-
Brooke Pryor
PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers grinned as he scanned the box score and shouted 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. Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Asante Samuel Jr. Adam Thielen.
To the quarterback, they all had something in common.
«There’s some castoffs if you look at our roster, which makes it really special,» said Rodgers with a grin, adding afterward that he doesn’t consider himself a castoff. «Kenny Gainwell signed a next to nothing contract. Connor Heyward, an afterthought, had a touchdown run. Marquez has been on a couple teams. Adam Thielen got cut. Samuel was on the street for a long time. So says a lot about the character of the guys we brought in.»
Green Bay Packers in 2021, Rodgers met the wide receiver, who signed to the 53-man roster earlier in the day, with a smile.
«Happy to have you back,» Rodgers said to him.
«It’s just who he is, spreading the ball around,» Valdes-Scantling said. «He’s not afraid to throw it to anybody. If you can get open, he’ll find you.»
Rodgers found Gainwell most often Monday night. Gainwell, who signed a one-year deal for $1.79 million in free agency, caught all seven targets for 46 yards, and he added 80 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Dylan Cook didn’t show up in the box 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 assist him schematically,» Tomlin said. «Both things happened. He’s another example of a guy upholding the standard. We’ve absorbed some attrition to say the least at that position. He was part of a winning effort tonight. He’s deserving of congratulations for that.»
On the other side of the ball, the Steelers got a boost from Samuel, who made his first start as a Steeler with cornerback James Pierre sidelined with a calf injury. Samuel wasted little time making an impact as he intercepted Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the first quarter.
«There’s some castoffs if you look at our roster, which makes it really special. Kenny Gainwell signed a next to nothing contract. Connor Heyward, an afterthought, had a touchdown run. Marquez has been on a couple teams. Adam Thielen got cut. Samuel was on the street for a long time. So says a lot about the character of the guys we brought in.»
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers
Samuel initially joined the team on the practice squad in November, just seven months after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.
«It’s a testament to guys buying in,» defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. «Coach always talks about jumping on a moving train. These guys are professionals. I’m watching, as soon as Thielen gets here, he’s opening up his playbook and still studying. They spend a lot time really learning the offense, learning the defense. Asante has been really chomping at the bit to get reps, and he played very well with them.»
With the win, the Steelers further bolstered their spot atop the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens and earned their first set of back-to-back wins since late September into early October.
«It’s big, especially right now,» linebacker Patrick Queen said. «Just part of the season that’s when you create momentum … I think we went through all the stuff that we went through to prepare us to go into what we got. It’s going to be three extremely tough games, but we got the guys to do it.»
