Sideline karma came back to haunt the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday's 34-28 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field.
With time expiring, the Steelerslateraled five times to get the ball in wide receiver Antonio Brown's hands for what appeared to be a miraculous game-winning touchdown -- only to have it waved off because Brown's toe stepped out of bounds near the 15-yard line.
The Steelers are now two games behind the Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens with three weeks left to play.
Here's what else we learned in Sunday's game:
- The Ravens hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins, thanks to a 26-23 victory at Miami in Week 5. The Dolphins have a slight schedule advantage with upcoming games against the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets; whereas the Ravens face the Detroit Lions, Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals.
- The Dolphins' 34 points were their second most since Joe Philbin took over as coach. They had gone 28 consecutive fourth-quarter possessions without a touchdown prior to tight end Charles Clay's game-winning score reception from Ryan Tannehill. Clay had the game of his career, hauling in seven passes for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
- Miami lost starting tailback Lamar Miller to a concussion, but Daniel Thomas played well in his absence. Thomas' 105 yards tied Miller's Week 8 output for the highest by a Dolphins running back this season.
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's passer rating was over 100 for the third time in the past four games. He and Brown are not the reason the Steelers are losing. Brown's 90 receptions are second only to Houston Texans pass-catcher Andre Johnson's 95. Brown is also in the top five in receiving yards with 1,240.
- Look for Pittsburgh to rebuild on defense after surrendering 34 points in the snow -- to a team from Florida. Veterans Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel all could be on the chopping block in the offseason.
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