Steelers Now
The Steelers seem to play the Miami Dolphins in some of the harshest weather conditions in Pittsburgh. Could it help them this week?
The Pittsburgh Steelers stole a win over the Baltimore Ravens–depending on who you ask–and now have a primetime showdown with the Miami Dolphins. When the AFC East playoff hopefuls visit the Steel City, there won’t be a party on the beach where the heat is on… it will be the coldest game between the two teams since January 2017.
It remains to be seen whether the prime-time matchup will be a snow game. However, it will still be very, very cold for the South Beach team.
Since head coach Mike Tomlin took over in 2007, the Steelers have faced the Dolphins four times at home. Three of those games have involved the elements–sometimes to the extreme.
The cleanest weather game was in 2019–ironically also on Monday Night Football. The Steelers, led by quarterback Mason Rudolph, defeated Ryan Fitzpatrick’s Dolphins 27-14. The other three contests?
The aforementioned January 2017 game was among the coldest in Pittsburgh history. At kickoff, the temperature was 17 degrees–three short of the projected kickoff temperature this week. Le’Veon Bell set a postseason rushing record en route to a 30-12 grudge match victory.
In 2013, Pittsburgh welcomed the snow, and Miami welcomed the playoff hopeful teams as they squared off. The game occurred after the Steelers’ Thanksgiving night loss to the Ravens.
📆 On This Day In 2013: Miami Dolphins defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-28 in the midst of a snow storm
➖ Ryan Tannehill: 20/33, 200 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
➖ Daniel Thomas: 16 carries, 105 rushing yards, 1 TD
➖ Charles Clay: 97 receiving yards, 2 TDs#FinsUp pic.twitter.com/LCBNTuHS8R— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) December 8, 2023
In that holiday loss, Tomlin infamously nearly collided with Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return along the sidelines–preventing a touchdown. As fate would have it, the Steelers caught their “sideline karma” on the game’s final play.
Antonio Brown received a last-gasp prayer lateral with no time remaining. Brown accelerated by a Miami defender and nearly another as he raced to the endzone. However, he barely stepped out of bounds as he flew by the final defender, that ended the game 34-28.
Neither of those games, though, may be as memorable as the 2007 “Mud Bowl.” After a storm delay, the Steelers and Dolphins kicked off on a drenched Heinz Field.
#TBT the Mud Bowl #MIAvsPIT pic.twitter.com/igg2IL3338
— Steelers History (@SteelersHistory) October 20, 2022
Notably, the field was used for both local high school playoff games. Instead of replacing the field, the grounds crew rolled a new grass turf over the existing field. With the heavy rain, this created a nearly unplayable surface–nearly.
The game played onwards in Monday Night primetime. The highlight of the game? A punt. Miami punter Brandon Fields punted a football to Steelers return Allen Rossum. Rossum elected to waive off the punt,...
