Dolphins vs. Steelers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2017 NFL Playoffs

Antonio Brown caught the ball and didn't stop running until he hit paydirt. Then he did it again. Then Le'Veon Bell joined him. The next thing you know, Brown and Bell had carried the Pittsburgh Steelers all the way to Kansas City.

Brown caught two touchdowns, and Bell added a pair of his own, as the Steelers earned a 30-12 win over the Miami Dolphins in Sunday's AFC Wild Card Round matchup.

The Steelers will play the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday. They previously defeated Kansas City 43-14 in a Week 4 matchup.

The Steelers and Dolphins looked like two diametrically different teams than they were in Miami's 30-15 win in October. Pittsburgh opened with touchdowns on each of its first two drives, both long catch-and-runs by Brown. The Pro Bowler scampered for 50 yards on the Steelers' opening drive and broke away for 62 on the second.

NFL on ESPN was ready with a Spongebob-themed meme:

Brown had 119 of his 124 yards in the first quarter. That was the most yards in the first quarter of a playoff game since 1969, per SportsCenter. His two touchdowns were the first postseason scores of his seven-game playoff career.

Even Rams running back Todd Gurley was impressed:

After Brown's huge first quarter, Bell became the bell cow (bad pun totally intended) of the Steelers offense. His 167 yards set a franchise record for a postseason game. He carried the ball 29 times—compared to only 18 Ben Roethlisberger pass attempts—including 10 times on an 83-yard drive that ended in a one-yard score. It was Bell's seventh straight game with at least 20 carries, and he's gone over the 100-yard mark in six of those contests.

The coming-out party was no surprise for Bell, who was injured during the Steelers' two previous playoff appearances. Bell's running style and brilliance were a constant subject on Twitter:

The Steelers held possession for only 27:58, thanks in large part to Miami's inability to stop any facet of their offense. They were not forced to punt until the fourth quarter and finished with 367 total yards. Roethlisberger completed 13 of his first 14 passes before missing on his last four as the Steelers were trying to run out the clock. He finished with 197 yards, a pair of touchdowns and two picks.

When the Dolphins weren't struggling to contain Brown and Bell, they were shooting themselves in the foot. Miami turned the ball over three times, leading to 10 Pittsburgh points.

Matt Moore, starting for the injured Ryan Tannehill (knee), threw one interception and lost a pair of fumbles. The first fumble came on a missed blocking assignment by Branden Albert, which allowed James Harrison to come through with a strip-sack. Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi knocked the ball out of Moore's hand on the second fumble.

Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree also laid a massive hit to Moore's head in the second quarter, which forced the signal-caller to briefly leave the game. Despite Moore being on the ground for a few minutes, he was given a quick examination and not placed in the concussion protocol. That led to this tweet by Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald:

Denver Broncos running back Justin Forsett probably captured Moore's emotions well:

The Dolphins also committed six penalties for 64 yards, at times undoing their good work. Pittsburgh's final touchdown came after Tony Lippett leapt over the Steelers offensive line offside on a field-goal attempt.

Overall, it was a dispiriting way for Miami to end Adam Gase's first season as head coach. Gase led the Dolphins to nine wins in their last 11 games following a 1-4 start, but they finished with a pair of losses with a combined score of 65-26. 

The Steelers will travel to Kansas City next week, looking to avoid a similar fate to 2015, when they won a wild-card matchup before being eliminated by eventual champion Denver. They played that game without Bell and Brown and with Roethlisberger nursing an injured shoulder.

Sunday proved there may not be a more dangerous offensive team in football when the Steelers have their full complement of players.

---

Post-Game Reaction

The Steelers provided comments from Bell, Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin:

The Dolphins also provided post-game press conferences for Moore and Gase:

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.