1. The Achane train
Under coach Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins always have preferred to build around speed. And with good reason. McDaniel is adept at deploying speed, often by getting his fastest players in space. Look no further than De’Von Achane, Miami’s running back who ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.32 seconds at the NFL combine 2 1/2 years ago. This season, Achane leads the NFL in yards per carry (5.8).
The Steelers on Monday night certainly will be focusing on containing Achane, who leads the NFL in carries of 10 or more yards (35) in addition to those of 15 or more yards (20) and 20 or more yards (12). He also is tied for second in carries of 30-plus yards (five) and tied for third in carries of 40-plus yards (three).
Most of Achane’s production comes on outside runs, particularly to the right side. According to Next Gen Stats, Achane has, by far, the most rushing yards outside the right tackle (497, or 72 more than any other player). He averages 6.3 yards per carry on such runs.
As a team — and mostly, of course, because of No. 1 running back Achane — Miami has run more plays around right end than any team (58 carries) and ranks third in the NFL in yards per carry on those carries (7.2).
2. No scores
Joey Porter Jr. was excited and relieved to hear the call that replay review had overturned Isaiah Likely’s touchdown during last week’s Steelers game at the Baltimore Ravens. And not only because it was a significant play in a big win. It also preserved a touchdown-less streak for Porter in coverage.
While that can be arbitrary, Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus have tracked zero touchdowns this season from a player Porter has in coverage. When does Next Gen most recently have a touchdown in coverage charged to Porter? Week 8 of 2023. That’s a span of 1,328 coverage snaps, nearly 500 snaps longer than any other cornerback in the NFL.
PFF has Porter ranked third among the 80 NFL cornerbacks who have played the most snaps this season in completion percentage against (46.3%). Next Gen breaks it down further into scheme. It reports Porter’s 40.0% completion percentage allowed in man coverage as tied for the eighth lowest among cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 15 times while in man.
3. No misses
Like assigning coverage blame for touchdowns, tracking missed tackles by a defensive player can be open for interpretation. But if PFF is to be believed, Cameron Heyward is on the verge of a perfect season.
Heyward not only leads the NFL in snaps played (666) by a defensive tackle — a extraordinary achievement for a 36-year-old — he also is the only player among the 75 NFL defensive tackles who have played the most snaps who has not been dinged for a missed tackle in 2025.
For what it’s worth, Pro Football Reference docks Heyward for two missed tackles. But his 3.4% missed-tackle rate is still among the best for any league defensive tackle on that website.
While we’re on the subject of Heyward and Pro Football Focus, it should be noted that Heyward has the best overall grade among interior defensive tackles in the NFL.
4. Third-and-now you know
That the Steelers convert third downs of 3 or fewer yards at a much higher rate than those of 7 or more yards should be obvious. After all, most any football team at any level in any season would.
Few, though, do it at such a disparate level as the Steelers.
The Steelers convert 69.4% on third-and-short (3 or fewer yards to go), the second-best rate in the NFL. They are 28th, however, with an 18.8% rate of converting third-and-longs (7 or more yards to go).
Incidentally, the Steelers have been a remarkable 16 for 17 in getting to the line to gain when running the ball on third-and-1 plays, but they are 0 for 3 when choosing to pass on a third-and-1.