Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins Battle For Possible Playoff Spot

NFL News - December 29th, 2009 - Written by Bryan

Pre-season hype, multiple injuries, unexplainable losses and it all comes down to this.

The Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers have been through it all.

Both teams need a lot of help to get into the playoffs, but it starts on Sunday afternoon when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Miami for the first time since 2004. Both teams are behind the eight-ball, in terms of postseason positioning, but are still eligible by a slim margin.

As found at BetUS sportsbook, Dolphins are favored to by three, according to the Week 17 NFL Betting Odds.

For the Steelers to get in, they must beat the Dolphins, then hope for either of the three scenarios to happening: a) the Houston Texans and New York Jets both lose or tie, b) the Texans and Ravens both lose or tie, or c) the Jets, Ravens and Denver Broncos all lose or tie.

For the Dolphins, it is a far more daunting task weaved with miracles. At 7-8, they are a longshot, but can still get in with a win over Pittsburgh and losses by the Jets, Ravens, Texans and Jaguars. Essentially every other team eligible must lose.

For Miami, simply getting to this point has been an achievement in itself after being picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the AFC East. It lost quarterback Chad Pennington early in the year, and called upon sophomore Chad Henne to take the reigns of a team that started the year 0-3.

Then, the Dolphins lost Ronnie Brown for the year after injuring his foot in Week 10. Ricky Williams has since taken over and breezed to 1,000 yards for the first time since 2003. But even Williams was hobbled last week with a shoulder injury, and his status for this week is unknown.

Henne hasn't been sensational, but he hasn't had to be. Boasting one of the top rushing attacks has allowed the Dolphins to stay afloat enough that, even at 7-8, a postseason is possible.

They lost last week to the Houston Texans at home, which was crushing, and have lost two-straight games. But Henne has been more powerful through air in the last two weeks, throwing for 671 combined yards. But he has been picked off five times in the last three games with only two scores, and things won't get easier against a hungry Pittsburgh defense.

The Steelers were projected to win their division easily in their Super Bowl-defending season, but have sputtered most of the way. They have apparently resolved it's issues on defense recently and now rank third in the league against the run. Miami ranks fourth in rushing offense.

Troy Polumalu says he may not be ready for the finale, but Pittsburgh has managed without him. After a string of five-straight losses starting in mid-November, Pittsburgh bounced back with late wins over Green Bay and Baltimore. Ben Roethlisberger, despite causing a reported divide in the locker room over his concussion symptoms, has thrown for 781 yards over the last two games, including a 503-yard performance against the Packers.

Roethlisberger is eighth in the NFL with 4,108 yards despite sitting out a game with complications from a concussion suffered in Week 11.

The Steelers have won all five meetings against the Dolphins this decade, including a 3-0 crawler in '07. Five of the last six meetings have gone under.

But Miami is 7-2 ATS in it's last nine against the AFC, while Pittsburgh is 2-7 ATS during it's last nine road games.