A pair of AFC teams hoping to get their respective seasons on track meet in primetime on the gridiron down in South Beach. The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the road as they make the trip to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh comes in off a 20-18 home win over Tampa Bay in a game where they were a 10-point underdog last Sunday. Miami was knocked off 24-16 at home by Minnesota and failed to cover the line as a three-point underdog last Sunday in their previous contest. In the regular season series between the teams, the Steelers own a 13-11 advantage, including a 27-14 home triumph in the most recent meeting on October 28, 2019.
Pittsburgh made the switch to Kenny Pickett in their week four games against the Jets, got waxed by Buffalo in week five and then sprung an upset in week six over Tampa Bay. The Steelers improved to 2-4 on the season and look to beat a Florida team for the second straight week. Against Tampa Bay, despite missing their top three cornerbacks in addition to T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh got an inspired defensive showing, keeping Tampa Bay out of the end zone until less than five minutes remained in the contest. They stopped the Buccaneers on a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt and held the ball the rest of the way to secure the win. Pittsburgh was outgained 304-270 in total offense, gave up 20 first downs while picking 15 and were about even in time of possession, falling 30:01 to 29:59, yet earned the win. There were no turnovers but Pittsburgh’s ability to get stops in the red zone proved to be the diffe rence in the game.
The Steelers are 25th in the league in passing offense as they average 204.8 yards per game through the air. The team is 28th in the league in rushing offense as they put up an average of 86.7 yards per contest. Pittsburgh is 30th in the league in scoring offense with 16.2 points per contest and 23rd in scoring defense as they allow 24.3 points per game. Mitch Trubisky is 78 of 128 passing for 767 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while getting sacked nine times. He adds 29 yards and a score on the ground. Kenny Pickett is 55 of 83 passing for 514 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions on the year. He contributes 41 yards and two scores on the ground. Najee Harris leads the team on the ground with 83 carries for 264 yards plus a score. Jaylen Warren (21 carries, 96 yards) and Chase Claypool (eight carries, 55 yards) have seen action in the ground game as well. Diontae Johnson leads the team in receptions with 33 receptions totaling 295 yards on the season. George Pickens (20 catches, 277 yards), Pat Freiermuth (20 grabs, 235 yards, TD), Chase Claypool (23 catches, 225 yards, TD) and Harris (15 receptions, 71 yards, two TD) have been active as well. Chris Boswell has hit all eight extra point attempts and 11 of 15 field goal attempts this season with a long of 59 on the year.
Among guys that aren’t on injured reserve, Pittsburgh has a pretty healthy roster. Wide receiver Steven Sims (hamstring) and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (rest) didn’t practice Thursday while cornerback James Pierre (hip) was limited. Everyone else that isn’t on IR was a full-go, including Pickett, who is still in the concussion protocol.
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