Welcome to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Miami Dolphins Preview! This is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the Steelers and their upcoming opponent! Mike Drakulich of Pittsburgh SportsNation brings you inside the huddle for both teams, provides a game outlook, score prediction, individual stats, team stats, Fantasy Football impact, the most up-to-date injury report, and even the weather at kickoff! The only thing you’re missing is a game ticket!
A look at the Pittsburgh Steelers!
Overall Record: 4-1
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (10th Season with Steelers)
Overall Regular Season Record: 96-53 (.644)
Playoff Record: 6-5 (Qualified for playoffs six times)
2016 Pittsburgh Steelers Roster
Last Week: Ben Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense tormented the Jets all day, as the Steelers routed New York 31-13.
Breakdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers: Roethlisberger is on fire and is third in the NFL with 1,496 yards passing and has thrown for 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions. Antonio Brown continues his assault on opposing defenses weekly and has 37 receptions for 447 yards and five scores. Sammie Coates, if he can suit up, has become Big Ben’s favorite deep threat. He now has 19 catches for 421 yards and two touchdowns. Markus Wheaton is out, so Darrius Heyward-Bey will get a few looks, as will Eli Rogers who returns after being out the past two weeks battling Turf Toe. Jesse James is becoming the new Heath Miller and is of Roethlisberger’s weapons on short yardage situations and inside the Red Zone.
Le’Veon Bell has chalked up 432 offensive yards since returning from his three-game suspension. De’Angelo Williams will be in to spell Bell at times, as well as line up as the prime runner with Bell spreading out wide as a receiver.
Marcus Gilbert is out again at right tackle, so Chris Hubbard steps in again to make a start.
Cam Heyward will be out for a week or two, so Ricardo Mathews will get the first look in his absence. Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt make up the rest of the staunch defensive line. Arthur Moats, Vince Williams, Lawrence Timmons, and the normal combo of Jarvis Jones and James Harrison at linebacker. Normal starting inside LB Ryan Shazier will miss his third straight game.
Vince Willams, who led the defense in tackles for back-to-back weeks while filling in for injured inside linebacker Shazier is all in on head coach Mike Tomlin’s philosophy.
“The standard is the standard,” Williams said. “You know we believe in that. That’s real. That’s it. I don’t know what else you want me to say. Nobody on this team believes they are a backup. Everybody just believes they are waiting for their opportunity to put their hand in the pile and help this team win football games.”
Will Gay and Ross Cockrell line up at corner for the Steelers, with Mike Mitchell patrolling the middle of the field with Robert Golden, who also returns from injury this week.
A look at the Miami Dolphins!
Overall Record: 1-4
Head Coach: Adam Gase (1st Season with Dolphins)
Overall Regular Season Record: 1-4 (.200)
Playoff Record: 0-0 (Qualified for playoffs 0 times)
Last Week: Miami’s nightmare season continued as the Titans 30-17 thumped them.
Breakdown of the Miami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill leads a sub-par Dolphins offense that is struggling to find the end zone. So far in 2016, Tannehill has 1,272 yards passing with just six touchdown passes and seven picks. He has also been sacked 17 times.
Arian Foster, if he plays, would be the normal starter for Miami. If he doesn’t make the game-day roster, a combo of Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake will work the ground game for the Fish. None of the three have been effective at all. Miami is next to last in rushing yards per game.
Jarvis Landry is Miami’s best weapon at wideout. He has 34 receptions for 403 yards, but just one TD. DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills are Tannehill’s other options in a passing game ranked 24th in the league.
Defensively, the Dolphins are even worse. The run defense allows over 150 yards a game and is giving up 250 through the air.
Game Preview: If you thought the games vs. the Chiefs and Jets were thrashings by the Steelers, this one might get out of hand even worse. Both teams are headed in opposite directions, and if the Dolphins don’t find a way to salvage some pride and find some semblance of a game, this one will be over by the end of the 1st quarter. Miami can he had by land or by air, so expect the Steelers to attack downfield to start the game, testing the Dolphin’s secondary, and then grinding them down with the running game if they get out to a double-digit lead early.
