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The Pittsburgh Steelers did what everyone was hoping they would when they played the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the AFC Playoffs — they dominated.
From start to finish, the Steelers were the superior team, both on offense and defense, as they waltzed into the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs with a 30-12 win at Heinz Field. Despite the frigid temperatures in this game, the Steelers did plenty in terms of setting some new records.
If you haven’t heard yet, Le’Veon Bell’s 167 rushing yards from scrimmage are a new Steelers’ postseason record. He bested two games from Franco Harris to earn the top spot in franchise history, and did I mention it was Bell’s first postseason game of his young career?
Bell ended the game with 167 yards on 29 carries, for a 5.8 yards-per-carry average, and two touchdowns. I’d call that a good day.
It wasn’t just Bell who was dominating on Sunday. Antonio Brown’s day couldn’t have started better. After a short reception on the second play from scrimmage, Brown took a wide-receiver screen and turned it into a 50-yard touchdown reception. That was just the beginning for Brown, as he finished the day with five catches for 124 yards, a 24.8 yard average, and two touchdowns which helped set the tone for the offense the entire game. By the way, this was the first time Brown hit paydirt in a postseason game.
When the dust settled, Bell and Brown accounted for 298 of the Steelers’ 367 total yards from scrimmage.
This isn’t just a day when individuals stood up, but the team as a whole was setting new marks.
The Steelers’ 5.0 sacks tied a franchise record since sacks became an official stat in 1982, and the team’s win was the 35th in franchise history, the most playoff wins in NFL history.
It was a great day for the Steelers, both as individuals and as a team. They’re now advancing to the AFC Divisional round game for the second year in a row, and they’re hoping to move on to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 2010.