TheMiami Dolphinswill try to earn their first win of the season when they take on thePittsburgh Steelerson Monday Night Football at Heinz Field. The Dolphins (0-6) enter the game as one of only two winless teams in theNFL, along with the 0-8Bengals. Miami is coming off a 31-21 defeat at Buffalo, the team’s ninth consecutive loss dating to last season. Meanwhile, the Steelers (2-4), who last beat theChargerson Oct. 13, are coming off their bye week, and quarterbackMason Rudolphis set to return after missing the last game with a concussion. Pittsburgh is still hoping to become relevant in the NFL playoff picture. Kickoff is at 8: 15 p.m. ET. Pittsburgh is a 14-point favorite in the latest Dolphins vs. Steelers odds, down from an open of 14.5, and the over-under is 43.5. Before you make any Steelers vs. Dolphins picks and Monday Night Football predictions, you should see which team SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein says will cover.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed while working for Pro Football Focus. Last year, he went 61-47 on all of hisNFL picks, and he’s even hotter this year, going 28-14 on NFL picks against the spread. In addition, Hartstein is 7-2 in his last nine picks involving the Dolphins. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hartstein has locked in on Steelers vs. Dolphins on Monday Night Football. He’s sharing that pick only at SportsLine.
Hartstein has taken into account that Pittsburgh is coming off its most productive rushing game of the season. In the victory over the Chargers, the Steelers ran for 124 yards, the first time the team had topped 100 this season. RookieBenny Snellgot his most extensive snaps and ran 17 times for 75 yards. The team is hoping the performance begins a turnaround for an offense that is running for just 76.5 yards per game and is on track to have its fewest rushing yards in a 16-game slate.
In addition, Hartstein knows that the turnover advantage goes to the Steelers. Pittsburgh ranks second in the league in turnover margin ( 7) while Miami is last (-11) after seven weeks.
Even so, Pittsburgh isn’t guaranteed to cover the Steelers vs. Dolphins spread on Monday Night Football.
Miami has played significantly better in the last two weeks. Over the first four games of the season, the Dolphins lost by an average of 34.3 points per game. In the last two games, a 17-16 loss to Washington and a 31-21 loss at Buffalo, that average dropped to 5.5 points.
In addition, veteran quarterbackRyan Fitzpatrickhas had success leading the offense recently. Over the team’s past five quarters, Fitzpatrick has led the Miami to five touchdowns. By contrast, in the Dolphins’ first 19 quarters, with quarterback Josh Rosenseeing twice as many snaps as Fitzpatrick, Miami scored only two touchdowns.
Hartstein has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he’s leaning under, he has discovered a crucial x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He’s sharing it only at SportsLine.
So who wins Dolphins vs. Steelers on Monday Night Football? And what crucial x-factor makes one side of the spread hit hard?Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Dolphins vs. Steelers spread to jump on, all from the senior analyst who is 7-2 on picks involving Miami.
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