Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Suh must shine for an upset to happen
DAVIE — The big guy smiled. The big chuckled. The big guy stood in the middle of the Dolphins locker room in the middle of a week he’s not frequently seen and took questions about a subject he’s not often discussed.
“It’s a very exciting time, an opportunity to obviously showcase your best talent — best football,” Ndamukong Suh said.
Finally, the defensive tackle was asked if he cared about New England running back LeGarrette Blount calling him a dirty player after last week’s game. Suh’s chuckle left. His smile disappeared. His eyes went stone-cold flat. “No,” he said. It was Wednesday, but there was the Suh of Sunday. It’s the one the Dolphins desperately need this particular Sunday. So much is against the Dolphins in this wildcard playoff against Pittsburgh. Their defense is depleted. Their quarterback is most likely a sub — a good sub in Matt Moore — but a sub nonetheless.
They’re on the road, in frigid weather, at a tough stadium, against the hottest team in the league right now. The Steelers have won seven straight games. A Pittsburgh columnist wrote that losing to these Dolphins would be the worst Steelers playoff
loss since 1994.
Oh, yeah? This would be the best Dolphins win since the 1992 season when they shut out San Diego to advance to the AFC Championship Game against Buffalo.
History, you see, even works against the Dolphins in this one. But that’s OK. Everyone expected them to be history by now this season.
“It’s like every other week,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said of being a 10-point underdog. “I don’t know how many games we’ve really been favored to actually win. I don’t know if our guys really pay attention to that. They’re focused on what they have to do.”
Here’s what they have to do: The stars have to be stars. There’s no other way. Jay Ajayi running. Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker catching. Cameron Wake pressuring and Kiko Alonso tackling. And Suh doing everything. This is why they got him, right? For Sundays like this. Against great offensive firepower like the Steelers have. This tough matchup in so many obvious ways.
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell, for instance, goes against the Dolphins’ league-worst rush defense (4.8 yards per attempt). The Pittsburgh offense with the fourth-most passing touchdowns (33) goes against a Dolphins defense that ranks 25th by giving up 30 touchdowns.
But there’s one way this matchup works for the Dolphins: Pittsburgh is a rare team that throws downfield. That means a pass rush can get to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger more than it can the quick-draw of most NFL quarterbacks.
“He likes to hold the ball and make plays — extend the play and get out of trouble and make plays,” Suh said. “For us, it’s going to be a combination of [rushing and covering], and I think it is hand-in-hand.”
Suh has been as quiet an off-field personality as he is a loud one on the field. It isn’t just the plays he makes. It’s the way he plays. Blount’s charge continued a dirty dialogue against Suh that also involved Pittsburgh filing a formal complaint against him for bruising Roethlisberger’s knee with a kick earlier this year.
Suh? He says he’s just thinking playoffs. Like most players, he’s schooled in the positive and for envisioning success. Anything else is irrelevant.
“We watched a great film today [that] I saw, I think it had to have been my rookie year in Detroit or second year in Detroit going into the playoffs,” he said. “Seeing older guys talk what they encountered going through their games and getting prepared for the playoffs. That’s something key.”
The last time Suh was in the playoffs was in Detroit two years ago. He was in tears after a final-minutes loss to Dallas that he called “sickening.” Detroit hadn’t won a playoff game in 23 years entering that day.
It’s been 16 years since the Dolphins last won a playoff game. There’s a list of reasons they won’t win this year. The list of ways they can win is a short one. And Suh is near the top.