It’s week seven and that means a much needed trip to the beach! In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers however, there will be no body surfing on this visit. It’s time to get down to business as the Steelers play the Dolphins in Miami.
What: Pittsburgh Steelers 2-4 at Miami Dolphins 3-3
Where: Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL
When: 820pmET Sunday October 23rd 2022
Weather: Clear and 77 degrees at kickoff
Wagering Information: Steelers +7.5 O/U 45.5
Last Week: The Dolphins were beaten at home 24-16 by the Minnesota Vikings while the Steelers won their first home game of the season defeating Tampa Bay 20-18.
TV: NBC Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analysis), Melissa Stark (sideline)
TV Coverage in Your Area: National Television Broadcast
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis), Missi Matthews (sideline),
Max Starks (sideline)
Westwood One Radio: Ryan Radtke (play-by-play) Mike Mayock (analysis)
Head Official: Scott Novak. A sales manager during the week, Novak last called a Steelers’ game in December of 2021 when Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore. There were 15 accepted penalties in that contest.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: CB Ahkello Witherspoon (Hamstring) – Doubtful
CB James Pierre (Hip) – Questionable, WR Steven Sims (Hamstring) – Out MIA: CB Keion Crossen (Knee) – Doubtful
T Terron Armstead (Toe) – Questionable, CB Xavien Howard (Vet Rest/Groin) – Questionable, CB Kader Kohou (Oblique) – Questionable, T Greg Little (Achilles) – Questionable, DE Emmanuel Ogbah (Back) – Questionable, TE Durham Smythe (Hamstring) – Questionable, QB Skylar Thompson (R. Thumb) – Questionable, WR Jaylen Waddle (Shoulder) – Questionable
DT Christian Wilkins (Hand) – Questionable
Injury Notes: Perhaps Miami HC Mike McDaniel would have been better off just listing the entire roster as “questionable” but I digress… With Steven Sims out that means Gunner Olszewski is back as the return man and to this point his Steelers’ career has been a train wreck. While James Pierre had a sensational game last week at corner, his potential absence on special teams looms just as large.
2022 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 28th MIA 17th Passing Offense: PIT 24th MIA 3rd Rushing Offense: PIT 26th MIA 30th
Total Defense: PIT 24th MIA 27th Passing Defense: PIT 30th MIA 26th Rushing Defense: PIT 18th MIA 10th
AFC North Rankings: Baltimore 3-3, Cincinnati 3-3, Cleveland 2-4, , Pittsburgh 2-4
This Week in the AFC North: Atlanta at Cincinnati 1pmET, Cleveland at Baltimore 1pmET
What You Need to Know: The Steelers are now 1-8 all-time when they are without T.J. Watt due to injury… The Steelers have more rushing first downs (30) than do the Dolphins (28)… Both the Dolphins and Steelers are at 38% for third down efficiency this year… Myles Jack has 58 tackles. That’s the second most in team history through six games… The teams have met five times int he month of October with Miami winning three…
Miami Dolphins Names to Know: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle, TE Mike Gesicki, RB Raheem Mostert, LB Melvin Ingram, CB Xavien Howard, CB Byron Jones
What’s at Stake: The Dolphins gave Buffalo their only loss on the year but they’re still looking up at the 5-1 Bills who are on their BYE. They need a win to keep pace with an increasingly difficult AFC East. Pittsburgh is in a similar boat but trails AFC North leaders Baltimore and Cincinnati by just a game. With both of those teams at home, a win here is much needed by the Steelers.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 15-13. The Dolphins lead all-time in Miami 9-6
Postseason History: Series tied 2-2
Steelers Game Highs vs MIA: PASSING: Ben Roethlisberger 349 yards 2013 RUSHING: Le’Veon Bell 167 yards 2017 (wild-card game) RECEIVING: Theo Bell 173 yards 1980 SACKS: Several with 2.0 most recently Lawrence Timmons 2017 INTERCEPTIONS: Minkah Fitzpatrick 2 2019
Last Meeting: October 2019 in Pittsburgh. Steelers 27 Dolphins 14
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
1. Get the Run Game Going Somehow. I don’t really care what it looks like but the Steelers have to get the running game going. I’m not suggesting they have to rush for 200 yards, but they must do better than we’ve seen so far. The Dolphins have struggled against the run so far and you know they’re going to stack the box and force Kenny Pickett to beat them. Therefore, use the jet motion and get those defenders off balance and utilize play-action from there. We don’t need to see Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren getting big chunks but we do need to seem them getting positive yardage. Being put in second and third and long situations isn’t good for anyone, especially this offense.
2. Tackle the Catch. Every Time. The Buccaneers had a nice receiving corps led by Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. The Miami Dolphins however will present a very different problem. With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the amount of speed the Steelers’ secondary must deal with is unprecedented so far this year. The best way to minimize their contributions is to make clean tackles as they catch the ball. If the Steelers let either of these men run after the catch then they are playing with fire. Doing this is easier said than done but I have no doubt it has been preached all week long. Eliminating big plays will go a long ways toward limiting what the Dolphins can do offensively.
3. ADJUST! Matt Canada’s biggest problem, among many, has been his inability to adjust to what the defense is doing. Two weeks in a row now we’ve seen really good opening drives from the Steelers’ offense. One resulted in a field goal in Buffalo and the other a touchdown against the Bucs. The problem? From there, the offense went downhill in a damn hurry. What is happening is really quite simple. Defenses are adjusting to what the Steelers are doing but Canada has proven he is unable to counter the,. Instead, he tries to do the same things over and over which have led many to call his offense a “glorified high school system.” Until Canada can adjust himself and not rely on players making plays out of the sand then the same issues will continue to persist.
Prediction: Kenny Pickett’s pedestrian showing after the opening drive last week wasn’t all on him. Canada bears a lot of that too. But that said, I still need to see more from Pickett. Down-field routes are open but he’s too often settling for the check downs which are fine in many circumstances but he still needs to take shots. Until I see him do that, I don’t have a lot of faith that this offense will be able to score more than 17 to 20 points per game. Therefore, I think the Steelers struggle to score and drop a close one on South Beach.
Dolphins 20 Steelers 17
Season Record 3-3
