A crazy Week 15 is capped off with a Monday Night Football game between the 7-6 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 6-7 Miami Dolphins. The Steelers need to win this game if they want to stay ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the race for the AFC North. Meanwhile, the 'Phins need a victory if they want to have any shot at making the playoffs.

Last week, the Steelers earned a signature victory over the Ravens to take control of first place in the AFC North. Though Pittsburgh allowed 217 rushing yards, they held Baltimore to two field goals and a turnover on downs in the red zone in the fourth quarter for a 27-22 win.

“I think just knowing how much we needed this win. I think we did a good job of just bowing up,” said Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith after the game. “They were [able] to get down to the red zone on those drives, so just shout out to all the guys. A bunch of guys making plays tonight. They were able to go out there, and we were able to get the job done when we needed it. So, it wasn't perfect at all. We still gave a lot of rushing yards, and a lot of things we can get better at. So, just a collective winner, and I'm proud of these guys.”

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh will be going into this matchup undermanned. Star linebacker T.J. Watt has already been ruled out of tonight's game after undergoing surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung.

“He had a medical procedure yesterday. He's been released from the hospital. He's at home resting comfortably, and so that's good news from a medical standpoint,” explained head coach Mike Tomlin during a meeting with reporters on December 12th. “But, from a participation standpoint, he'll be described as out this week for Monday night… I hadn't looked beyond Monday night. I'm kind of one week at a time. I know he's not participating this week.”

Without their best player on the field, the rest of the Steelers' pass-rushing unit will have to step up.

“Obviously, you gotta make adjustments, but I think there's a lot of confidence in that group, especially,” said defensive lineman Cam Heyward. “To have a rotation already with T.J. (Watt), Alex (Highsmith), (Herbig), and Jack (Sawyer) has been pretty special. And now, we just get to rely on our depth in that.”

For players like cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith, who used to be members of the Dolphins, one would expect this game to be an extra source of motivation. However, Jonnu Smith described this matchup as just "another game."

“We can't get caught up with the emotions of it,” Smith said. “I'm a professional. I'm [gonna] go handle this game like any other, and expect to go in there and get a win.”

After a 1-6 start, Miami has seemingly turned things around, with a 5-1 record in its last six games and a four-game winning streak heading into tonight.

“You know where the belief comes from because you can't mistake it from anything else but from within,” said Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. “I think watching guys execute on areas of focus and watching guys improve in their game, which is the whole point of coaching in general, but - in particular - winning football. Trying to be your best in November and December [is] something that's critical to success in the National Football League… There's a lot of hard work that's going into our game, a lot of pride that's taken in how we play football. So, to watch a brand unique unto ourselves in three phases, I think I really appreciate that.”

One piece of good news for the 'Phins is that potential Pro Bowl running back De'Von Achane has no injury designation for tonight's game, meaning he should be able to play unencumbered. Due to a rib injury, he was unable to finish the Week 14 game against the New York Jets.

“It wasn't that bad,” Achane said on December 12th. “If the score was different in the game, I'd have came back in. So, it wasn't bad.”

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has historically struggled in cold-weather games, with a 0-5 record in NFL matchups he started where the temperature has been below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Considering tonight's matchup will be a brisk 22 degrees Fahrenheit, the Dolphins will likely lean heavily on the rushing attack.

“If we were targeted correctly, you could see the lane that was coming, and you could see it was potential versus reality. Reality is, we weren't getting everything done, but the potential was what we see right now. It's our ability to run the football,” Miami offensive coordinator Frank Smith said on Friday. “I think, after Cleveland, we really honed in on that, making sure that we were able to maximize the opportunities, and I give credit to the staff, the players, everyone for just really being able to execute each week.”

Prediction for Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-3)

Even in games where the Steelers are expecting a lot of rushing attempts from their opponents, they still haven't been able to stop the ground game. Pittsburgh has played five games against teams with top-ten ranked rushing attacks. In those five matchups, Pittsburgh is allowing 160.4 rushing yards per game. That could be a problem when going against De'Von Achane, who has the fourth-most rushing yards in the league this season (1,126). We can expect Tua Tagovailoa to make a mistake or two because that's just what he does, and he struggles in the cold. But the Steelers have fallen short in games they should run away with (just look at that Thursday Night Football loss to the Cincinnati Bengals). I think that could be the case tonight in an ugly, defensive game.

Prediction: Dolphins 19 - 17 Steelers

How to watch Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-3)

Dolphins @ Steelers starts at 8:15 p.m. EDT at Acrisure Stadium. You can watch it on ESPN or stream it on the ESPN app or YouTubeTV.

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