Troy Aikman ‘flabbergasted’ by Dolphins in MNF loss to Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15 in a Monday Night Football game that was even more lopsided in reality. Pittsburgh led 28-3 before Miami added two touchdowns in garbage time at Acrisure Stadium.

And the way the Dolphins handled the fourth quarter left ESPN color commentator Troy Aikman very perplexed, just like he was with some of the officiating decisions on Monday night.

After getting blown out and showing very little urgency for most of the fourth quarter, Miami all of a sudden decided to use timeouts and run a hurry-up offense while trailing by 13 points in the game’s final two minutes and change.

Aikman said that he was “flabbergasted” and referred to it as “about as ridiculous a fourth quarter as [he’s] seen in a long time.”

Troy Aikman: “I’m flabbergasted by what we’ve witnessed here in this fourth quarter with the Dolphins. And now they want to call timeouts. It just is about as ridiculous a fourth quarter as I’ve seen in a long time.” 🏈🎙️#NFL #MNF https://t.co/UCAKUYXR97 pic.twitter.com/YDYIdhYtgk

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 16, 2025

“I’m flabbergasted by what we’ve witnessed here in this fourth quarter with the Dolphins,” Aikman said after Miami tackled Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers and called a timeout with 2:14 remaining. “And now they want to call timeouts. It just is about as ridiculous a fourth quarter as I’ve seen in a long time.”

“They had the five-minute touchdown drive,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Buck said. “That was the good part; they got in the end zone. But they were huddling up, taking the play clock inside 10 seconds. And now they try an onside kick; don’t get it. They’re calling their timeouts.”

The Dolphins later had second-and-10 at their own 17-yard line with 42 seconds remaining — and with no timeouts left — when they were called for a delay-of-game penalty.

Troy Aikman on the Dolphins: “This is just a bizarre last few series. They don’t go hurry-up. Now they’re going hurry-up and calling timeouts. It’s just, it’s hard to understand exactly what the philosophy or what they’re trying to do.” #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/hPqfb5sMly

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 16, 2025

“This is just a bizarre last few series,” Aikman said about the Dolphins. “They don’t go hurry-up. Now they’re going hurry-up and calling timeouts. It’s just, it’s hard to understand exactly what the philosophy or what they’re trying to do.”

Miami (6-8) was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. The Dolphins’ unimpressive showing in primetime, to go with the Monday Night Football color commentator openly questioning — and frankly sounding disgusted by — their strategy, certainly won’t quiet the speculation that Miami head coach Mike McDaniel could be on the hot seat.