Steelers-Dolphins matchups
When the Steelers have the ball:
In quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Steelers have the best collection of talent at those positions in the AFC field. Miami allowed 6,122 yards this season. Only Cleveland and San Francisco allowed more.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and edge rusher Cameron Wake can be troublesome, but the rest of the defense? It’s average to below average. The Dolphins limited the Steelers to 15 points and 297 yards in a 30-15 win at Miami in Week 6. But Roethlisberger left that game in the second quarter with a knee injury that required surgery. He threw for just 189 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Reshad Jones and Isa-Abdul Quddus started that game at strong safety for the Dolphins. Both are out for the season. Byron Maxwell started at cornerback and might not play in this game because of an ankle injury. Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (knee) also is out. The Steelers have to attack the middle of the field, particularly at safety where Michael Thomas and Walt Aiken don’t have a lot of experience.
Brown was limited to four catches for 39 yards in the first meeting and the Steelers have to get him involved in the game plan early and often. Bell had 10 carries for 53 yards as the Steelers just didn’t stick with the running game as much as they have during their seven-game winning streak. The Steelers had 128 rushing yards in the first meeting, but 60 came on an end around by Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Pittsburgh was missing right tackle Marcus Gilbert in that meeting and Chris Hubbard started at right tackle. The line is healthy now. It must control the line of scrimmage as it has for the past two months.
With the line intact, the Steelers can spread out the Dolphins and use Bell if Miami tries to match with an extra defensive back or throw the ball if it sticks with its base look.
The Steelers will have a definite advantage when they go to three-receiver sets, especially if tight end Ladarius Green makes it back for this game. The Dolphins don’t have the defensive skill players to cover Pittsburgh’s mix of speedy little receivers and a big down-the-seam target such as Green.
When the Dolphins have the ball:
Obviously, the Dolphins go as running back Jay Ajayi goes. Ajayi had an NFL-best three 200-yard rushing games this season, two against Buffalo and 204 yards against the Steelers, who were playing without defensive end Cameron Heyward and inside linebacker Ryan Shazier. The Steelers also were starting Jarvis Jones and Anthony Chickillo at outside linebacker, William Gay at cornerback and Robert Golden at strong safety.
Things have changed quite a bit since then.
While Heyward is out for the season, the game against the Dolphins was the first he’s missed in his career and the defense suffered because of it. Heyward has been out since Nov. 13. The Steelers haven’t lost since.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have settled on James Harrison and Bud Dupree at outside linebacker, Shazier is back and making an impact at inside linebacker and rookies Artie Burns and Sean Davis have moved into the starting lineup at cornerback and strong safety, respectively. It’s been a winning formula.
Center Mike Pouncey is now on IR for the Dolphins. That will hurt. The Steelers need to attack backup Kraig Urbik – a former Pittsburgh draft pick – in the middle of that line, especially if Ryan Tannehill makes his comeback.
Tannehill is dealing with a knee injury. If he plays, his mobility could be limited. If not, backup Matt Moore is a guy you want to keep in the pocket. Moore has been sacked just once in 87 pass attempts but that’s because he won’t hold the ball long.
The Steelers must do a good job of tackling, particularly on receiver Jarvis Landry, who’s tough after the catch. They also cannot let speedy Kenny Stills get behind them as he did when playing with New Orleans two years ago. Stills averaged 17.3 yards on his 42 receptions this season. He’s definitely Miami’s deep threat. Don’t be surprised if the Steelers try to keep Burns matched up on Stills, while Ross Cockrell draws DaVante Parker (56 receptions) and William Gay deal with Landry, who works mostly out of the slot.
The Steelers must slam the door on Ajayi early and force the Dolphins into a pass-first mentality, regardless of which quarterback plays. If that means selling out on early downs as they have done at times, so be it. Ajayi also isn’t much of a receiving threat out of the backfield. He averaged just 5.6 yards on his 27 receptions.
Special teams:
Pittsburgh’s return units, especially on kickoffs, have been an issue all season. Pittsburgh ranked 17th in the NFL, averaging just 21.5 yards per kick return with a long of 44 yards. The Steelers should take a knee every time the ball is kicked into the end zone. Their coverage units, which allowed 24.7 yards per kick return, were in the bottom third of the league, while Miami averaged just over 25 yards per return, good for fifth in the league. That’s a decided advantage for the Dolphins – if Steelers kicker Chris Boswell can’t get the ball into the end zone.
Brown is always a weapon on punt returns and had a long return of 33 yards. Most teams try to kick away from him. Miami punter Matt Darr had 26 fair catches this season to rank among the best in the league and showing that he can get good hang time. But is he ready for the cold weather and winds of Heinz Field?
Jakeem Grant has a punt return for a touchdown for the Dolphins, while Kenyan Drake has a kick return for a score. The Steelers have not had a return touchdown this season off a kick.
Keep an eye on Tyler Matakevich on coverage teams for the Steelers. He led the team with 12 special teams tackles. Conversely, Canon-McMillan High School graduate Mike Hull is a special teams coverage ace for the Dolphins. He and Matakevich are practically the same guy.
Boswell made 21 of 25 field goal attempts and all 36 of his PATs. Boswell was especially good from 40 yards and longer, making 12 of 15 kicks, with two misses from beyond 50. Counterpart Andrew Franks is a bit untested. The second-year kicker was 16 of 21 but just 2-5 from 40 and beyond. He’s also missed four PATs in the past two seasons.