Prediction: Steelers 48 Dolphins 13
Fantasy Football Impact
Pittsburgh Steelers
Start: QB- Ben Roethlisberger, WR- Antonio Brown, RB- Le’Veon Bell
Sit: RB- DeAngelo Williams
Sleeper: WR- Sammie Coates
Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell are always going to be your starters unless you like losing. Sammie Coates is rising the charts, but check the injury report before the game, as he is questionable.
Miami Dolphins
Start: WR- Jarvis Landry
Sit: Everyone Else
Sleeper: None
Jarvis Landry is your best option, especially in PPR leagues.
Game Information
NFL Week 6
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) vs Miami Dolphins (1-4)
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL.
Game-time: Sunday, October 16th, 1:00 pm
TV: CBS / Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play) Solomon Wilcots (color analyst) | Chris Fischer (sideline)
Local Radio: Pittsburgh- 102.5 WDVE-FM | Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Tunch Ilkin (analyst) | Craig Wolfley (sideline)
National Radio: N/A | Announcers:
Weather at Kickoff: 82 with a 45% of rain.
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh -7
Steelers-Dolphins History
- Series History: Series began in 1971.
- The Steelers are 12-10 in the overall Regular Season series against the Dolphins.
- Steelers trail the series playing in Miami 6-7.
- Streak: Dolphins won the previous meeting.
- Last Regular Season Meeting: Last Regular-Season Meeting: Dec. 8, 2013, in Pittsburgh- Miami 34 Pittsburgh 28
- Steelers are 1-2 in the Post-Season vs. the Dolphins.
- Last Post-Season Meeting: Jan. 6, 1985 at Miami- Miami 45 Pittsburgh 28 – AFC Championship
Game Notes
- Ben Roethlisberger with a win, would improve to 5-1 vs. Miami in the regular season and to 4-0 on the road at the Dolphins.
- Big Ben is three touchdown passes from tying Johnny Unitas (290) for the 11th-most in NFL history, and four four matching Warren Moon (291) for the 10th-most.
- Antonio Brown is 30 catches from surpassing Heath Miller (592) for the second-most in Steelers history.
- Brown needs two touchdowns to become the sixth player in Steelers history with at least 50 overall scores.
- Le’Veon Bell‘s next rushing touchdown will mark the 20th of his NFL career.
- Sammie Coates with a reception of at least 40 yards on Sunday, he will become just the second player in team history to record a reception of at least 40 yards in six straight games – tying a team record (Mike Wallace, 2011, six consecutive games (Weeks 2-7).
- Will Gay will break a tie with Rod Woodson to set the record for the most interceptions returned for touchdowns in team history with his next pick six of six.
- James Harrison will surpass Jason Gildon (77.0) for the most sacks in Steelers history with his third.
Individual Statistics
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing
QB- Ben Roethlisberger (1,496 yards passing | 15 TD passes | four interceptions | 9 sacks)
Rushing
RB- DeAngelo Williams (265 yards rushing | three rushing TD’s | 15 receptions | 91 yards receiving | one receiving TD’s)
RB- Le’Veon Bell (210 yards rushing | 0 rushing TD’s | 14 receptions | 92 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
Receiving
WR- Antonio Brown (37 receptions | 447 receiving yards | five receiving TD’s)
WR- Sammie Coates (19 receptions | 421 receiving yards | two receiving TD’s)
WR- Eli Rogers (9 receptions | 100 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
WR- Darius Heyward-Bey (2 receptions | 38 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
WR- Markus Wheaton (4 receptions | 51 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
TE- Jesse James (18 receptions | 128 receiving yards | three receiving TD’s)
TE- Xavier Grimble (5 receptions | 58 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
Kicking
K- Chris Boswell (Extra Point: 17-17 | FG: 4-5 | 0-19: 0-0 | 20-29: 0-0 | 30-39: 0-1 | 40-49: 4-4 | 50+: 0-0 | Long: 49
