On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins had an opportunity to move to the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and face the Houston Texans on the road. With the Dolphins losing to the New England Patriots at home 35-14 on Sunday, Miami will begin the playoffs in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.
The No. 6 seeded Dolphins will travel to Heinz Field to take on the No. 3 seeded Steelers. The matchup will take place on Sunday, January 8, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Since beginning the season 4-5, the Steelers have won seven consecutive games. During their winning streak, the Steelers have scored at least 24 points in every game.
Miami and Pittsburgh played each other earlier this season in Week 6. The (1-4) Dolphins trounced the (4-1) Steelers 30-15 as they knocked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out of the game. After that game, the Steelers preceded to go on a four-game losing streak.
Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi will be playing in his first ever playoff game next weekend and he says he is looking forward to it.
“This is my first playoff in my career, so it is exciting,” Ajayi said. “Every game after this is elimination. We still have a chance to go get it.”
In the Dolphins win over the Steelers, Ajayi had a huge day as he rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Ajayi has rushed for 1,272 rushing yards and eight touchdowns this season. Once he became one of the focal points on the Dolphins offense, things began to click for the team.
Miami will likely be playing their backup quarterback Matt Moore against the Steelers. Starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill has missed the team’s last three games as he sprained his ACL and MCL in his left knee against the Arizona Cardinals on December 11.
Moore has played decently in Tannehill’s absence as he has thrown for 721 yards, eight touchdowns against three interceptions. Moore does have some experience on playoff team as he was on the 2008 Carolina Panthers team that won the NFC South. However, Moore didn’t play as he sat behind starter Jake Delhomme.
Moore says it would be a big deal to play in his first playoff game.
‘It’s hard to get there as a player,” Moore said after Sunday’s game. “I’ve been there one time in 2008—and that’s the only time. It’s a big deal. Wherever it is or whoever we’re playing, we just have to be ready to go.”
Another player that has experienced playoff football is tackle Branden Albert. As a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Albert played in the playoffs in 2010 and 2013.
Albert said intensity certainly picks up during playoff time.
“Going down there against Pittsburgh, things are going to pick up,” Albert said. “It’s one game elimination and we have to concentrate on what we can concentrate on for the week. This games from now on are big.”
The early lines on the Miami/Pittsburgh game have the Dolphins as 10-point underdogs. A lot of analyst and television networks haven’t talked a lot about the Dolphins on their run to the playoffs and safety Michael Thomas has noticed that.
“That’s how we lived this entire season. Thomas said. “The first time we played Pittsburgh, no one gave us a chance. It’s not surprising to us that we’re 10-point underdogs this week. It don’t phase us and we are going to prepare like we always prepare. We actually prefer it that way and we are going to go out and do our thing.”
Sunday’s game against the Steelers will air on CBS.
