The Steelers hope a home date after a week off can spark a resurgence when Pittsburgh hosts the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. It’s the final game of the Week 8 NFL schedule. Pittsburgh notched a 24-17 victory against the Chargers behind third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges, but Mason Rudolph will be back to lead the offense this week. Rudolph took over when Ben Roethlisberger went down with an elbow injury and needed surgery, but the backup was knocked out with a concussion in Week 5. Rudolph will face a Miami team that ranks at the bottom of the league in nearly every meaningful stat and is 0-6 after a 31-21 loss to the Bills. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Pittsburgh is a 14-point favorite in the latest Steelers vs. Dolphins odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 43.5, up a half-point from the opener. Before you commit to any Dolphins vs. Steelers picks, consult the latest NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up almost $7,000 for $100 players on its top-rated NFL picks since its inception four years ago. It has nailed its recent top-rated NFL picks, entering Week 8 of the 2019 NFL schedule on a strong 24-17 run that dates back to last season. It’s also on an incredible 86-60 roll on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. And in Week 7, it nailed the Chiefs (-3) covering with plenty of room to spare against the Broncos and the Ravens (+3) staying within the spread against the Seahawks in a game Baltimore won outright by 14.
The model also ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch for the third year in a row on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 96 percent of CBS Sports office pool players. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, it has analyzed Dolphins vs. Steelers. We can tell you it’s leaning over, and it says one side of the spread cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
The model knows the Steelers are still built on strong defense and forced three turnovers against the Chargers last time out, giving them 15 takeaways this season. Linebacker Devin Bush returned a fumble for a touchdown in that game and has four recoveries, a sack and two interceptions this season. The defense also has 44 tackles for loss, including 20 sacks, four from T.J. Watt (questionable) and 3.5 from Cameron Heyward. The Dolphins are minus-11 in turnover differential and have allowed 24 sacks.
Rudolph has completed 67 percent of his passes for 646 yards in four games and can count on James Conner as an option out of the backfield. Conner had 119 total yards against the Chargers and leads the team with 26 receptions. Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has 25 for 340 yards and two touchdowns, and rookie fourth-round running back Benny Snell saw his first significant action of the season and ran for 75 yards against the Chargers.
But just because Pittsburgh has a disruptive defense doesn’t mean it will cover the Steelers vs. Dolphins spread on Monday Night Football.
Fitzpatrick, in his 15th season, provided a spark last week, as the Dolphins finished with a season-high 381 yards. He threw for 282 and a touchdown and ran for another score a week ago against Buffalo. He has thrown for 717 yards and three scores in five games (three starts) this season.
Fitzpatrick has a pair of talented receivers in rookie Preston Williams, who has 25 catches for 314 yards and a touchdown, and DeVante Parker, who’s notched 18 receptions for 284 yards and three TDs. Parker, in his fifth season, was the 14th overall pick in 2015, but has struggled with injuries and the team’s instability. Mark Walton ran for 66 yards last week and appears to be the primary ball-carrier going forward after the Kenyan Drake trade to Arizona.
So who wins Dolphins vs. Steelers on Monday Night Football? And which side of the spread can you bank on in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Dolphins vs. Steelers spread you should be all over on Monday night, all from the model that has returned over $7,000 on its top-rated NFL picks.
