Aaron Rodgers, Steelers beat Dolphins with help of ‘castoffs’

PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers smiled as he ran the score and called out the names of his teammates who helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15 on “Monday Night Football.”

Kenneth Gainwell. Connor Heyward. Márquez Valdés-Scantling. Asante Samuel Jr. Adam Thielen.

For the quarterback, they all had something in common.

“There are rejects if you look at our roster, which makes it really special,” Rodgers said with a smile, adding that he doesn’t consider himself a reject. “Kenny Gainwell signed almost a zero contract. Connor Heyward, after the fact, had a touchdown. Marquez was on a few teams. Adam Thielen was let go. Samuel was on the block for a long time. That says a lot about the character of the guys we signed.”

Rodgers, who posted his highest completion percentage since 2014, connected with eight different receivers as the Steelers scored touchdowns on four straight drives for the first time since Week 2 of the 2018 season. He completed 23 of 27 passes (85.2%) for 224 yards.

Heyward and Valdes-Scantling scored touchdowns in the victory. Heyward’s score gave the Steelers their first points of the game with a third-and-1 spurt just before halftime. Then the Steelers doubled down with a 19-yard touchdown run from Rodgers to Valdes-Scantling on their first possession of the third quarter for a 14-3 lead.

After connecting with Valdes-Scantling for a score for the first time since the duo played for the Green Bay Packers in 2021, Rodgers met the wide receiver, who was placed on the 53-man roster earlier in the day, with a smile.

“Good to see you again,” Rodgers told him.

“It’s just who he is, he moves the ball,” Valdes-Scantling said. “He’s not afraid to throw it at anyone. If you can open up, he’ll find you.”

Rodgers found Gainwell more often than not Monday night. Gainwell, who signed a one-year, $1.79 million contract in free agency, caught all seven targets for 46 yards, and he added 80 rushing yards on 13 carries.

“He’s super smart and I still can’t believe why we got him,” Rodgers said. “I told him a long time ago that my goal was to make him pay, because I’ve been a fan of his since he was in Philadelphia and I thought that every time he was in the game, something good happened. … He’s as smooth as anyone on the team catching the football. For a guy who makes almost a vet minimum, he’s been a tremendous asset to our team this year.”

And even though left tackle Dylan Cook didn’t show up in the score, the fourth-string offensive lineman — who was recently elevated to the active roster and made his first career start — earned praise from coach Mike Tomlin.

“I definitely thought he was above the line, but it was also our job to help him schematically,” Tomlin said. “Both things happened. He’s another example of a guy who meets the standards. We’ve absorbed some attrition at the position to say the least. He was part of a winning effort tonight. He deserves credit for that.”

On the other side of the ball, the Steelers received a boost from Samuel, who made his first start as a Steeler with cornerback James Pierre sidelined with a calf injury. Samuel wasted no time making an impact as he intercepted Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the first quarter.

“There are some scraps if you look at our roster, which makes it really special. Kenny Gainwell signed almost a zero contract. Connor Heyward, after the fact, had a touchdown. Marquez was on a few teams. Adam Thielen was cut. Samuel was on the street for a long time. That says a lot about the character of the guys we signed.”

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers

Samuel initially joined the practice squad in November, just seven months after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.

“It’s a testament to the guys’ buy-in,” defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “Coach always talks about jumping on a bandwagon. These guys are professionals. I watch, as soon as Thielen gets here, he opens his playbook and keeps studying. They spend a lot of time really learning the offense, learning the defense. Asante has really been champing at the bit to get reps, and he’s played really well with them.”

With the victory, the Steelers further cemented their place atop the AFC North against the Baltimore Ravens and secured their first winning streak since late September through early October.

“It’s huge, especially right now,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “It’s just a part of the season where you build momentum. … I think we’ve been through everything we’ve been through to prepare for what we’ve gotten. It’s going to be an extremely tough three games, but we have the guys to do it.”