith had a 14-yard rushing touchdown and finished with two receptions for 12 yards, while Heyward had a late-career Jerome Bettis-like stat line: four rushes, four yards, one score. The tush push was working on the night. Two rushing touchdowns for tight ends feels like a fever dream for Arthur Smith.

The only real negatives on the night at tight end were a Washington drop and a Smith holding penalty that wiped out a huge Warren run.

OL — A

What a performance from the men up front Monday night. Down to their fourth-string left tackle in Dylan Cook and losing left guard Isaac Seumalo in the game, the Steelers’ offensive line never blinked in a stellar performance against the Dolphins.

Cook made his first career start and had a heck of a game, not allowing a pressure or a sack. Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick and Troy Fautanu opened some major holes in the run game, as did Seumalo before leaving with a triceps injury. Spencer Anderson performed well, both in relief of Seumalo and as the extra offensive lineman in the Steelers’ jumbo package.

The Steelers ran for 132 yards on the night, and Rodgers was protected well. He took two sacks himself that he admitted were on him, so outside of those two sacks the Steelers largely kept Rodgers clean, allowing him to be dialed in all night.

DL — B+

Coming into the matchup there was a ton of talk about how good the Dolphins run game had been. Though Miami had a couple of big runs, the Steelers largely put the clamps on Miami’s run game early and turned the Dolphins into a one-dimensional team. That allowed the defensive front to feast against Tua Tagovailoa.

Cameron Heyward was outstanding. He finished with four tackles, was a force against the run, and added a sack in the win. It was arguably his best game in the last month or so, and it came on a day it was needed with no T.J. Watt and no Derrick Harmon. He even did the trademark Watt sack celebration after bringing down Tagovailoa.

Keeanu Benton and Yahya Black didn’t crack the stats sheet, but they were both sound against the run and helped slow down Miami on the ground. I was really impressed with Esezi Otomewo and Logan Lee in their depth roles. Lee generated some good pressure and played the run well, while Otomewo had a sack and continues to put together some decent reps in a rotational role.

LB — A-

Patrick Queen was all over the field Monday night and played some really good football. Queen led the way with 11 tackles, had a huge tackle for loss early in the game when he shot a gap and took down rookie RB Ollie Gordon II on third down, and provided a major physical presence all night long.

Payton Wilson had a sack, showing off his speed to finish a coverage sack, and while he played behind Malik Harrison early in the game with the Dolphins going run heavy, he made an impact and played sound football. Same with Harrison, who had five tackles and was a downhill thumper much of the night.

Outside, Alex Highsmith had a great game. He consistently applied pressure on Tagovailoa, was physical at the point of attack against the run, and should have had an interception. He just dropped it. On a night without Watt, Highsmith was terrific.

Nick Herbig was good throughout the game, too, and stood up time and time again against the run. Hopefully his hamstring injury isn’t anything serious. He finished the game with just one tackle and one QB hit, but his impact was greater than the production indicates.

I thought rookie Jack Sawyer had some decent moments in the rotation, but he continues to struggle in coverage. He failed to get enough depth in some drops in zone coverage, making some throws possible for Tagovailoa as the Dolphins had success late pushing the ball down the field.

DB — B+

In a game that meant a great deal to him, Jalen Ramsey had a strong performance. Ramsey finished with six tackles, one sack, and one tackle for loss. He provided real physicality coming downhill, communicated well from start to finish and had things locked in defensively.

In his first start with the Steelers, Asante Samuel Jr. had a huge impact, picking off a pass on the Dolphins’ second drive of the game. Though he was later beat for a touchdown by Darren Wallner in a mismatch, he played very well, giving the Steelers a boost in the secondary.

Joey Porter Jr. had a quiet, but strong night. When he was tested in coverage, he was there to make plays.

Kyle Dugger was a bit of a concern in his return to the lineup. Though he two tackles, he struggled in coverage and gave up a late touchdown to Waller. He just didn’t look like himself and what he’s shown in recent weeks in the Black and Gold.

Special Teams — B+

Chris Boswell wasn’t asked to do much on the night, but he was a perfect 4-for-4 in frigid temperatures on extra points, giving him an even 100 points on the season.

Punter Corliss Waitman continues to struggle, and it’s getting very concerning at this point. Waitman averaged just 46.2 yards on five punts Monday night. He had one touchback, which resulted in a 22-yard net punt.

Ben Skowronek did make a stellar play in the second half on one of Waitman’s punts, knocking the ball off the goal line to pin the Dolphins inside their own 5-yard line. He continues to be an exceptional special teams player and deserves a spot in the Pro Bowl, and maybe even on the All-Pro team, too.

In the return game, Warren had a 30-yard kickoff return and had some juice on special teams even while dealing with an illness. Calvin Austin III needs to be better as a punt returner moving forward. He took a huge hit in the first half and didn’t do anything on three returns, recording nine total yards with a long of eight.