Mike Pelaia thinks the Steelers can take out the Dolphins, Oct. 23

The Steelers sit with a record of 2-4 after somehow finding a way to beat Tom Brady (which they never do) and the Buccaneers this past Sunday, Oct. 16. After a dismal start to the season, shockingly, a win like this just gave the Steelers life, who now sit only one game back in the AFC North Division.

I don’t believe the Steelers to be a good team by any means, but I do need to give Mike Tomlin a ton of credit for getting a bad team, riddled with injuries, ready to play against an NFC Super Bowl favorite in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers, who were averaging 20.6 points per game coming in, were held to just 18 by a defense who was missing three starters in the secondary, including pro bowler Minkah Fitzpatrick and all-world linebacker T.J. Watt. That’s game planning and that’s where you have to give Coach T credit. This team could have rolled over. They could have fallen to 1-5 and let the season go. They could have decided to play rookies (Kenny Pickett) and others to see what they have for next year. However, they chose to fight and they actually won that fight by not playing cautiously, going for it downfield and managing the clock efficiently.

All of those items have been complaints of mine for years but they didn’t surface this past Sunday. It makes me think the Steelers need to go for it while they still can. The season is not yet at the midpoint and with Watt eventually returning, and the Bengals, Browns and Ravens not lighting the league up thus far, Pittsburgh is in this.

Mike Tomlin won with Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph, so he can find a way to win these games, as well, with a poor offensive line, a mediocre running game (yeah I am starting to doubt Najee Harris right now), an extremely bad offensive coordinator (one who should be fired immediately), a rookie quarterback or journeyman quarterback and injuries to their top defensive players. Tomlin finds a way to motivate. He finds a way to get guys up when hope seems to be lost and he finds a way to win. I’ve given Tomlin a lot of grief for various things over the last several seasons, especially when it seemed as though he let some extremely talented teams fall very short. But I must give him credit as well. He has taken lesser teams and done more with them than they probably should have and that was evidenced on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The Steelers will head to Miami for a Sunday Night matchup against the 3-3 Dolphins, Oct. 23. Don’t let the Dolphins record fool you, they’re a solid team. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be back after missing the past couple of games with a concussion and stopping Tyreek Hill is a task nobody has been able to accomplish thus far. Tua can be forced into mistakes and the Steelers are going to need to blitz him often to try to prevent him for getting the ball to Hill quickly.

Offensively, I don’t expect to see Kenny Pickett but rather Mitch Trubisky at the helm. If he plays the way he did in the second half against the Bucs, the Steelers will have a chance in this ballgame. I still believe the team needs a healthy rushing attack and Najee Harris must find a way to get going. The Dolphins defense allows 104.2 yards per game on the ground but the Steelers’ rushing attack ranks 29th in the league at just 86.7 yards per game. If they can find a way to eclipse 100 yards, that means more ball control, and better clock management which will spell a Steelers win.

After crediting Mike Tomlin for a win over the Bucs, I’m going to piggyback on that and say he finds a way to get it done against Miami. It has that feel to me. But it won’t be easy; what Steeler victory ever is?

MIKE PELAIA’S POWER PREDICTION – Steelers win, 23-17

 

(Mike Pelaia is a Steelers columnist for the New Pittsburgh Courier.)