Steelers Team Statistics, including Defensive Stats
Miami Dolphins
Passing
QB- Ryan Tannehill (1,272 yards passing | 6 TD passes | seven interceptions | 17 sacks)
Rushing
RB- Jay Ajayi (117 yards rushing | two rushing TD’s | 6 receptions | 44 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
RB- Kenyan Drake (68 yards rushing | one rushing TD’s | 6 receptions | 33 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
RB- Arian Foster (47 yards rushing | 0 rushing TD’s | 3 receptions | 62 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
Receiving
WR- Jarvis Landry (34 receptions | 403 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
WR- DeVante Parker (15 receptions | 247 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
WR- Kenny Stills (9 receptions | 205 receiving yards | two receiving TD’s)
WR- Damien Williams (7 receptions | 112 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
TE- Dion Sims (7 receptions | 82 receiving yards | 0 receiving TD’s)
TE- Jordan Cameron (8 receptions | 60 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
Kicking
K- Andrew Franks (Extra Point: 10-10 | FG: 4-5 | 0-19: 0-0 | 20-29: 2-3 | 30-39: 1-1 | 40-49: 1-1 | 50+: 0-0 | Long: 41
Dolphins Team Statistics, including Defensive Stats
Team Rankings through Week 5
Total Offense: Steelers rank 5th | Dolphins rank 29th
Rushing: Steelers rank 14th | Dolphins rank 31st
Passing: Steelers rank 3rd | Dolphins rank 24th
Scoring: Steelers rank 6th | Dolphins rank 28th
Total Defense: Steelers rank 25th | Dolphins rank 28th
Rushing: Steelers rank 5th | Dolphins rank 32nd
Passing: Steelers rank 30th | Dolphins rank 16th
Scoring: Steelers rank 9th | Dolphins rank 18th
Injury Report (10/14/2016)
Pittsburgh Steelers
Out: T Marcus Gilbert (ankle), DE Cameron Heyward (hamstring), LB Ryan Shazier (knee), S Shamarko Thomas (groin),
C Cody Wallace (knee), WR Markus Wheaton (shoulder)
Doubtful: None
Questionable: WR Sammie Coates (finger)
Miami Dolphins
Out: TE Jordan Cameron, CB Xavien Howard
Doubtful: None
Questionable: S Isa Abdul-Quddus (knee), RB Arian Foster, (hamstring), WR Jakeem Grant (ankle), TE MarQueis Gray (calf), LB Jelani Jenkins (groin), S Reshad Jones (groin), Center/Guard Anthony Steen (ankle), Guard/Tackle Laremy Tunsil (ankle)
NFL Standings
Pittsburgh Steelers 2016 Schedule
Preseason (1-3)
Friday, Aug. 12 DETROIT L, 30-17
Thursday, Aug. 18 PHILADELPHIA L, 17-0
Friday, Aug. 26 @ New Orleans W, 27-14
Thursday, Sept. 1 @ Carolina L, 18-6
Regular Season (4-1)
Monday, Sept. 12 @ Washington W, 38-16
Sunday, Sept. 18 CINCINNATI W, 24-16
Sunday, Sept. 25 @ Philadelphia L, 34-3
Sunday, Oct. 2 KANSAS CITY W, 43-14
Sunday, Oct. 9 NEW YORK JETS* W, 31-13
Sunday, Oct. 16 @ Miami* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 23 NEW ENGLAND* 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 30 BYE WEEK
Sunday, Nov. 6 @ Baltimore* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 13 DALLAS* 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Nov. 20 @ Cleveland* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday, Nov. 24 @ Indianapolis 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Dec. 4 NEW YORK GIANTS* 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Dec. 11 @ Buffalo* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 18 @ Cincinnati* 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Dec. 25 BALTIMORE 4:30 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, Jan. 1 CLEVELAND* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Postseason
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 7-8 Wild Card Weekend
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 14-15 Divisional Playoff Games
Sunday, Jan. 22 Conference Championships
Sunday, Jan. 29 Pro Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
Sunday, Feb. 5 Super Bowl LI (Houston, Texas)