The Pittsburgh Steelers have everything in front of them. After beating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Steelers now have a one-game advantage in the division. They guarantee themselves a playoff spot if they can simply take care of business over the last four weeks. The first step towards doing so comes against the Miami Dolphins next Monday night.
One major advantage the Steelers will have in this matchup comes with the weather. The Steelers are obviously no strangers to cold-weather games. The Dolphins aren’t either, but they certainly don’t like playing in them. Discussing this week’s affair, CBS Sports’ John Breech listed some daunting numbers for Miami.
“Since the start of the 2017 season, the Dolphins have played 11 games where the kickoff temperature was under 40 degrees, and they’ve won exactly ZERO of them: They’ve gone 0-11 (2-9 against the spread), and they’ve lost those 11 games by an average of 15 points per game,” Breech wrote Tuesday.
Monday night’s game will certainly fit that description. The Weather Channel forecasts a high of just 21 degrees for the day with a small chance of snow. These conditions certainly suit the Steelers better.
However, those conditions also typically come with an enhanced focus on running the ball from both teams. Despite the Steelers being slight favorites, Breech thinks the Dolphins’ ability to run the ball can get them a win this week. Breech predicted a 19-16 Dolphins’ win.
“If Mike McDaniel can find a running play that works, I could see him running it 60 straight times. De’Von Achane is going to be the x-factor here,” Breech wrote. “For now, I’m going to say the Dolphins finally do the impossible and win a cold-weather game.”
De’Von Achane’s status is uncertain ahead of Monday night. He suffered a rib injury in the Dolphins’ win last week. However, he wanted to return to the game and is motivated to play against the Steelers this week. With the Dolphins at 6-7, every game is a must-win for them, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Achane suit up if he’s healthy enough.
And that could be a huge problem for the Steelers if he does. Achane has been tremendous this year, with 1,126 rushing yards and 1,509 total yards on the season. He also happens to lead all NFL rushers with an astonishing 5.8 yards per carry. That gives an obvious advantage to the Dolphins, because the Steelers have allowed well over 200 rushing yards in each of the last two weeks.
A few weeks ago, this matchup looked much easier. But the Dolphins are doing their best to save their season. They’ve won five of the last six games, and would hold the same record as the Steelers with a head-to-head win. Breech thinks they’ll be able to come away with another one on Monday night.