The Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins Sunday night. This will be a matchup of uncertainty, as both the Steelers and the Dolphins have seen their starting quarterbacks suffer concussions. It’s the Dolphins as seven-point favorites (total at 45), according to BetUS sportsbook NFL odds.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins Odds by BetUs
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | +7 (-110) | 45 (-110) | +265 |  |
| Dolphins | -7 (-110) | 45 (-110) | -330 | |
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Dolphins’ Tua Returns
The Miami Dolphins have had a frustrating three weeks, having lost each week after a 3-0 start to the season. Miami was one of the better teams at the outset of the NFL season, but have faced injuries that have brought them down quickly.
The injury that has been the costliest, and likely the one that’s been discussed around the entire league this season is, of course, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa’s been out with a concussion suffered in a Thursday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. It worried many people about his future.
Clearing concussion protocol, Tagovailoa is expected to start Sunday night, and the Dolphins can’t wait. Miami hasn’t had just one quarterback injured this season, but rather all three.
The team turned to veteran Teddy Bridgewater after Tagovailoa’s concussion issues, but Bridgewater went down as well. It was rookie Skylar Thompson as the starter before he was injured, too. Bridgewater had to re-enter, as the musical quarterbacks ensued. Miami will be breathing a sigh of relief when it gets its starting quarterback back and healthy.
Miami isn’t a balanced offense, but what it does very well is throw the football. The Dolphins are the second-best passing attack in the league, with both wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as huge stars this season.
With a returning Tagovailoa, expect the Dolphins to pass often, Hill and Waddle back involved in the offense even more. Extremely poor on defense, Miami’s surrendered more points per game (25.8) than all but five teams.
Steelers Without Pickett
The Pittsburgh Steelers should be riding high coming into Miami, having just surprised the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home last week.
There wasn’t a chance-seemingly-to end with the victory. A depleted defensive, as just about the entire starting secondary was out injured. Getting into Tom Brady’s face, some late shifts on the defensive line and great special teams led the Steelers to the unexpected win.
What wasn’t great for the Steelers was losing quarterback Kenny Pickett to a concussion. Pickett exited the game in the second half, after he escaped linebacker Devon White. It was revealed that Pickett had been concussed, though.
However, Mitchell Trubisky was able to steady the offense, but perhaps Pickett-who did practice-is cleared to play against the Fish. Coach Mike Tomlin has reiterated that if Pickett is available, he will be the starter.
Pittsburgh is in need of as many starters as it can get right now, as it is one of the league’s worst offenses. The bottom tier in nearly every category. Pittsburgh is 25th in passing yards per game, 28th in rushing yards per game and 30th in points per game (16.2).
The Steelers’ defense is great, but they’ll have to hope to see the recent Miami Dolphins, and not the explosive unit of earlier this season.
Dolphins to Cruise
Miami’s struggled mightily on defense this season, but Pittsburgh’s offense has shown nothing to suggest it’s able to take advantage of that porous situation.
Pittsburgh has relied on winning the game due to field position and field goals. so If Miami is relatively healthy in this one, that wouldn’t be a winnng formula in this one.
Miami minus a touchdown is one of the biggest spreads of any game this week, but it’s justified. Even though Miami has only one more win than Pittsburgh, when it’s healthy, it’s a top ten team in the league (18-1, or +1800, to the win the AFC, as per NFL conference odds). Pittsburgh’s hurting on both sides of the football and, even at its best, is not close.
The Dolphins should win this one handily, giving a returning Tagovailoa some confidence.
